Skills Enhancement on the Move: Digital Pathways in Higher Vocational Education (MovingSkils)

This project is about digital education at higher vocational education level. MovingSkills is a collaboration with Nord University and the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project is about how expanded access to further education at higher vocational education can provide opportunities for skills development.

Higher vocational schools play an important role in providing education and knowledge that companies need, and in recent years there has been significant growth in both the number of higher vocational school students and distance education opportunities.

This way of learning enables students to develop skills from home, and employers can further train their employees while they continue working. The possibility of enhancing vocational skills from home makes education more accessible, as work and family obligations make it difficult for many to move for education.

Yet little is known about how higher vocational education via distance education impacts access to education, skills development and migration patterns. In this research project, we examine how distance education changes the opportunities for development of practical skills within health and technical subjects, which are the largest education areas at higher vocational school level.

We explore how practical education is provided by looking at student learning experiences online, higher vocational schools’ and teachers’ solutions for conveying practical knowledge, and employers’ assessments of the quality of higher vocational education via distance education.

This will provide insights into how the opportunities to take higher vocational education regardless of location change the opportunities for skills development and can help ensure a skilled and relevant workforce in the future. The project runs from 2026 to 2030.