Vocational education and training is changing fast. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, the green transition and increasingly diverse learner needs are reshaping not only what students need to learn, but also what we ask of the professionals who teach, mentor and support them.
New evidence from Cedefop suggests that many VET teachers are feeling the pressure.Its recent paper, VET teachers at a turning point, presents findings from the European Vocational Teacher Survey, based on responses from 735 teachers across 23 EU Member States. It describes a highly committed profession facing expanding responsibilities, heavy workloads and significant new professional development needs.
This raises an important question: how can we make professional development useful, accessible and realistic for people who already have very little spare time?
New skills, but limited time to acquire them
The Cedefop findings reflect some of the major transformations taking place in European VET. Only around one third of surveyed teachers feel ready to integrate sustainability into their teaching, while almost 30% identify digital upskilling as a priority. AI presents another challenge: although almost a third already use AI tools regularly, a similar proportion lack confidence in identifying appropriate applications or addressing their ethical implications.
Teachers also report challenges in responding to increasingly diverse groups and supporting vulnerable learners. Meanwhile, almost half have taken on additional responsibilities because of staff shortages, reducing the time available for innovation and professional learning.
VET professionals therefore need more opportunities for continuing professional development, but in formats that fit the reality of their working lives.
Where microcredentials can help
This is where our work in the STREAM initiative becomes particularly relevant. Its ambition is to contribute to the systematic design, testing, and uptake of an innovative and novel Micro-credential Framework within Work-Based Learning and the Internationalisation of VET through Mobilities in Europe’s VET system.
When we previoulsy wrote about STREAM, Rinova was leading the development of the STREAM Blueprint, drawing on research and consultation to identify the competences needed by professionals supporting Work-Based Learning and international mobility. Those ideas have since moved from research into practice.
STREAM has developed a European professional profile for practitioners in inclusive, digital and green Work-Based Learning, together with three corresponding microcredentials. Rather than requiring professionals to undertake another large qualification, the approach uses focused, modular learning to develop and recognise specific competences.
For busy VET teachers, tutors and company mentors, this matters. Smaller learning units provide a flexible way to update professional practice, while microcredentials can make that learning visible and recognisable for future professional development.
Digital, green and inclusive: from priorities to practice
The three STREAM microcredentials correspond closely to needs highlighted by Cedefop.
Digital practice includes using digital communication and monitoring tools, engaging appropriately with emerging technologies such as AI, and considering how technology can better support learners and workplace learning.
Green practice helps teachers and mentors translate sustainability into meaningful workplace learning, connecting the green transition with everyday occupations and professional practice.
Inclusive practice addresses the growing diversity of learners, including less visible barriers to participation and ways of providing appropriate support during workplace experiences and international mobility.
These are not three separate transformations. Increasingly, they are simply part of being a VET professional.
Making professional learning more accessible
The STREAM learning environment allows professionals to work through these areas flexibly and connect learning with their own practice. Successful learning can then be recognised through a microcredential.
For us at Rinova, this is important, as microcredentials should never become digital badges looking for something to certify. Their value depends on whether they recognise learning that is relevant, credible and genuinely useful to the person receiving them.
Of course, microcredentials cannot resolve wider pressures around workload, staffing, recognition or working conditions. But the Cedefop findings make a strong case for professional development that is more focused, flexible and closely connected to practice.
Through STREAM, we have moved from researching that possibility to putting it into practice and learning from the VET professionals who are now using it.
The STREAM online training and microcredentials in digital, green and inclusive Work-Based Learning are available in five languages and free of charge: https://www.microcredentialstraining.eu/login/index.php.
STREAM (Supporting Traineeships and Employment Apprenticeship through Micro-Credentials) brings together 14 partners and 4 associated partners across 8 EU countries and is co-funded by the European Union, between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2026. Project reference number: 101132874.
STREAM has been co-funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein