Getting “AI Ready”: The New UNESCO-UNEVOC Guide for TVET Institutions
This week, I had the pleasure of participating in an excellent webinar to mark the launch of a new publication from UNESCO-UNEVOC, titled “Integrating AI in TVET: A practical guide for institutions.” I was fortunate to have been part of the advisory board for the publication, so this launch felt like a significant milestone — seeing a project that many of us contributed to finally reach the wider TVET community. The event itself brought together experts and practitioners from across the globe to discuss the realities of embedding artificial intelligence within technical and vocational education and training. The publication, developed […]
Largest Companies Now Lend More Than They Invest
My blog, the Wales Wide Web, now goes back over twenty years. We have covered many themes around teaching and learning, new qualifications, knowledge building and sharing, and of course, technology. Over the past year, many of the articles have focused on AI and education, syndicated through the AI Pioneers website and newsletter. This entry is also very pertinent to the debates over AI, although coming at something of a tangent. There is much handwringing over the limited number of large, cutting-edge technology companies in Europe, with only one major AI foundation model provider based in France. Some have argued […]
Boosting Skills and Revaluing VET in the AI Era
In late June, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) considered a crucial own-initiative draft report by Dutch MEP Brigitte van den Berg. Titled “Boosting skills in the Union – opportunities for vocational education and training in times of transition,” the report is intended to lay the groundwork for the European Commission’s forthcoming Vocational Education and Training (VET) Strategy, which is scheduled for release this October [1]. While it might seem like standard parliamentary procedure, this report represents a significant signal regarding how Europe intends to navigate the profound economic and technological shifts currently underway, particularly the […]
The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe: Signals from the Parliament, Spain, and Beyond
It is blog time. I have a few interesting things this week. First off is a very interesting signal from the European Parliament: a new Draft Report prepared by rapporteur Brigitte van den Berg on “Boosting Skills in the Union – Opportunities for Vocational Education and Training in Times of Transition” places Vocational Education and Training (VET) at the centre of Europe’s competitiveness agenda. Second is a thought-provoking keynote from Anthony Fisher Camilleri at the EDEN conference, arguing that digital sovereignty in EdTech requires an ecosystem strategy. Finally, we are seeing an interesting widening of the debate on AI readiness […]
The Words We Use for AI in Education Matter
As artificial intelligence continues to permeate education and training, the language we use to describe these systems requires careful scrutiny. Two recent articles highlight how the vocabulary surrounding AI is often misleading, obscuring the realities of the technology and shifting accountability away from its creators. In educational settings, where trust and clarity are paramount, understanding the implications of these words is a critical component of digital literacy. The first piece, a newsletter post by Dr. Sam Illingworth and The Strategic Linguist, argues that the everyday vocabulary of AI misleads by borrowing terms from the human mind. The authors suggest that […]
Why the UK’s Social Media Ban for Under-16s is a Dangerous Distraction
The UK government’s recent announcement of a blanket ban on social media for children under 16 has been framed as a bold move to “give kids their childhood back.” Set to take effect by spring 2027, the policy targets platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and X, proposing to lock young people out of these spaces while introducing further restrictions on infinite scrolling and livestreaming for under-18s [1]. While the instinct to protect young people from digital harms is understandable – particularly for parents who have tragically lost children to online bullying or dangero us viral trends – this blunt approach […]
The Social Shaping of AI: Lessons from the 1990s CAD/CAM Debate
In 1995, I moved jobs from Gwent Tertiary College, a large vocational school in Wales, to take up a post as a researcher at the Institut Technik und Bildung (ITB) at the University of Bremen in Germany. I had never worked in a university before and was excited by the prospect of being a ‘proper’ researcher. More than that, I was deeply impressed by the central tenet of ITB’s work: the social shaping of technology. At that period, there were growing worries in Germany about the impact of new technologies on skilled work, particularly in the engineering industry. Some of […]
Digitally Native or Digitally Naïve? Rethinking Digital Literacy in VET
We often assume that because young people have grown up with smartphones in their hands, they are inherently equipped for the digital demands of the modern workplace. We label them “digital natives” and expect that their fluency with TikTok or Fortnite will naturally translate into proficiency with professional tools and critical thinking online. However, a new report from AQA, titled “Digitally native or digitally naïve?”, challenges this assumption head-on, revealing a complex landscape where high usage of social media masks significant gaps in essential digital skills. For vocational education and training (VET), where preparing students for the realities of the […]
What Vocational Schools Can Learn from UK University AI Policies
For some time, there has been a growing concern that many vocational schools lack a developed, cohesive policy around Artificial Intelligence. While comprehensive survey data specific to the vocational education and training (VET) sector remains scarce, a recent report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) sheds light on how UK universities are navigating this complex landscape. The findings are both revealing and, in some ways, uncomfortable. They offer critical lessons for teachers, trainers, and managers in vocational education as they consider how to integrate AI thoughtfully and effectively into their own institutions — and they resonate closely with work […]
What Europe’s Tech Sovereignty Push Means for Education
I have been writing this blog for over twenty years. One thing I have found is that I am either scraping for things to write about for there. Is a glut of stories waiting to be told. And yes, we are in a glut phase. You might think that something called the European Technological Sovereignty Package is something that could happily be left aside but I think this is one of the most important of the many European legislative initiatives. Anyway, on 3 June 2026, the European Commission published what it is calling the European Technological Sovereignty Package [1]. It […]
