WOODUAL – Wood sector and Dual Learning for Youth Employment and Skills Erasmus Project

Project Title

WOODUAL – Wood sector and Dual Learning for Youth Employment and Skills

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

Vocational and Education Training programmes can play a central role in preparing students for work and in responding to labour market needs, representing a smart and sustainable response to economic crisis and to decrease unemployment, especially for the wood and furniture manufacturing sector that is important for most of European countries.
Start from this situation, WOODUAL project aimed at building up a strong and continuative partnership among different stakeholders in the manufacturing and furniture sector and experts in education and training issues in order to update and improve the current professional profiles in wood and furniture sector answering to the current skills gaps. At the same time, the project elaborated guidelines and new methodologies in order to open the road for a more extensive use of dual learning system. The target group to whom the project is addressed were students in vocational training path and young workers in wood and furniture sector. The project contributed to adapt curriculum and qualification profiles by investigating the technological and soft skills gap in the professional profiles for the Wood Treaters, Cabinet Makers and related Trade Workers, increasing organizational, social, emotional, entrepreneurial and technological skills and competences in VET students and workers. A cooperation framework between different stakeholders (especially enterprises/employers and VET institutions) tested to define integrated transnational dual learning models: one model would not fit every situation, but a core concept can be proposed, accompanied by a “modelling engine” to support adaptation to several sectors and countries.
The project produced an increased cooperation and dialogue between VET institutions and experts, companies and policy makers and institutional actors, a shaped knowledge and vision on qualifications and training process in the wood and forniture sector, an institutionalized and effective partnership and transferable framework applied to wood and furniture sector to be transferred and adapted to other important sectors in which dual learning is significant and represents an added value. Finally the project produced an effective strategy supporting a better school to work transition and facilitating young people entering in European labour market, improving their competences, qualifications and mobility across Europe.
The first part of the project is based on a comparative and systematic analysis of the state of the art regarding the training and professional profiles in wood and furniture sector. Desk research and qualitative methodology (semi-structured interviews) are adopted and two different report and studies are carried out: study and analysis on labour market trends in wood and furniture sector and companies needs and study and analysis on professional qualifications and learning system in the wood and furniture sector.
It was created a WOODUAL Community with a double purpose: it aims at creating a community of stakeholder in wood and furniture sector being and at the same time it is a key reference point for all the stakeholder coming from other sectors interested in dual system learning path.

The core activity of the project concerned the creation and experimentation of the newly design framework for international dual system in work-based programmes.
This phase of the project was crucial and challenging as it requested a deep analysis to overcome the current situation of scarce use of work-based training. The project wanted to create a new and international model for dual learning system requesting the involvement of all the stakeholders interested to the process, especially VET institutions and employers. So the model was designed on wood and furniture needs and experiences and, even though it is clear that one model would not fit every situation, a core concept proposed, modeled and contextualized in order to be adaptable to various sectors, countries and type of education. The model was tested through the involvement of 18 VET students and young workers during the testing phase and national implementation plan was created in order to adapt the model to national contexts.
The handbook for VET students and skilled manual workers and the training courses was developed as a result of the public methodological guide on the newly designed framework.
WOODUAL project wanted to be just the first step of a European joint effort to handle high youth unemployment rates through a common learning-training-working reference. The intent was to create an impact that was last beyond the end of this project by making the research and the developed model available also for those coming from different sectors.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 434279,51 Eur

Project Coordinator

FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA DELLE INDUSTRIE DEL LEGNO DEL SUGHERO DEL MOBILEE DELL’ ARREDAMENTO ASSOCIAZIONE & Country: IT

Project Partners

• ASLAM Cooperativa Sociale
• WOODWIZE
• INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO METALMECANICO, MUEBLE, MADERA, EMBALAJE Y AFINES-AIDIMME
• FONDAZIONE ADAPT
• Camera di Commercio Italo-Germanica (AHK)
• ASSOCIAZIONE SOPHIA R&I
• OGOLNOPOLSKA IZBA GOSPODARCZA PRODUCENTOW MEBLI