Educating (future) software professionals across Europe
In 2023, the European Software Skills Alliance (ESSA) entered a new phase. Having moved from conceptualisation and design, we developed learning materials and programmes to equip individuals with the skills needed to thrive in the software services sector.
ESSA learning programmes
The work on the ESSA learning programmes began in 2021 with the identification of the most in-demand skills to succeed in software roles (have a look at our Needs Analysis Report). Then, in 2022 we released 9 educational profiles (from EQF 4/5 to EQF 7). With these foundations, in the beginning of 2023 we published a set of tools for software educators, including curricula guidelines that can support learning providers to easily adapt their educational offering to the market needs.
In 2023, we kick-started the piloting of our learning programmes. So far, 6 pilot programmes were completed in Estonia, Italy and Slovenia. 9 pilot programmes are currently ongoing in the Netherlands, France, Greece, and Poland. And we are not stopping here… the Associated Partners of the Alliance to have the opportunity to pilot either full programmes or their smaller parts (if you are interested, read more on soft piloting).
In the spirit of the European Year of Skills, our journey continues towards empowering and transforming the skills landscape. Starting from December 2023, the ESSA Alliance proudly joined the Pact for Skills community, uniting with a shared mission to catalyze a collective drive for substantial investments in enhancing and reshaping the skills of Europe’s workforce.
A glimpse into 2024…
In 2024, we will launch ESSA Learn – an open online platform gathering our learning material developed around five profiles, based on the European e-Competence framework:
- Technical Software Specialist
- Test Specialist
- Developer
- Solution Designer
- DevOps Engineer.
We will also publish the ESSA Train-the-Trainer programme, crafted to seamlessly facilitate the alignment of trainers with the expertise, methodology, goals, educational outcomes, and resources necessary for effectively delivering the ESSA learning programmes.
Since the beginning of the project, we have been committed to our mission of skilling, upskilling, and reskilling individuals into professional software roles in Europe. Do you want to be part of this transformative journey and contribute to shaping the future of software skills development? You can elevate your impact by joining ESSA as an Associated Partner.
Last but not least – don’t forget to join the ESSA Community of Practice. It will help you connect with the project partners and experts in the field of digital skills, education and training, and tech.