European countries have been registering high university drop-out rates on the one hand and serious skills shortages on the other hand. In order to make all educational potential available and to foster the permeability among educational sectors, initiatives have been started to counsel drop-outs into vocational education and training. These initiatives, so it is the basic idea of this project, need to be based on networks connecting stakeholders from the academic, economic and VET sector. The reason is that only inter-sectoral cooperation can offer a holistic counseling including the recognition of informally gained learning outcomes. Considering the idea of a European Area of Transparent Skills and Competences, these networks need to be localized not only at regional and national, but also at international level. The ProNet project aims at supporting the development of these inter-sectoral networks at European level. Partners from Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, who represent an inter-sectoral composition themselves, provide the networks with two new tools. First, guidelines are developed which allow university drop-outs to identify and document their previous learning outcomes and to match them with learning contents of vocational trainings. Focusing the areas of engineering and business studies, the contents of university module guides and lecture programs are linked to vocational training regulations and further professional descriptions. By following the guidelines, drop-outs find out, which vocational education matches their previous learning outcomes. Second, relevant stakeholders (job centers, student advisory services, career centers, chambers of commerce and industry, among others) in all partner countries are involved as multipliers and provided with a networking space in the form of an online platform. Here, they can connect, exchange ideas and use the guidelines with a sustainable dimension.
Background and objectives Some countries in the European Union experience high rates of university drop-outs and, at the same time, a shortage of skilled workers in non-academic professions. In the context of a mobile European labour market, increased permeability of European education systems and the goal to create a "European Area of Skills and Qualifications", the project "Pro Networks" was dedicated to the transnational network building for counselling university drop-outs. The inter-sectoral consortium consisting of France, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany pursued two objectives in this regard: 1. Guidelines and an online tool have been developed for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) subject group, which enables university drop-outs to document their learning achievements in their first semesters and compare them with the learning requirements of related vocational training courses. 2. In order to sensitize relevant actors, they were invited to participate in multiplier workshops and to engage in international exchange via an online platform developed in the project Participating institutions - Germany: The Forschungsinstitut Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb) gemeinnützige GmbH has already gained experience from several Erasmus+ projects. It took the role of the coordinator in the project. As one of the largest non-university research institutes in Germany, it develops innovative concepts for strengthening vocational education and training. - France: The Centre Interinstitutionnel de Bilan de Compétences Bourgogne Sud (CIBC) As a consulting centre, it has a wealth of experience in competence accounting. In the project, it was responsible for developing the content of the guidelines - Spain: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is one of the leading universities in Spain. The Equip de Desenvolupament (EDO), which is involved in the project, has the central research tasks of analyzing training organizations and the processes of change within vocational education and training. The UAB took over the compilation of the transnational report in the project. - Poland: The Akademia Przedsiębiorczości Sp. z o.o. is a Polish educational institution focusing on lifelong learning, vocational mediation and vocational guidance. It also has extensive experience in the implementation of projects both at home and abroad and took over the project dissemination. - Czech Republic: Narodni vzdelavaci fond, o. p. s. (NVF) is a non-governmental organization of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which focuses on the development of human resources and supports lifelong learning, employment and social development in the Czech Republic. it carried out the internal evaluation of the project. In addition, all partners were involved in the creation and coordination of the products. Activities carried out: A total of four transnational project-meetings were held. In addition, multiplier events were held in all partner countries where relevant stakeholders were invited to test the online tool and website in advance and provide feedback. At the end of the project, the closing event took place in Berlin at which the finished products were presented to the participants. In addition, the continuous internal development and coordination of the products took place and an internal evaluation was carried out within the project. Results and impact Actors entrusted with advising university drop-outs have been provided with the guidelines and the online tool new instruments which, from the point of view of the target group, fulfil a number of purposes: - The guidelines make it possible to comprehend the development of the online tool and show their applicability in a consulting process. - The guidelines and the online tool are intended to make graduates who drop out of their studies aware that they have already successfully completed learning outcomes that can be used in ICT training occupations. - The online tool offers structured documentation of learning outcomes in a transparent format. - The compilation of the guideline in a European and inter-sectoral project consortium enables its applicability in all partner countries. - University drop-outs will be shown concrete options in vocational education and training that are suitable for them. Long-term benefits The products developed in the project will continue to be available after the end of the funding period in order to ensure sustainable project implementation. In addition, care has also been taken to adopt an approach that meets ESCO and EQF standards and can be applied to other industries and areas. It was thus possible to contribute to the permeability of the higher education and vocational training systems.