Bridging the gap of in-company trainers soft-skills competences in the VET sector Erasmus Project

Project Title

Bridging the gap of in-company trainers soft-skills competences in the VET sector

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: Cooperation between educational institutions and business; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

In the context of Europe 2020 – the EU’s growth strategy for the current decade investment in education is a priority field and specifically Erasmus+ represents a large support for the mobility of Europeans. One of the main aims of the European Union is to ensure a quality frameworks, tools and practices and to enhance the transparency, recognition and quality of competences and qualifications, supporting the mobility of learners and workers at all education levels but with a particular focus on VET.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are important players in VET and lifelong learning and need targeted support. Support measures should help SMEs to overcome external and internal barriers and compensate for the limited capacity of SMEs to identify and respond to their learning needs, where competence development of those who train others in the workplace can be part”. (Guiding principles on professional development of trainers in vocational education and training, European Commission)
According to CEDEFOP Briefing Note “Professional development for VET teachers and trainers” from 2016 teachers and trainers are „crucial to ensuring the quality and labour market relevance of learning, both in VET schools/ centres and in companies…. Providing teachers and trainers with access to quality professional development and support is essential to ensuring that both their technical competences and pedagogical skills are up to the highest standards.”
The project is relevant to the aforementioned issues and its goals will be focused on the educational needs of VET mentors and trainers in SMEs providing work placements for VET learners with regard to boosting their soft skills and thus ensure effective knowledge transfer.
The specific goals of the SoftComInVET project proposal are as follows:
1. To provide these mentors with appropriate competencies and tools to monitor and manage their soft skills performance.
The project will accomplish this objective through the development of IO1- SoftComInVET soft skills self-reflection instrument for in-company trainers in SMEs, providing mobility placements.
2. To meet mentors needs of soft skills development for guaranteeing their professional welfare.
The project will accomplish this objective through the development of IO2- SoftComInVET Enhancing Manual for in-company trainers in SMEs, providing mobility placements.
3. To promote the exchange of good practices and to facilitate the effective collaboration between institutions, providing work placements for VET learners, on translational level.
The project will accomplish this objective through the development of IO3- SoftComInVET best practices compendium, presenting in-company trainers good practices in SMEs, providing mobility placements.
The project aims to involve the following TGs:
• VET mentors in SMEs
• SMEs providing work placements to VET learners, VET intermediary organisations
TRANSNATIONAL ADDED VALUE
The international cooperation will enable taking advantage of institutional complementarities; ensure broad dissemination of project results and will reach much larger representation of the target group thus multiplying the impact of the project in geographical perspective.
The language diversity of the IOs will allow easy transfer to other countries and usability for people fluent in some of the partner languages. The wide geographical scope will ensure EU dimension of the project and that various cultural perspectives are considered in the IOs development.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 215285 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASSOCIACAO INTERCULTURAL AMIGOS DA MOBILIDADE & Country: PT

Project Partners

• M&M Profuture Training, S.L.
• EUROPEAN CENTER FOR QUALITY OOD
• Innovation Frontiers IKE
• Promimpresa Società Benefit S.R.L.