How can vocational trainees in Switzerland be encouraged to think and act entrepreneurially? The Forum on Talent Development of the Swiss Conference of Directors of Vocational Schools SDK-CSD addressed this forward-looking question at a 2G+ event on January 13, 2022 in Olten at the Capitol cinema and discussed the systematic implementation of the subject in the general education curriculum.
The learning program myidea
After the welcome by Georg Berger, President SDK, Daniel Kehl, Rector GBS St. Gallen, moderated confidently through the day. The first input was given by Prof. Dr. Eveline Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, University of Fribourg, together with Joana Probst, optician apprentice at BBZ Olten, who inspired the audience with her “pitch” from the ETA lessons and was able to show what great results are possible. In addition, Prof. Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger explained the pedagogical model, the available teaching and learning materials and the didactic aspects of myidea in more detail.
ETA and the 4Cs
The core of the event was formed by five key notes from renowned experts: Prof. Dr. habil. Manfred Pfiffner, PH Zurich, opened with the topic Future Competencies 4Cs: Critical thinking and problem solving, communication, cooperation as well as creativity and innovation form the foundation for the future and are comprehensively covered in ETA teaching. In addition, Prof. Pfiffner went into more detail about the SRG SSR project “ETA – Promoting Critical Thinking and Recognizing Fake News”, which further strengthens critical thinking in the myidea learning program.
Valentin Th. Mayerhofer, IFTE Vienna, who was connected live, opened the view into the European environment and introduced Entrepreneurship in Europe and the world to the attendees, in order to refer to the European YouthStart Award, which will take place in Olten in summer.
Versatile fields of application
EntrepreneurSkills, the newest competition within SwissSkills, was presented by Thomas Heimann, project manager of the Solothurn Chamber of Commerce. Sandra Uhlmann, member of the ETA project team and general education teacher at BBZ Olten, went into the crucial details for interested schools and cantons in the fourth keynote: On the way to becoming a certified ETA vocational school, there are some important steps to consider that start from the school’s engagement in the ETA ecosystem. Dr. Marco Vencato of the Gebert Rüf Foundation provided the closing remarks before the summary talk. As Deputy Director, he leads the TechPreneur project, which is all about connecting innovative startups with learners.
Implementation at vocational schools
In summary, entrepreneurial thinking and acting is an important and relevant future and design competence that is systematically introduced into basic vocational education via the general education curriculum, but ultimately must encompass all learning venues and include school and organizational development. In a comprehensive sense, thinking and acting entrepreneurially means solving problems and actively and positively shaping the world. This requires a holistic and future-oriented approach.