Enhanced Quality Assurance in the Financial Training Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhanced Quality Assurance in the Financial Training

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 : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Quality Assurance

Project Summary

CONTEXT
VET aims to create learning outcomes which meet the needs for skills and competences of the labour market demand. Governance processes keeping VET systems up-to-date have been more recently addressed as “feedback mechanisms”.

EU LEVEL: almost all western countries have their own graduate tracking systems which allow them to know the career paths of those who have already completed their studies, but also to shape an education policy that will provide the greatest benefits in the future. Further, the EC launched the “New skills for new jobs” initiative to provide a general framework for the implementation of policy actions in the EU, stressing the need to reinforce the attractiveness of VET (e.g. through ‘A new impetus for EU cooperation in vocational education and training to support the EU 2020 strategy'(EC2010b).
EQAVET one of the instruments (Europass, EQF, ECVET and EQAVET) developed by EC, promotes EU collaboration in developing and improving QA in VET. The EQAVET network started activities with a sectoral approach (2011-2014), which appears to be a very significant strategy to involve the business world into the planning, the development, the evaluation and reviewing of VET; that is to apply the QA cycle to VET provision.

FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR: During the last ten years there have been initiated EU projects specifically in the field of Quality Assurance and EQAVET implementation (EUROBANQUA, QUALOBSTER, QUADULTRAINERS, QUADRO, QUALES) and another project that aimed to integrate in one single instrument EQF, EQAVET & ECVET (TRIPLE E). main results produced are:
a. A customized benchmarking system to implement the Learning Organisation in the FSS
b. An EQAVET Handbook for the FSS;
c. Concrete experience of transferring the 10 QA Guidelines from NL to IT, PT, SK and ES
d. Triple E Standard and Guidelines – an accreditation proposal for institutions seeking recognition of the quality of qualifications they provide
Problems addressed
During the needs and gaps analysis conducted the main problems identified were:
– VET Providers (and financial institutions in general) have limited awareness about EQAVET
– the need to further define the EQARF indicators, make them more usable and relevant for the sectoral market needs
– the need to develop a quality criteria recognised by FSS both nationally and across EU
– the ‘Act’ phase of the PDCA cycle is still considered as the most challenging and difficult to implement
The main consequence is that VET Providers face practical difficulties in implementing EQAVET and thus have limited motivation to invest in this QA approach. This represents also a challenge for the implementation of EQAVET at State level in EU. Quality needs to be assured in all phases of VET — design, teaching, assessment, validation and certification — to ensure that the outcomes are good, for both iVET and cVET.

PROJECT AIM AND OBJECTIVES
EQAFIT aims to support VET Providers, in the FSS, in setting up and enhancing QA systems, with a particular focus on feedback loops between VET Systems as a precondition for continuous improvement of training offer. In particular it will develop an online service for supporting the Quality system, with a particular focus on the ACT phase of the PCDA cycle.
The customized and user-friendly online service developed will integrate tools and guidelines developed in previous EU Projects and newly designed ones and the graduate tracking system.
Partnership:
The project brings together 7 partners from 7 European countries, forming a transnational cooperation partnership with a balanced regional geographical and quality representation of the Erasmus+ Area.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH AND KEY OUTPUTS
Since the very beginning of the project Partners will define sector based quality criteria, will agree upon methodological strategies and approaches for analyzing the existing good practices in the field of EQAVET implementation in VET within FSS. The Consortium will design and launch the project official website. Then, Partners will develop the contents of the Guidelines and Tools for supporting VET Providers in improving and/or setting up Quality Assurance systems. The next step will be the design of the Graduate Tracking System and the integratation of these results in an innovative, customized and accessible Online Service for VET Providers aimed at supporting quality system, with a particular focus on the ACT phase of the PDCA cycle.

IMPACT AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS
– give VET providers concrete instruments and tools for enhancing the quality of their training activity addressed to the FSS;
– support VET providers to align their training programmes with actual learning needs of the specific target group;
– assist national authorities in implementing policies regarding the quality and relevance of VET addressed to the FSS;
– improve the availability of qualitative and quantitative information about what graduates

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 198253 Eur

Project Coordinator

STIFTELSEN KURSVERKSAMHETEN VID U-AUNIVERSITET & Country: SE

Project Partners

• European Banking & Financial Services Training Association
• Finance & Banking, Associazione per lo Sviluppo Organizzativo e delle Risorse Umane
• EKONOMICKA UNIVERZITA V BRATISLAVE
• COLEGIUL ECONOMIC EMANUIL GOJDU HUNEDOARA
• EPISTIMI GIA SENA ASTIKI MI KERDOSKOPIKI ETAIRIA
• Asociacion Española de Asesores y Planificadores Financieros (EFPA España)