Engaging Small and Medium Sized Companies in Cooperation and New Forms of Learning

Small and medium sized companies (SMEs) represent the backbone of the European economy. SMEs were not prepared for the consequences of Covid-19 and the national lockdowns caused by it. Many aspects within SMEs were affected by the crisis: Rapidly, good solutions for work and learning therefore have to be found. E-Learning through its flexibility and ease of access is seen also as an enabler of lifelong learning with its potential to transform how and when employees learn, and to act as a catalyst of change and integration. SMEs need to find new ways of cooperation, for example technology-enabled Communities of Practice (CoP). Another form of cooperation are crossing sectors, especially between SMEs, research and higher education institutions, but this form needs to be improved. To be able to survive the pandemic, be innovative and play an important role. , SMEs have to tackle change and develop their learning processes on a far-reaching scale. This paper takes a closer look at the situation of European SMEs and presents findings from recent European projects identifying the ongoing problems in the adoption of digital forms of learning and methods like problem-based learning. Covid-19 should not be a barrier for SMEs to increase sales because the SMEs actors can promote their business through digital marketing. This paper will try to answer questions like: How do SMEs utilize digital methods for business, learning, reskilling the workforce for digital marketing? Which kind of cooperation should help in this context? The answer is based on literature research and the work of the authors within national and European projects.