Deepening WBL Impact & womeN empowerment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Deepening WBL Impact & womeN empowerment

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Cooperation between educational institutions and business

Project Summary

Recent studies carried out by the European Training Foundation (ETF) and Cedefop point out that WBL provides important benefits, by increasing employability and smoother school to work transition, by reducing skill shortages and gaps, and by reducing youth unemployment, increasing entrepreneurship and innovation, and fostering social inclusion.

But we have to bear in mind that WBL in formal VET is a broad concept with different interpretations in different Member States and different stages of development. The study “Teachers and trainers in work-based learning/apprenticehips. Mapping of models and practices” (Final report. Request for Services VT/2015/075 In the Context of EAC-47-2014-4) found 56 profiles across the EU that were active in work-based learning: 30 profiles refer to teaching professionals in VET institutions (VET teachers, tutors, and trainers) and another 26 profiles exist for trainers in companies, labour market training institutions and employers’ organisations. There is also fragmented information on the diversity of types of teachers and trainers active in WBL (such as titles, functions and roles), their working contexts, their employment status, how they are initially trained, their teacher/trainer qualification, how they entered the profession, and how they professionally develop themselves during their career.

At the same time, as work-based learning is becoming more and more prominent in VET in Europe, more emphasis is placed on the cooperation and continuous dialogue between different learning venues, but this cooperation is differently organised and is highly dependent on the tradition in the country. For instance, cooperation between VET institutions and companies is required by law in Germany and Austria, while in Spain and Greece is required by sectoral or institutional arrangements and is defined on a case-by-case basis in Italy. Furthermore, there is no regulation on how cooperation is implemented.

The Riga Conclusions stress that there is an increased need to promote work-based learning in all its forms (apprenticeship included) by involving social partners, companies, chambers and VET providers, as well as by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship. That is why we proposed a partnership composed of 2 chambers of commerce, 1 public administration in the education field, 3 VET schools, 1 association, 1 NGO, and 2 companies from 6 European Union countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Greece) and Turkey.

The main goal of the project was fostering a closer engagement in WBL by promoting a better understanding of:

• The role of the different professionals involved in the implementation of the WBL
• The practices implemented to strengthen cooperation between teachers and trainers to improve the quality of VET, its responsiveness to the labour market needs, and ensuring learners high-quality learning experiences
• The practices implemented to empower women in WBL

Our target groups have been:

– Teaching and training professionals involved or willing to be involved in WBL schemes
– Businessmen/women involved or willing to be involved in WBL schemes
– Business organizations involved or willing to be involved in WBL schemes
– VET providers involved or willing to be involved in WBL schemes
– Social partners involved or willing to be involved in WBL schemes
– Education policymakers

The main project deliverables achieved by the partnership, as planned in the project proposal, have been:

1. Inventory on job profiles of professionals in WBL
2. Inventory on legal frameworks regulating professionals in WBL
3. Inventory on successful cooperation structures between teachers and trainers.
4. Inventory on successful experiences to boost participation of women in WBL
5. Guide on new cooperation paths
6. Final e-publication
7. An e-platform for experience exchange amongst stakeholders.

All publishable data generated within the project have been treated as Open Educational Resources, offering the possibility to be downloaded and printed free-of-charge. Any user who wishes to download, copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly is entitled to do so, provided that it bears the proper attribution of authorship according to community standards. In detail, the project has made publicly-funded scientific data and inherent research available online, free-of-charge, to European citizens in general and to trainers, industries and policy-makers, while ensuring its long-term preservation.

Concerning the impact, the partnership firmly believes that the project has contributed to:

– Develop co-operation among all partner countries involved in the partnership.
– Take into account the project products in EU countries other than the countries of the partner organizations.
– Support Riga Conclusions.
– Improve and extend WBL schemes.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 99137,61 Eur

Project Coordinator

CAMARA OFICIAL DE COMERCIO E INDUSTRIA DE ZARAGOZA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• abif – wissenschaftliche Vereinigung für Analyse, Beratung und interdisziplinäre Forschung
• Gestión Estratégica e Innovación SL
• INSTITOUTO ANAPTIXIS EPICHEIRIMATIKOTITAS ASTIKI ETAIREIA
• EPRALIMA – ESCOLA PROFISSIONAL DOALTO LIMA – COOPERATIVA DE INTERESSE PUBLICO E RESPONSABILIDADE LIMITADA
• IHK- PROJEKTGESELLSCHAFT MBH
• INSTITUTO INTER, SL
• Kahramanmaras Il Milli Egitim Mudurlugu