Continuing Education Network for Municipal Vehicle Technology: On the Way to Demand-Oriented Continuing Education Programs

“The most important thing in our country is the people with their skills, creativity and commitment. This strength is built on qualifications and competencies”. National strategy for continuing education

The National Strategy for Continuing Education (NWS) sees continuing education as a natural part of life and provides impetus for a new culture of continuing education. In the era of increasing digitalization of the world of work and due to the growing demand for more comprehensive further training and additional qualifications, the NWS attaches great importance to taking into account both the operational concerns and the professional and personal interests of the individual.

In order to follow the strategies of the NWS and to develop targeted, demand-oriented continuing education offerings on the new e-learning platform, our continuing education association (WBV) Municipal Vehicle Technology asked its cooperating companies to participate in a survey. We conducted the survey as part of the training needs analysis and its main purpose was to prioritize and select training topics for our new LMS courses. The aim here is to create the basis for further training planning on the platform that is geared to the needs and wishes of the cooperating companies.

Topic selection survey

The target group of the survey was the cooperation companies of the training association from the municipal vehicle industry. A total of nine people – mainly from management and HR – took part in our online survey in January 2023, assessing the need for further training in their own companies. The results of the survey largely coincide with the findings of the interviews we had conducted with our cooperation companies as part of the Competence Management work package.

The transformation of the automotive industry and also the municipal vehicle sector is opening up new mobility concepts, new opportunities and alternative paths. As a result, many trends and topics are gaining in importance.

Based on the interviews conducted, the literature review, and the extensive industry knowledge available, we systematized potential LMS topics in advance. To this end, we defined the following nine areas: Mechatronics, Alternative Drives, Digitalization, Smart Infrastructures, Technological Skills, Basic Digital Skills, Supra-disciplinary Skills, Sustainability and Regulatory Framework. Within these categories, we concretized further subtopics or topic areas. Survey participants were asked to rate the nine topics in terms of relevance and rank the subtopics.

Survey results

The majority of respondents rated all nine topics as “relevant” to “very relevant.” Most of them consider the area of alternative drives to be very relevant, followed by digitization and basic digital skills.

In view of current developments and assessments, alternative drives are the future: our cooperation companies see it no differently. Survey participants express a great need for further training in this area. Within the category, the leading forces of the companies attach the highest importance to the topics of electric drives, energy storage and high-voltage.

Topics such as digitization of the vehicle industry and basic digital skills also have a very high priority for the companies from the municipal vehicle sector. The respondents rate artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive maintenance as topics in which there is a high level of need for further training. The high relevance of virtual and augmented reality for companies should also be mentioned. From the basic digital skills category, further training measures in agile working methods and basic IT skills are particularly necessary, according to the survey results.

Another highly relevant area relates to Technological Capabilities. Topics such as IT infrastructure & cloud and process digitization and automation are frontrunners in this category.

The ongoing digitization of the vehicle industry is pushing the potential of autonomous and connected driving into the background. In this respect, the respondents are more interested in the further training courses in the topic area of connected vehicles. This is probably because autonomous driving is slower to catch on.

One of the most important areas of the automotive industry is mechatronics. The current developments in the vehicle industry increase this already great importance. In this category, sensor technology and hydraulics share first place, followed by pneumatics.

Nowadays, sustainable action is a matter of course for many companies. The survey results express that our cooperation companies consider measures for professional development in the field of sustainability as necessary. For example, the majority of respondents say they would like to see further training opportunities – especially in environmental management and the circular economy .

In addition to technical skills, interdisciplinary competencies also play an important role: Here, the respondents consider competencies such as problem-solving skills and goal orientation to be very important.

Regulatory framework conditions are also decisive for the introduction of new technologies. In this topic, a special focus of our cooperation companies is on the areas of functional safety and CO2 regulation of motor vehicles.

Another question in the survey related to target groups for whom the continuing education programs should primarily be designed. In general, it should be noted that this always depends on the subject. However, there is a tendency for further training to be desired above all for the areas of workshop (service area), design and sales.

Outlook

The WBV municipal vehicle technology designs a targeted and demand-oriented training offer and will make it available for the cooperating companies on the new learning platform. The results of the survey illustrated important issues and gave us impetus for the first LMS courses. To achieve its goals, WBV-Municipal Vehicle Technology continues to collect training needs during the project period. After all, this is the only way to take account of the modern, rapidly changing world of work and future developments and to always offer up-to-date, needs-based training.