Elements of innovation -  SASS is an  innovative product which develops a transparency path to assess “digital-literacy” competences within the European framework DIGCOMP 2.0. It identifies as beneficiaries long-term unemployed, low-skilled adults and as indirect target professional figures working as adult educators and job counsellors. SASS adapts the framework DIGCOMP 2.0. to the upskilling needs of long term unemployed adults, in order to strengthen a specific cluster of the key competences: digital and technological ones, nowadays assumed as preliminary and essential to undertake any working activities typical of those qualifications referenced at EQF level 4. 

 

This path is developed on the basis of skills needs expressed by European enterprises, staring from a participatory project planning, which will be realised through EASW (European Scenario Awareness Workshop) methodology and supported by the adoption of the Job Requirements Approach (JRA) which will enable to steer the discussion and the exchange of expertise towards the topic of digital competences usually operated in those jobs referenced at EQF level 4. The aim of the EASW will be to prioritise on hierarchical basis the importance ( in terms of frequency) of those processes, or sequences of job’s tasks and activities, in which are required digitally-related competences of problem solving, multitasking, implementation, information, etc. This prioritisation, will be specifically focused on technical professions of commerce and services sectors.Those sectors are the same identified as object of the scouting analysis. 

The SASS tool for transparency of the existing competences (that need to be enhanced) will be the direct results of the scouting analysis and its exchange among various stakeholders. The assessment will be available on line and will foster the identification of individual skill gaps, specifically for jobs references at EQF level 4 in commerce and services sectors. According to the assessment’s results, each beneficiaries will get individual instructions on how to access the development programme for the upskilling of digital competences, considered as preliminary for any professional, job-related training.  

 

Expected impact SASS strive for translating the Council Recommendation “on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults“ (2016/C 484/01) into a functional tool that would enable low-skilled adults to transparently identify their own digital and technological competences, acquired also through non formal and informal learning, as well as their potential upskilling needs for lifelong learning. Therefore, it can be said that SASS represents a concrete answer to the very first step envisaged in the Recommendation on the implementations of continuous improvement processes: the assessment.  Such a results will be even more valuable considering that will be achieved through the foundation of the “ASK4JOB” consortium, by engaging both public and private bodies working on education, training and employment fields in 8 different European countries, and will be promoted, disseminated and exploited within the Telecentre-Europe network.

 

SASS will also develop a digital user’s guide - available on line and downloadable – aimed at ensuring a proper and effective exploitation of the tool itself outside the consortium and well beyond the duration of the project at issue.

The “validity” - that is the qualitative relevance of the fields of investigation in the light of their functionality, which basically means the clarity and effectiveness of the assessment’s questions – will be tested by the consortium through feedback questionnaires of satisfactions. The reliability, meant as measurements’ quality and consistency, will be pursued by comparing the national results of the assessments recorded in the different partner’s countries through the “α- Cronbach “ test.

 

The user’s guide for the broad exploitation of the SASS will be disclosed in each partner’s country with the newsletter2, dedicated to the product. To this guide will be attached a feedback questionnaire of satisfaction dedicated to the functionality the SASS system. During the project, the results of the questionnaires could bring to further reviews of the tool itself and its guide, in order to meet the end-users needs and requirements.         

Transferability potential Each partner will uptake SASS in its own institutional activities as assessment tool for low skills adults. This tool - available in EN and all the project’s languages – will be transferable in each European country thanks to the networks of the partners. Furthermore, the user’s guide and the on line platform dedicate to the project will make SASS immediately exploitable by organisation of adult education/training and even by employments services. Particularly effective will be the promotion and disseminated within the Telecentre-Europe network for exploitation purposes.