DigiGuide: Digitising Good Guidance Practice Erasmus Project

Project Title

DigiGuide: Digitising Good Guidance Practice

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) and Career Guidance is critical to the effective functioning of VET. IAG relevance and quality are critical to ensure that pupils, learners and trainees are equipped to manage transitions in the labour market – with strong consequences on VET systems’ commitment to equity and social inclusion. Not only does digitalisation affect the labour market, its impact is felt in provision of all aspects of VET (CEDEFOP, DigitalGap during Covid-19 for VET learners at risk in Europe, 2020).

The Covid-19 crisis has shown that there is no digital inclusion without social inclusion. A generation of VET learners have seen their education and training interrupted – this population could suffer severe disruption of their learning if continuity of VET is not ensured, The crisis has also highlighted that not all learners/service users have equal digital skills – and the same can be said for Guidance practitioners in VET services. There is an urgent need for supporting those involved in education through online training modules on digital skills and e-learning pedagogies’ and a need to develop further the digital competences of educators promoting their continuous professional development (CPD), involving them in future policy design and fostering their wellbeing. Yet, VET practitioners are often resistant to digital change, which impedes progress in digital transition (CEDEFOP, 2020).

The Digiguide project builds upon the innovatory and transnational approach though predecessor projects Guide 2.0 (https://goodguidancestories.org/) and Good Guidance Stories Plus (Guide+), which have been exploring, testing and implementing innovations in the case study learning approach to competence development for improved IAG practice. The main target groups of DigiGuide are, therefore, IAG practitioners, trainers and counsellors in the VET field; VET managers and, in the context of dissemination and wider impacts, policy makers on the regional, National and EU level concerned with VET, employment, IAG and social inclusion policies.

DigiGuide will combine the validated and immediately usable case study method with a new digital dimension; maximising potential for interactive learning, while keeping the high
value of exchange, interaction and identification which have been realised as Guide’s strengths. The work plan leads to the achievement of 3 innovative, interconnected IOs:

IO1 Case Study-based Guidance Learning Resources: a suite of 4 interactive case study-based innovative and practice-led resources that align with the need for the CEDEFOP Guidance competences with particular relevance to innovation in a digital age in IAG in VET practice

IO2 Digital Readiness Syllabus and eLearning programme: to enhance the digital competencies of IAG practitioners, through experiential, blended learning for IAG practitioners available online in a Learning management system (Moodle), aligned to modules underlined by the DigiComp Framework in relation to (i) Communication and Collaboration, (ii) Digital Content Creation and (iii) Information and data literacy (Problem-solving)

IO3 A Self-Directed Learning Guide for Guidance Services Managers for Digital Transformation and Readiness, providing structured learning material and guidelines for Mangers to design and implement digitisation strategies and programmes in their VET organisations and amongst their guidance practitioners

Its methodology centres on three tiers of participant-led development through the direct input and involvement of some 100 IAG practitioners and service managers: First, an online, transnational Community of Practice (CoP) of professional staff from the partnership, operating throughout the project at the strategic level through which content and practice for each of the IOs is developed; second, action learning sets in partner countries, in which IAG practitioners contribute to and validate contents in localised languages and contexts for IO1 and IO2; third, localised task groups of IAG services managers and supervisory staff, informing and validating contents for IO3.

Ultimately, DigiGuide brings together IAG and Digital competence development in VET to:
i) improve, consolidate and expand the digital competences of IAG practitioners, where they can continuously access and benefit from high quality e-learning resources
ii) support VET providers in planning and implementing the needed digital transformation in IAG to better respond to the labour market evolution and societal changes
iii) promote a cultural shift for the IAG sector in VET, where the digital transformation of the labour market can be fully taken onboard in their daily work, allowing a wider and meaningful use of digital resources for staff training, gaining knowledge and relevance on the labour market digital transformation and being able to direct clients towards it.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 275596 Eur

Project Coordinator

BALLYMUN JOB CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED & Country: IE

Project Partners

• 3in – tech (Interactive Interfaces for industry S.L.)
• DIMITRA EDUCATION & CONSULTING SA
• EUROCIRCLE ASSOCIATION
• C.I.O.F.S. FORMAZIONE PROFESSIONALE
• RINOVA LIMITED