This article details the development of the AI4Citizen pilot, a software suite designed to enhance the School-Work Alternation (SWA) program, which aims to strengthen the partnership between educational institutions and the job market. The SWA program in Italy, involving 1.5 million students, requires significant manual intervention for internship allocation, leading to suboptimal guidance due to limited resources. The AI4Citizen pilot, developed under the H2020 AI4EU project, addresses these challenges by automating SWA processes and introducing tools to facilitate team-based learning and soft skills acquisition.

A key focus of the AI4Citizen pilot is the use of the ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations) ontology. ESCO acts as the basis for matching students' skills with internship requirements. The article emphasizes the importance of overcoming the language barrier in describing skills and competences by leveraging ESCO. The pilot also incorporates a chatbot using SAP Conversational AI to assist students in selecting internships.

Empirical evaluations of the AI4Citizen pilot, including the usability of the chatbot and the team allocation algorithm, demonstrate positive results. The article concludes by outlining the overall architecture of the AI4Citizen pilot, describing its core AI components, and suggesting potential business value. Overall, the AI4Citizen pilot, with its ESCO-based tools, proves effective in automating SWA processes and supporting collaborative learning, providing a promising solution for real-world deployment.

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This article contributes to the broader collection of external ESCO publications, showcasing the use of ESCO within various methodologies or its presentation in both European and International contexts. As ESCO becomes increasingly used in applications and research projects across Europe and beyond, it is valuable to collect such sources and share best practices by diverse stakeholders. Therefore, this collection of external publications strengthens the exchange of knowledge within the ESCO community and can contribute to mutual learning in the field of skills, occupations and qualifications among European and international actors. If you are interested in sharing your publication, please write to EMPL-ESCO-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu