E-Washboard, from the EU-Funded project "Educate!" goes online.

Many of you are already well of aware of ETSA's role in the EU funded project "Educate!", which prioritizes upskilling and educating workers in the textile care industry through an interactive digital learning platform.  ETSA has been working in this project since 2018 together with our colleagues from  HeurekaNet, the Belgian Textile Federation, the German Textile Cleaning Association, the Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Association of the Czech Republic and the Swedish Textile Service Association. We had the pleasure of meeting them in person last week at the very successful transnational partners meeting in Berlin.

This project has been financially supported by funding from the EU's ERASMUS+ programme. Presently, after all this careful planning, the multilingual platform "E-WASHBOARD" is now online. Those unfamiliar with the textile care industry can use the courses to learn more about the processes and requirements at various segments of the textile value chain. A total of 18 learning modules are available. In addition to industry-specific courses on machine loading or finishing, there are also  learning modules for communication and personal health included. Further qualification levels and courses are in the works and are being developed for future use.

Speaking on the success of this mobile, interactive learning application, the deputy managing of the German Textile Cleaning Association who is also the Educate! project  manager, Daniel Dalkowski said: "We are very pleased that there will is this learning tool available for lower skilled workers, this application will help bring the industry into the future with this fun app that fits in your pocket, that can be used by everyone."

So how does the E-Washboard work?

Educational content is conveyed through videos and infographics. In short video clips, employees explain the various facets of a particular task, and what variables need to be observed at a given workstation. These are supplemented with interactive quizzes and multiple choice questions in order to stimulate and engage the user.

The development of these learning modules was a long process, which involved analyzing the different requirements for employees in the textile care industry and defining a competence framework. Additionally, numerous interviews were conducted with industry experts, as well as company owners, suppliers, vocational teachers and other relevant actors. While modules have now been completed, the E-Washboard app will continue to be developed with more complex content being adding in future on the platform.

While the next steps are still being considered, the app is live and ready to help educate workers in the textile care sector. Content is available in German, English, French, Dutch and Czech, you can find the QR codes below to download the apps in Google Play (right) or the Apple iOS (left) store.