Social care and nursery students are eager to learn new digital technologies but unprepared using these from the point of view of employers, study finds.

“There is a mismatch between the eagerness of students, teachers’ skills, equipment at vocational colleges and workplace expectations,” said Virpi Kaasinen from Kainuu Vocational College, Finland. “Vocational colleges teaching nursing and care have a field of work to do in preparing future staff who is has both basic skills and attitudes to start using new gadgets and solutions.”
Study of wellness technology teaching and usage was conducted by DigiCareVET project consortium in February. Total 364 respondents answered online survey.

From the perspective of vocational colleges there is a need of both training of teachers and better solutions of how the equipment is maintained. “Just buying new things is not enough. There must be a system of mentoring, charging, maintenance,” said Kaasinen, herself responsible for teaching care students.

Survey gives detailed overview of the current situation of wellness technology in five partner colleges, students opinions, teachers skill gaps and staff and employer expectations from the care institutions.

Erasmus+ project DigiCareVET aims to bridge tech to care and cultivate digital mindset in care education.

The survey results will be used as a foundation for the next phases of the DigiCareVET project: guiding the development of teacher training materials, practical learning scenarios, and recommendations for vocational colleges.

Based on the findings, the project will focus on strengthening teachers’ digital competence, improving the integration and maintenance of wellness technology in learning environments, and aligning vocational education more closely with workplace expectations. These actions aim to support vocational institutions in systematically embedding digital and wellness technologies into care education.

Check out more infographics and download the whole surveylink opens on new page