ESSA releases new reports to design and develop learning programmes fit for the software services market needs
Creating and updating curricula and learning programmes for software professionals has just been made easier. ESSA (European Software Skills Alliance) releases 3 reports to guide the design and development of an education & training offering that matches the software services market needs.
ESSA’s new set of reports supports organisations and learning providers in creating or updating their education and training offers according to what is needed on the market[1]. It is also a good piece of news for learners who will be able to find and access relevant and up-to-date learning offerings for the most in-demand software roles.
- The “How to Design Software Professionals’ Curricula” report dives into the conceptualisation and design of well-rounded, flexible curriculum structures to educate future software professionals.
- A Certification Framework for Software Professionals is a 4-aggregation level framework including 190 unit-level, 47 competence-level, and 9 role-level credentials. It draws on the 9 ESSA educational profiles covering 5 software roles — Developer, DevOps expert, Solution designer, Test specialist, and Technical (software) specialist.
- The Accreditation Standards and Criteria for Software Professionals‘ Education are based on general and subject-specific criteria that adhere to European standards like EQAVET[2] and ESG[3]. The accreditation procedure will ensure that learning programmes equip learners with the necessary skills and competence to take up software roles.
Background
We have about 9 million employed ICT specialists in Europe. 11 million additional ICT specialists are still needed to reach the 2030 targets of the Digital Compass (European Commission). Meanwhile, the European software sector is growing and demands more software professionals — 45% of organisations surveyed estimate they will need more Developers in the next five years (2021). ESSA wants to deliver the learning instruments people need to meet this demand for software skills and professionals.
About ESSA
ESSA is a transnational project funded under the Erasmus+ programme to boost software skills in Europe and re-aligning the educational offering with the market demand.
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[1] Europe’s most needed software roles and skills. (2021). European Software Skills Alliance (ESSA).
[2] European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training.
[3] Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). (2015).