ESSA publishes new reports to design and develop learning programmes suited to the needs of the software services market
The creation and updating of curricula and learning programmes for software professionals has now been simplified. ESSA (European Software Skills Alliance) publishes 3 reports to guide the design and development of an education and training offer matching the needs of the software services market.
The new set of ESSA reports helps organisations and learning providers to create or update their education and training offers according to market needs [1]. It is also good news for students who will be able to find and access relevant and up-to-date learning offers for the most popular software roles.
- The report “How to design curricula for software professionals” is immersed in the conceptualisation and design of complete and flexible curricular structures to educate future software professionals.
- A certification framework for software professionals is a 4-level aggregation framework that includes 190 unit level credentials, 47 proficiency level credentials and 9 function level credentials. It is based on the 9 educational profiles of ESSA covering 5 software roles: developer, DevOps expert, solution designer, test specialist and technical specialist (software).
- TheSoftware Statements and Accreditation Criteria for Training of Professionals are based on general and specific criteria that adhere to European standards such as EQAVET [2] and ESG [3]. The accreditation procedure shall ensure that learning programmes equip learners with the necessary skills and competences to take on software roles.
Background
We have around 9 million ICT specialists employed in Europe. An additional 11 million ICT specialists are still needed to achieve the 2030 targets of the Digital Compass (European Commission). Meanwhile, the European software sector is growing and more professional demand for software: 45 % of the surveyed organisations estimate that they will need more developers in the next five years (2021). ESSA wants to provide the learning tools that people need to meet this demand for professionals and software skills.
About ESSA
ESSA is a transnational project funded by the Erasmus + programme to boost software skills in Europe and re-align educational supply with market demand.
[1] Europe’s most needed software functions 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).
