New digital VETeterans

We applied for this project to address the urgent need for improved digital skills among vocational education and training (VET) teachers, particularly those of older generations who may experience digital exclusion. In Bulgaria, a substantial portion of the workforce includes individuals over 40, and many pensioners continue to work. Yet, teachers often lack the digital confidence and skills essential for adapting to modern teaching tools and methods. This digital divide leads to resistance, stress, and missed opportunities for effective learning, especially in managing virtual classrooms and applying digital strategies that enhance engagement and adaptability to learners’ needs. By enhancing digital competencies, we aim to bridge generational gaps in digital readiness, support lifelong learning, and align with the European Commission's DigCompEdu framework to empower VET teachers to use digital tools more effectively. Digitization is happening very dynamically and has rapidly swept the VET sector. In order to meet the needs of learners and offer modern training we have had to upgrade the skills of trainers. Exchanges with colleagues from another European country helped us to update the tools and training approaches used.

Our primary objective was to enhance the digital skills and confidence of vocational education teachers, especially older teachers, to help bridge the digital divide within the VET sector. We aimed to create a robust training framework, guided by the European DigCompEdu standards, that would equip teachers with essential digital communication, collaboration, and pedagogical skills. By fostering digital self-awareness and skills, we sought to improve classroom engagement, facilitate adaptive teaching methods, and promote lifelong learning among teachers. Ultimately, our goal was to ensure that teachers in both Bulgaria and Lithuania are better prepared to utilize ICT tools effectively, benefiting not only their professional growth but also the quality of education provided to their students. Our two small organizations exchanged experiences on how to apply digital technologies in the work of teachers. We have improved the capacity of our teams and we believe that we offer better quality VET thanks to this project.