Workshops are about exchanging knowledge. They are about interacting with individuals who share the same interest in the advancement of an idea. Accordingly, the usability workshop conducted by the University of Alcalá aimed at the progression of an idea, the idea of the e-Skills Match platform.

A platform that will be dynamically adapted to changes occurring in the job labor market classifications. It will support training for acquiring the necessary e-Skills and digital competences to access the desirable jobs within the ICT sector. This means that the aforementioned platform will fill the gap of the lack of interoperability of career websites in Europe.

Specifically, on the 16th of February ICT professionals took part in the usability workshop of the e-Skills Match Platform conducted by the University of Alcalá. The workshop’s goal was to test how users interact with the platform.

The workshop was divided in three stages. During the first stage the ICT professionals were presented with general information concerning the platform’s aims and goals. Moreover, the main tools of the platform were also introduced to them so as to create a clear image of how the platform functions.

After the introductory stage, the ICT professionals proceeded to the use of the self-assessment tool. The assessment tool is one of the main features of the platform, a five section questionnaire form which consist of statements concerning the level of the user’s digital competency in a variety of ICT sectors. By the completion of the self-assessment the users were presented with their results and they got the chance to interact with the rest of the platform’s tools such as the e-Portfolio.

The final stage of the workshop revolved around the user experience. That’s when the ICT professionals rated the platform, described their experience and commented on features that may need improvement and offered their insights and suggestions.

To sum up, the workshop was a success since the fruitful interaction with the ICT professionals helps us realize how to improve the e-Skills Match Platform. A platform which we hope will make the complicated process of acquiring targeted digital competences easier!