Centre for Deficit Occupations with Virtual Reality – CDO-VR

The project is part of the cross-border cooperation programme Interreg Slovenia-Austria 2021–2027 (IP SI-AT) and addresses deficit occupations as a common challenge of the programme area.

Deficit occupations are largely the same in Slovenia and Austria and employers are faced with the same problems of a shortage of adequately trained and motivated personnel who are willing to take these jobs.

Project aims and objectives

With this project we aim to generate interest among young people and the unemployed, particularly in rural areas, who are in the process of deciding on or changing their career paths. Taking an active collaborative approach that includes the use of virtual reality, we hope to get them interested in occupations that are considered deficit occupations in both Slovenia and Austria. This will involve testing specific skills in deficit occupations using VR headsets.

At the same time, we hope that this youth-friendly approach that is specifically tailored to young people will help raise the profile of deficit occupations in the electrical engineering, metalworking, construction, ICT, care and hospitality sectors, boosting their social role and standing, and in this way improve the situation in the labour market.
 

Expected results of the project

• a joint report on deficit occupations and associated gender inequalities in Slovenia and Austria,
• an established joint VR/AR tool (for the research of deficit occupations and testing in them with the help of virtual and/or augmented reality),
• a developed joint strategy with mutually agreed solutions for a training and counselling scheme both in primary schools and among the unemployed/jobseekers,
• a joint evaluation report,
• the opening of a VR/AR centre in both locations in Slovenia and Austria.
   

Project partners

The lead partner of the Slovene-Austrian consortium is Ljudska Univerza Ptuj. 

Other partners:

• from Slovenia
  • Art Rebel 9 d.o.o.
  • ​Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) – Ptuj Regional Office
     
• from Austria
  • ISOP – Innovative Sozialprojekte
  • NOWA – Training Beratung Projektmanagement
     

Duration of project

 From 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2026.
 

Project funding

The project is part of the cross-border cooperation programme Interreg Slovenia-Austria 2021–2027 (IP SI-AT), which is 80% co-funded from the European Regional Development Fund – ERDF.

Value of project for the ESS: EUR 106,370.88.