Development of Soft Skills through Apprenticeships Erasmus Project

Project Title

Development of Soft Skills through Apprenticeships

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Cooperation between educational institutions and business

Project Summary

In recent years there has been a notable shift in the skills required by employees by privileging soft skills over hard skills. Soft skills are currently described as some of the most important core competences, which represent a dynamic combination of cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, interpersonal, intellectual, emotional and practical skills and which can be applied across employment contexts.

EU (2016) classifies soft skills as ‘Key competences for lifelong learning’. Nevertheless, there is no defining list of soft skills, but one can find common elements, which is that soft skills are divided into three main groups:
a) Personal skills, i.e. Learning skills, Tolerance to stress, Professional ethics, Self-awareness, Commitment, Life balance, Creativity/Innovation
b) Social skills, i.e. Communication, Teamwork, Contact network, Negotiation, Conflict Management, Leadership, Culture Adaptability
c) Content-reliant/Methodological skills, i.e. Customer/User orientation, Continuous improvement, Adaptability to change, Results orientation, Analytical skills, Decision making, Management skills, Research and info management (Cinque, 2016).

The optimum method to approach students and provide them the chance to develop the soft skills needed at work is work-based learning and apprenticeship. The work-based learning and apprenticeships, in fact, offer the shift from transmission models of teaching –learning about- to experiential learning -learning for- and provide the opportunity to integrate hands-on experiences with theory.

Different forms of work-based learning have been implemented in Europe and currently provide apprenticeships for 2/3 of young people. However, apprenticeships are focused on the specific vocational skills, required in the specialisation and not on the acquisition of soft skills.

Filling this gap, the DESSA project aims to develop an apprenticeship scheme for the acquisition of soft skills by students in upper secondary and higher vocational education and training.

The specific objectives of the project are:
-To organise focus groups in order to identify and focus on specific soft skills that best address the needs of the project’s stakeholders.
-To map best practices and methodologies applied for the development of soft skills in VET apprenticeship education in partner countries.
-To develop an apprenticeship scheme for the acquisition of soft skills and competences by upper secondary and higher VET students.
-To apply gamification elements in the apprenticeship scheme
-To develop a trainers’ guide addressed to trainers in VET schools and companies that will apply the apprenticeship scheme and will design, support and evaluate the apprenticeship programme.
-To organize seminars for trainers in VET schools and companies that are interested to apply the apprenticeship scheme.
-To create an online tool for self-assessing soft skills, for students to set their own learning agenda by identifying their strengths and areas of improvement.

The project will produce three core intellectual outputs that are:
IO1 Apprenticeship scheme for the development of soft skills and competences
IO2 Trainers guide
IO3 Web platform for the assessment of soft skills

The apprenticeship scheme for the development of soft skills and competences will be based on gamification and natural mentoring elements. These two elements, the gamification and natural mentoring methods, will help to keep the apprentice engaged, motivated, involved and comfortable. The apprenticeship scheme will include theoretical foundation and guiding principles for the design, implementation and evaluation of apprenticeship programme for the development of soft skills and competences.

The direct target group of the project is VET trainers and companies involved in apprenticeship programmes, yet, the final beneficiaries are students enrolled in upper secondary and higher VET schools and centres.

The project is implemented by 6 partners from 5 countries (Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Poland and Lithuania), representing four VET schools, one university and one adult training company.

The project is designed to have an impact at local/regional/national and European levels. At local level, the project will contribute to the improvement of students soft skills, the promotion of apprenticeships and the increase of the employability perspective of VET students. At national and European level, the project will contribute to the promotion of apprenticeships, work-based learning and soft skills learning at the workplace.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 264180 Eur

Project Coordinator

STICHTING VOOR ALGEMEEN VOORGEZET ONDERWIJS, BEROEPSONDERWIJS EN VOLWASSENENEDUCATIE & Country: NL

Project Partners

• POLITEKNIKA IKASTEGIA TXORIERRI S.COOP
• AINTEK SYMVOULOI EPICHEIRISEON EFARMOGES YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS EKPAIDEFSI ANONYMI ETAIREIA
• Kauno statybos ir paslaugu mokymo centras
• Akademia Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna w Lodzi
• IIEK DELTA