Project

First, the Federal Employment Agency commissioned the Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (f-bb) and the Bertelsmann Foundation to develop vocational skills tests and to test their application and usefulness in practice. In this first phase, we won a competition at the Bertelsmann Foundation in Wuppertal with a concept for the technical implementation and delivery of the tests, and since then DIPF has been involved in the project taking various roles.

Following its development, the MYSKILLS test went into practical use at the Federal Employment Agency in phase 2 from 2017 to 2022; since 2020 the test has also been used at the Employment Office of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (ADG). Phase 3 started in spring 2022. Since then DIPF has been testing the use of MYSKILLS with educational institutions in Germany and internationally together with the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Technical Development and Multilingualism of the MYSKILLS Test Platform

During the pilot phase, the DIPF team was responsible for the technical implementation of the MYSKILLS tests. Colleagues from the Centre for Technology-Based Assessment (TBA) worked on the software development. The aim was to offer the tests as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and to ensure that they could be carried out under the same conditions at all locations of the Federal Employment Agency. Specifications such as high availability of the MYSKILLS software with extended uptime had to be met. We at DIPF also learned a lot during this phase. For example, on-call models had to be developed specifically for this project – a rarity in our profession.

»The MYSKILL tests: tasks for 30 professions, available in 12 languages and with innovative features in the application process.«

Our team started by computerising the tasks developed for 30 occupations and had to ensure that the translations of the tests (e.g. into Farsi and Arabic) were displayed correctly. Over time, the number of languages available was increased to a total of twelve. A particularly innovative feature of the technical implementation was the ability for participants to switch back and forth between the different languages during the test. This is particularly useful for people who have lived in different countries or who speak several languages. We also developed a dashboard that allowed the test administrator to follow the test live and intervene if necessary.

Participants testing their professional knowledge in five areas.

The tests were first used by the Federal Employment Agency. Our team developed and optimised the technology to ensure that the tests were always conducted given the same conditions.

»The MYSKILLS tests have been used by training providers since 2022. A new self-learning tool ensures that people can be trained in the system any time.«

In the third phase of the project, which has been running since 2022, the MYSKILLS tests have been used by training providers. Since then, we have been working with the Bertelsmann Foundation to test the extent to which MYSKILLS tests can be offered at educational institutions across Germany – a total of around 2,000 tests were administered in the two years of this pilot phase. We developed the technology to make the system even more stable and flexible. New demands were placed on the system's support: While the computer (systems) at the Federal Employment Agency and therefore the conditions are always the same, the situation at the local training providers varies considerably. Also, the training providers had several new contact persons who had to be familiarised with the system. We therefore developed a self-learning tool so that new staff could learn how to use the testing platform.

Part 3: Results