EPALE Community: Share your successful projects on workplace adult learning

The project started on November 12th and placements has started. Students are excited as they have the opportunity to work in companies abroad enjoying not only the training part of the project but the total way of life abroad. Cyprus is a privileged target country for greek students as it is a place where they can be adopted easily. 

We have planned very promising placements in dynamic and innovative companies in various sectors in Cyprus. We cooperate with big contractors in construction sector that flourishes in Cyprus such A. Eracleous LTD and other smaller companies in other sectors but very willing to aceept students and give them a job offer after the end of the project. One of the goals of this project is to make students get the maximum of the competences they can and receive a job offer after the emd of the project. 

At the mpment we have moved 8 students:

two electrical installation

two Nurse assistant 

two car mechanics

two IT 

we wish that they will doi their best to be adopted well in the cypriot working enbvironment and they will manage to get a promising professional development

The project 2019-1-EL01-KA116-062304 awarded to 1st Epagelmatiko Lykeio Kato Achaias is a very ambitious project that has planned 4 longterm mobilities. Two in Barcelona Spain, for two students of mechanic sector who will work in companies which install refrigiration systems at houses and industries. The other two students of electrical installations students will work in Limassol, Cyprus in big construction projects. These long term mobilities has been planned for over a year before in close cooperation with the companies and the hosting partners in Spain and Cyprus as well, M&M and Shipcon Limassoi LtD respectively. 

The students started their mobilities on November  12th and we wish they will enjoy their participation in the project and they will have a great impact on their personal and professional development.

We wish that the collaboration with dynamic and innovative companies will lead to a total reformation of the participants professional profile and wil offer them opportunities to work in the target countries, Spain and Cyprus. To choose the target countries we took in consideration the labour market condition and the working staff demand. The two countries have intensive labour demand and the students have already received offers to continue work there after the end of the project. 

Longterm mobilities can help participants and hosting companies to know each other to a high level and develop a well documented collaboration. 

We wish that the results of the project will be fine and will meet our expectations offering a good working environment for our students.

We want to take advantage of long term mobilities to create an ecosystem of international job offer for the qualified students of our school.

Hello all,

my name is Donald Vogli and i am Ambassador of EPALE NSS in Albania. I want to thank you for this discussion because it is really needed.

Strengthening learning through work (WBL), to increase connectivity with the labor market and quality of vocational education and training (VET), in line with the reforms underway in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia is the main objective of the project with business ”(STB).

This project, run by KulturKontakt Austria in co-operation with the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research in Austria, funded by the latter, is being implemented in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia in co-operation with the ministries and agencies responsible for VET.

The STB project supports the quality and importance of the labor market in vocational education and training through the strengthening of Work-Based Learning as one of the priority reforms in the three countries.

We have had also another project called Apprenticeship schemes for Youth Employ ability in Albania (ERASMUS + project). In this project school met business. Our students went into the business and made their practical. Some of the students in the end of the project were employed from the business.

It is very interesting to learn about different projects , but it would be interesting to learn - how do we guarantee the sustainability of the activities that  have been started during the project. It happens quite often - the project ends and there is no following activities.

As a result of the project, the professional work of the partner organizations can be renewed, the individual and organizational competences developed in the project can contribute to more adults taking part in training courses offering qualifications that meet the needs of the labour market by developing their key competences. 

Muskuloskeletal disorders show high prevalence in caregivers and are related to the performance of patient handling techniques. 

The app has an e-book with all evidence-based information: anatomy and function, general ergonomics, biomechanics, general causes of back pain, pathology and dysfunction, pain education, postures, natural movements and care tasks. The book serves as an theoretical framework and is used in education. 

The app guides you to assess a patients mobility with the valid Banner Mobility Assessment Tool and helps you choose a patient handling technique. 

Several 3D animations present basic postures and  movements where you can have a close look in how to perform. You can rewind the animation, have a closer look to the position of the foot and practice along. 

Several basic caretasks have been animated per patients mobility. 

Our app is illustrated with 3D avatars: Nina (caregiver) and Jacob (patient).

Fully accessible in English, Dutch, Spanish, Hongarian and soon in French through our website: eulift-app.com or in the Android and Apple stores  -   For Free. 

The project Eulift was funded with Eramus+ KA2. 

If you are willing to achieve your learning goals than use our coachbot Anna and she will help you to create your individual learning plan and help to curate necessary content from major online course providers.

We are still developing our MVP and if you are willing to get a test drive, please write us: anna@openschool.lv

Work-based learning has represented a real challenge for the project PRODOME (PROfessionalising DOMestic housekeepers in Europe,a SSA Erasmus+ project recently finished, in October 2019).

Domestic housekeepers work at the private household of their employers. Unlike a company, where training activities are routine, households are not used to train a trainee. In addition, this special workplace has additional requirements in terms of privacy and its inviolability is recognised in several EU member states.

The solutions adopted for the work-based learning planned in the training programme developed by this project are different according to the context of each country. In Italy, after a contact with the relevant legal authorities, internship within a family was authorised and a few families welcomed several students. In Spain, other solutions where prioritised, such as similar workplaces: laundries, professional kitchens, schools and retirement homes.

In case other countries will be interested to test PRODOME training, adjustments will be required to meet the legal and socio-economic conditions, so new opportunities and solutions could be identified.

For more information, do not hesitate to visit the project website and download the deliverables, such as the training kit: https://www.prodome.eu/en/the-results/.

The National Agency at BIBB has published a booklet with 10 good practice projects from Erasmus + Strategic Partnerships Vocational Training. Work-based learning is playing a particularly important role in  Strategic Partnerships. The main emphasis here is on finding innovative approaches and procedures to promote this method. This brochure provides an overview of good practice examples. It looks at the cooperation that takes place within the field of company-based training between vocational schools, companies, institutes of higher education and the social partners as well as addressing the topics of future skills requirements and the integration of entrepreneurial thinking into curricula. Other examples illustrate the necessity of supporting companies in the creation of training places, improving the quality of vocational guidance and enhancing the qualification of VET staff. 

The brochure is bilingual in German and English. 

Have a quick view on the content: 

Preface 

Work-based Learning European cooperation in educational programmes 

Good Practice 

• Promoting talent – strengthening the entrepreneurial spirit amongst young people 

• Painting Skills – transparent vocational qualifications for painting companies in the craft trades sector 

• Focus on practice – training for the modern world of work 

• The Hamburg Model – support for disadvantaged young people 

• Level up! – strengthening training for trainers in Europe 

• Soufflearning – individual in-house training for companies 

• StartApp – successfully finding trainees and retaining them as skilled workers 

• TrainCom – practice related training as a challenge for Europe 

• In demand – learning at the transition from school to working life 

• Experience meets innovation– how the young and old can achieve success together 

To the brochure: https://www.na-bibb.de/service/publikationen/publikationsdetails/wk/anz…

The project Campus Basisbildung offers contents especially for individuals, who have very low literacy and maths skill. Five Austrian associations (Kunstlabor uniT Graz, VHS Floridsdorf Wien, Isop Graz, BILL Linz, Agenda Salzburg) are therefore developing a modular and competence-oriented model in which different contents are offered in six different modules. In Blended Learning mode 60 presence and self-acting e-learning units shall make it possible to eliminate individual difficulties the participants have. Kunstlabor uniT is therefore working on a module for nursing staff focusing nursing documentation. In the work with the participants, in a first step there will be worked on the learning goals for the module, focusing the needs and challenges of the participants in daily working life. In a second step, the participants can choose how they want to learn (different methods, in the course – at home, in groups – alone, …), what they want to learn (different offers, exercises) and in which intensity. Very important for basic education in general and in particular for this project is, that participants learn how to learn. Taking responsibility for learning means acknowledging that both, learner and lecturer, are responsible for the learning outcomes. The realization of the different modules will start in early 2020. Further Information about the ongoing project: https://www.kunstlabor-graz.at/projekte/projekt_detail?projekt_id=15674…

 further to the collection of projects by the Network of work-based learning and apprenticeship recommended by Ida Karner I’d like to add four other good online sources on WBL/apprenticeships. 

1. The apprenticeship toolbox started as an Erasmus project by the national VET authorities from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg and Switzerland. It offers an easy to navigate platform where you find detailed information about the countries’ apprenticeship systems in a comparative way. 

2. The national agencies responsible for international development aid of Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland founded the so-called Donor Committee for dual Vocational Education and Training – DC dVET. They have published a series of very good guiding documents on how to build up apprenticeships and also maintain a database with reference documents 

3. The International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship, short INAP, is an association of researchers which since 2006 holds a bi-annual international conference and publishes its conference proceedings in a book series. The last one was in March this year and the book is already out. 

4. And last but not least Cedefop’s database on apprenticeships. 

It’s all easy to google with the key word/titles provided above.

Cheers, 

Jörg  

Thematic monitoring by the Erasmus+ Education National Agency in Austria

The development and improvement of personal and professional skills are a central goal of the Erasmus+ programme. Training and continuing education create opportunities to encourage learning in the immediate work environment. The Erasmus+ programme provides the framework for developing and implementing innovative projects at a European level.

In the ‘Work-based Learning & Apprenticeships’ network, 29 European educational agencies selected ten Austrian projects on the topic of “work-based learning” from over 350 projects from around Europe. The innovative capacity of the education institutions in Austria is reflected in the results presented in a brochure.

What do technically oriented companies look for when selecting potential future employees (soft skills, technical interest, good grades)? How does digital learning work in the workplace with the support of videos? Which methods are used by education and career counselors in their everyday context and are still continued to be used? Such and similar questions were considered in the selection of best practice projects by the 29 National Agencies.

The brochure has already been published on EPALE.

Further information on the initial Work-based Learning Netzwork:

Work-based learning TOOLKIT: ≥ www.wbl-toolkit.eu

Projektwebseite Thematisches Netzwerk Work-based learning & Apprenticeships: ≥ www.net-wbl.eu

Andrew (Moderator)

Within the framework of our public funding by the state of berlin, we are currently making good experiences with the "social blended learning" approach. This involves looking for a question, problem or challenge in the context of one's own work and solving it together with others (including people from outside the company) with the help of social software. In a way, a "Learning Out Loud" across company boundaries. 

We work with trainees, i.e. a rather young target group, as well as with employees or managers. The results have so far been very positive, regardless of the target group. 

Here you can find a short video about one of the projects: https://youtu.be/7jKr7u1rkRU (subtitles can now be generated automatically in almost any language on youtube under Settings)

As a part of the Erasmus+ project entitled "Le@rn to Te@ch" two teachers from my school - IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Mikołaja Kopernika in Rybnik went from 14th to 25th October to the Sicilian school in Bronte, located at the foot of Mount Etna. In the presence of teachers from our partner school, they conducted lessons related to the topic of cultural heritage. While working there, they shared their knowledge, but also, which was extremely valuable, they obtained a lot of information from local students and teachers about the cultural heritage of Italy. Sicilian youth watched the presentation about the cultural heritage of Poland with great interest. Particularly, they were interested in the objects from the UNESCO list - the city of Krakow, the salt mine in Wieliczka, the bison reserve in Białowieża, the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Several students were in Poland so they were happy to share their impressions from their stay. Conducting lessons at a foreign school gave them the opportunity to improve language skills and, above all, to practice English. They also had the chance to observe the daily lives of local students and teachers. The time spent there gave them the opportunity to take a different look at the functioning of our school and the Polish educational system. They came back richer with new experiences. The trip was an opportunity to check and improve their own competences - not only language ones but also social ones. They can adopt to new situations and can be more open to any educational backgroud. They made new contacts, exchanged experiences with teachers from the school in Bronte, broadened their horizons, tasted foreign culture and visited many beautiful places. With full conviction, they will promote the idea of collaborative learning among students and teachers.

I hope I will come back here with some learning scenarios and our eTwinning page soon. Maybe there will be a chance to share them with ePale community. 

The partners are:

Toll-net (Belgium) - coordinator

12Change (The Netherlands)

Learning Apps (United Kingdom)

Norsk Nettskole (Norway)

During the project we worked on 4 main products (outputs):