Introductory: the district of Borken 

The Kreis (local administrative district) of Borken is situated in Northrhineland-Westfalia, Germany, on the border with the Netherlands and about fifty kilometers north of the Ruhrgebiet industrial area. The district is undergoing considerable economic change: the traditional textile industry no longer exists, and the middle years of the 1980s were marked by a high level of unemployment which intense restructuring of the local economy. Since then, the district has been characterized by small and medium sized enterprises and by handicraft companies, with almost no larger companies present.

In terms of infrastructure, the road system is not well developed and Deutsche Bahn AG is actually planning to close local railway services. For these reasons, commuting to bigger cities is very difficult.

 The district with its 340.000 inhabitants furthermore expects its population to increase, thanks to a high birth-rate. Nearly a third of the population is under twenty years old.
 

 Economic regeneration: the role of the BBS

Teleworking is not yet a feature of the Borken economy, However, it is seen as playing an increasingly important role in the near future, taking advantage of business process re-engineering by companies. As well as transforming existing jobs, it is also hoped that new teleworked jobs can be created in areas such as network, database and software development. This is turn should create a greater demand for consultancy, information delivery, training and other service jobs in the district.

The role of developing Borken as a what is called a 'regional competence centre for telematics, based on the link between new information and communication technologies and qualifications' is being taken by Berufsbildungsstaette Westmünsterland (BBS). BBS, founded in 1976, is a community-based economic development company with its members drawn from representatives of local government, business and commerce. BBS's members are the district of Borken, the city of Ahaus, the district craft guild, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Münster and the Chamber of Handicraft of Münster.

Borken is a border region, and the growth in cross-border trade and the development of the single European market are seen as making it even more necessary to strengthen the skills and qualifications of the district's human capital resources, its people.

For this reason, one of BBS's main roles has been training related.

The organisation has been concerned to provide vocational training opportunities to young employees and to school-leavers. More recently, BBS has undertaken continuous training for adults, particularly technology-related courses for employees.

Local enterprises are asking for assistance in this area. The economic structural change in the area, coupled with growing investment in new technologies, have led to demands for employees with new qualifications and skills, at a time when the supply of qualified workers has been decreasing. Businesses are therefore increasingly aware of the need for professional and continuous training, but are also often unable to meet the full costs from their own resources.

BBS offers advice and consultancy to firms, develops bespoke training programme and runs in-house training courses. BBS sees close collaboration with local business and a high level of technological expertise and equipment as two important aspects of its overall strategy. Of its total DM 20m annual budget, DM 2m is invested in technological equipment. The company has a scientific committee and a range of professional advisory groups.

The emphasis on vocational training is also reflected in the Regional Development Programme initiative of the Münsterland Conference, whose aims include the development of a strong support network for innovation and technology development and training in the region.
 

Developing the telecommunications infrastructure

BBS is expanding its activities in the area of telecommunications, in recognition of the growing importance of information and communication technologies in business and therefore also in training provision.

The technological infrastructure in the region of Borken is very poor, however. There has been no regional gateway to the Internet, with the nearest providers 60-80 kilometres away. BBS has taken the initiative to build up this infrastructure by establishing a network provider for the region and by offering its own services to businesses over the network.

BBS also intends to build up a regional distant-learning centre, in what is expected to be a decisive step in the modernisation of (continuous) vocational training delivery. An inherent part of these preparations will be work on the redefinition of the contents of the training courses and of job descriptions as a whole. Distant learning using new information and communication technologies is considered to be a potential method of preparation for teleworking by future employees. Contacts for transnational co-operation in this project (France, Switzerland) are already set up.

In January 1997, BBS launched a two-year training commercial and administration course for women returning to work after have had families. The course includes distance learning units (1-2 days a week), when the women study from home using PCs supplied by BBS. The course is designed specifically to include training in telework skills.

These initiatives are considered to have an important role for BBS's own employees as well, in helping them to acquire new competencies in the areas of both technology (e-mail installation, comms technologies etc) and education (design of multimedia learning resources, on-line networking etc).

Besides these two initiatives BBS is taking part in other developments. One pilot project launched in August 1996 has seen two 2Mb datalines installed to carry municipal services and local bank communications. An enlargement of this network to the local and regional businesses is planned, as a way of promoting the importance of these new ways of networking. A connection to a transregional network (Veba-Com-line from Dortmund to Gronau) is under discussion.

Telework development

In November 1996 a first regional meeting on telework took place, held in co-operation with the IUK-Institute. The event provided potential telework employers and employees (among them many women) from small and medium sized enterprises and from the local government administration with more information. The occasion was also used by VEW-Telnet to announce its decision to become a regional network provider for the area.

BBS employs nearly 160 people, working at eight different locations, and also makes use of other part-time workers, assistants and trainers. However the organisation does not currently make much use of telework itself. Two or three members of staff work from home from time to time, on an individual agreement basis. They are supplied with appropriate hardware and software and can connect to BBS's head office from home. The organisation does not have any special telework agreement or regulations to govern this type of occasional teleworking.