COM_WORK Exchanging practices for recognizing and validating competences of social and educational professionals, arises from a network of 7 actors from 4 European countries. The achievement of a great deal of European objectives is also reached through the social and educational sectors, that at the basis of the current proposal and are at the key reference points for the most fragile sectors of our society. COM_WORK aims at valuing the informal and non- formal competencies of female and male workers of the sector, considering them as key for the success of lots of policies that promote inclusion and employment opportunities, with a particular focus on those who are involved in the services for the NEET. This work approach starts progressing: -improving the national systems for recognizing and validating non-formal competencies aligning them with the EU indications and tools. - acting directly on the training system (academic and vocational), identifying learning units for strategic competencies and related learning processes. The applicant University of Roma 3 (IT), with the aim of offering a more effective training proposal, has involved the Direzione Formazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Regione Lazio (IT) that is currently working at two strategic objectives: enforcing D.L. 13/2013 and accomplishing the Repertorio Nazionale dei profili professionali; Two VET Italian provider - Ass. Il Laboratorio and People srl, from many years involved in the operators training, project planning and management of services such as Bilan de competences - enrich the possibilities of COM_WORK to intervene with a systematic approach in the topic. To identify competencies that can activate the young addresses of the services, thus improving European young people employment and mobility, the partnership includes qualified and heterogeneous expertise: University of Vallaloid (ES) is one of the best practice focal point for the research and education according to a competencies based approach; Znanie Association (BG) is a reality that since many years combines services addressed to the students coming from school path with innovation in the project planning, integrating competencies and disciplines; SEAcoop (P) is a social enterprise that offers innovative services for jobless young people, combining managerial approach with orientation and competencies analysis. The exchange of the practices is at the core of the whole COM_WORK process that aims not only to activate a process of co-building within the partnership, but also to involve different target groups to reach objectives that can be repeated and sustained in the long term. Some of the key elements of the proposal and of the exchanges among the different sectors able to produce long terms results, are: - Quality of partnership, four transnational meetings, Skype conferences - Responsibility management aligned with the different expertise - Web 2.0 site production in the four languages, communication and dissemination plan including the production of 2 Advertising trailers and use of social media - The involvement of the staff of each reality, of the stakeholders and target groups - Peer review open to virtual communities - Meeting for open discussion with young Neet from every country COM_WORK, using an open methodology of research, combines bottom-up and bottom-down approach, taking at the same time the responsibility to propose policies and also to test and validate them through open discussion and check with the real and virtual communities COM_WORK will pay high attention to the communication management and to the dissemination of the progressive results, as each step requests co-evaluation and contribution from the reference stakeholders. With this approach the different scientific and practical communities will participate to the fulfillment of the main COM_WORK results, that is the Guidance and Training Model whose aim is to recognize and validate competencies of social and educational professionals and to accomplish Learning Unit for informal and non- formal competences of socio educational professionals. The multi-sector of the partnership and the multilevel of the proposed activities aim at involving people, organizations, institutions at all levels, during the different phases of the project and beyond the project itself, in order to bring a concrete appreciation of the informal and non-formal competencies and a wider distribution and use of European tools (Europass, EFQ) in the daily activities of socio-educational training (academic and vocational).
COMWORK. Exchanging practices for recognizing and validating competences of social and educational professionals was conceived from a network of seven actors from four European countries: Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Portugal. The planned objectives were reached in social and educational domains as well as the valorization of non-formal and informal competencies of female and male workers. In each country, partners analysed needs and practices in the training of professionals involved in the services for the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Social and educational workers are key figures for many inclusion and employability policies success, with a particular focus on those who are. This working methodology was based on: - improving the national systems for recognizing and validating non-formal and informal competencies aligning them with the EU indications and tools; - acting directly on the training system (academic and vocational), identifying learning units for strategic competencies and related learning processes. The applicant, University of Roma Tre (IT) involved the Direzione Formazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Regione Lazio (IT) that is currently working at two strategic objectives: enforcing D.L. 13/2013 and accomplishing the Repertorio Nazionale dei profili professionali (in accordance with the development of the Italian competences certification system); two VET Italian providers: the association Il Laboratorio and People Srl, both involved since many years in the operators training, project planning and management of services like Bilan de competences. This kind of partnership implemented the possibilities of COM_WORK to intervene with a systematic approach in the topic. The purposes were to offer a more effective training proposal and to identify competencies that can activate the young users of the services. For the same reasons Roma Tre involved three qualified and heterogeneous expertises: • University of Vallaloid (ES), one of the best practice research and training agency in the competencies based approach; • Znanie Association (BG), addressing since many years school drop-out, and giving them training opportunities by project planning, and integrating competencies and disciplines; • Caixa de Mitos (P), an agency delivering innovative services for unoccupied young people, combining managerial approach with job orientation and competencies analysis. CoMWork aimed to: • disseminate the application of competence analysis model in social work field; • share the model with policy makers and companies; • promote the use of European tools to recognize competences; • develop a guidance and training model to recognize and validate competences of social and educational professionals; • produce learning units for informal and non-formal competences of socio-educational professionals dealing with NEETs. The main outputs of the project were: • a comparative report on strategic informal and non-formal competences of social and educational professionals; • a guidance and training model; • guidelines for trainers; • three learning units. Definition and common definition, comparative work, competences debate, sharing methodology facing NEET condition were the basis to conceive a subject centred learning program, based on training activities, which involve young people, promote their participation in the society, and enhance their self-management capacity. The three main areas of strategic competence identified are: 1. The collective competences of a team and a network; 2. The motivational and empowerment competences; 3. The planning and change management competences. In order to improve employment and mobility of European young people, the partnership included exchange of the practices. This is the core of the whole COMWORK process, that aimed not only to activate a process of co-building within the partnership, but also to involve different target groups to reach objectives that can be repeated and sustained in the long term. COMWORK, using a participatory methodology of research, combined bottom-up and bottom-down approach, taking at the same time the responsibility to design policies and also to test and validate hypothesis through open discussion in both the real and the virtual communities. The very differentiated expertise of partnership and the variety of the proposed activities was effective in order to involve people, organizations, institutions at all levels, during the different phases of the project and analyzing the positive reaction of people attending the Comwork events, it seems that Comwork activities can be fruitful also after the end of the project. The products are suitable in order to bring a concrete appreciation of the informal and non-formal competencies, and to encourage and implement the use of European tools (Europass, EFQ) in the daily activities of socio-educational training (academic and vocational).