As part of the Erasmus+ project, Good e-Guidance Stories (GeGS), the gsub, together with the Berlin Senate Department for Labor, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination (SenASGIVA), organized their Policy Practice Workshop: Policy meets Practice – Changes in Career and Vocational Guidance Services through Digital Transformation, on November 16, 2023, in Berlin.

The event aimed to facilitate a dialogue and exchange between the administrative and practitioner levels of Information, Advice, and Guidance (IAG) services on digitalization services in Berlin.

After Dubravko Gršić and Brigitte Franz welcomed all participants, Christine Richter (Leader of the department for vocational training of the SenASGIVA) gave the opening speech.

In the morning, Dubravko Gršić presented the GeGS project and Silke Kriwoluzky the initial outcomes of the first two field trials, aimed at testing a digital training offer for IAG practitioners. The second trial focused on evaluating the AI-supported digital job placement platform, Jobiri, involving local IAG practitioners. The second trial will conclude by the end of December 2023.

Mareike Sirman-Winkler then presented the findings of her working group at IAB on the “Acceptance of AI applications in public employment services”, which is based on a research project with Dr. Christopher Osiander.

In the afternoon, participants got together in working groups to discuss the status of digitalization in Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services in Berlin, as well as the future development in this area. Key questions included assessing the present status of IAG services concerning digitalization, identifying necessary skills for practitioners in this evolving landscape, recognizing obstacles and opportunities in the digital transformation of IAG services, and envisioning the future of effective IAG services and the prerequisites for their realization. The working groups promoted exchanges between IAG practitioners, administrative staff from the Senate Department, job centres, and the Employment Agency, facilitating the sharing and discussion of mutual needs and requirements.

From the joint discussions, it became clear that practitioners wish for better digital tools that adhere to data protection standards, to outsource certain tasks to AI and therefore have more time in one-on-one consultations with clients. As digitalization and AI tools develop, practitioners need to develop an awareness of AI-generated content and advise their clients regarding its usage in job searches.

With around 40 participants from both the administrative level of the Berlin Senate as well as practitioners from a range of local IAG service providers and strong engagement from all attendees, the event was a great success.