The 2 year Project will gather six European Organizations specialized in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of VET activities and programs. They have strong credentials on cultural competence and convinced of the importance to raise the cultural competences amongst VET mobility programs and those taking part in VET mobility activities.The project context takes into consideration the assessment that VET mobility programs and qualified VET providers can facilitate the social integration / inclusion of minority ethnic people across EU and the identification of the necessity to build a safe space for young adult from marginalized groups to foster their professional integration.The main objective of the project is to support and foster social inclusion and integration of young adult people / ethnic communities / migrants / marginalized groups through mobility programs. This goal will be achieved via the development and validation of intercultural competence framework among VET professionals to improve the delivery of VET mobility programs in the EU. The project will focus on the development of professional profile of the Intercultural VET Provider, who have to be able to provide quality training programs in multicultural environment. All EU citizens, for a better social integration, should be equipped with the required cultural competences to be able to adapt and be more effective when they are faced with working/learning across different cultures in different geographical settings. The project puts emphasize on young adult migrants who can be the first beneficiaries of VET Mobility programs in order to support and facilitate their socio-professional integration.The project addresses inclusive education, training and youth, creates synergies between these fields and brings added value at a EU level through results and impacts that will be more important than when carried out only at national level. The project strengthens interculturality as a key competence in VET Program; and promotes transparency and recognition of skills to facilitate learning, employability and labor mobility. The primary target group of the project are VET Providers (2Xorg). The secondary target group is young people and adults involved in VET mobility programs (12Xorg). EAL provides with 2 Master Trainers. Stakeholders and other participants will be involved in local promotional event and the finale seminar. The project includes the need to (IO1) provide a comparative overview of cultural based competence of VET Providers in order to identify the current role, qualifications and key competences of VET Providers. The implementation of an innovative and modular intercultural competence program (IO2) for VET Providers, which will be tested. A Toolkit for transparency and recognition of non-formal and informal learning for VET providers will be developed (IO3). A toolkit for intercultural competences for VET Providers (IO4) will contain a set of experiences and innovative guidelines with the 10 Top Skills necessary to become an Intercultural VET Provider able to develop VET mobility programs and to support mobility.These outputs will provide VET providers with skills, competences and knowledge to design and implement VET mobility experiences for learners and to foster social integration through VET mobility programs. Thus, this project will not only ensure a fair and equal Europe but will also promote VET mobility programs for all EU citizens. The partners will also implement a dissemination strategy at European, National and Local level including the production, launch and promotion of proper web site; Facebook Group and digital leaflets; project newsletters will circulate by email and the publication of news and blog information on partner websites as well as evalutation report and final report (IO5).
Context of the project Intercultural skills are becoming increasingly important as EU citizens become more mobile. Intercultural competence is not acquired automatically, but must be learned, practiced and maintained throughout life. The current economic situation, characterized by high unemployment and persistent job opportunities in some sectors, highlights the main skills challenges Europe faces in terms of labor mobility, both geographical and professional. Eurofound research has revealed that a number of barriers to learner and worker mobility need to be addressed by governments, social partners and VET organizations in the EU. Objectives: To promote the inclusion of young adults / ethnic communities / migrants / marginalized groups through mobility programs. Strengthen the development of intercultural competences of VET professionals responsible for organizing mobility programs. To develop and test a cultural competence program to have qualified intercultural vocational training providers. To increase the quality of mobility by integrating intercultural competences and recognition tools into VET programs. Participating organizations UK partners: Rinova as a leader was involved in a previous LdV "MC" partnership project, where he developed and shared information and training practices on the development of intercultural competences in the field of vocational training system. The project builds on the results of the “Multicultural Consultant” http://multiculturalconsultant.eu/, a LdV small scale project coordinated by Rinova in the UK from 2011 to 2013. The project focused on occupational competences and skills of the Multicultural Consultant figure to support and improve minority ethnic students’ educational retention and attainment. The “MC” project explored the emerging professional profile providing training and vocational contents to reinforce the relationship between education/training system and labor market. For EAL Academy, this strategic partnership is the first experience of an EU project as a partner and thus allows a rise in skills to develop or participate in new EU projects in the future. EAL was also invited for its strong track record of trainers for vocational training in the field of intercultural competences. MMC (Cyprus) because of its experience working with vocational education and training programs and intercultural competence, and therefore his strong work with vocational training practitioners. For MMC this project produces innovative tools for its very different context in terms of vocational education and training and the labor market. In Italy, ERIFO is an accredited VET provider. It is also an organization providing career guidance, professional advice and information services to help young people and adults find jobs. The CESAT (first participation in an Erasmus+ project) was invited for its particular mission as a VET organization providing programs to workers and SME employers. The CESAT represents the employers 'organization and maintains close relations with social partners, employers' organizations, employment agencies, local authorities and VET regulatory bodies. Eurocircle (first experience as project coordinator in KA2) has extensive experience in the development of EU mobility programs in different sectors: VET, Youth, Voluntary Service. Leader in terms of mobility and interculturality and non-formal methods at regional level, we offer a very strong interface position at the European level and powerful networks in the field. Description of the main activities implemented 4 intellectual outputs: comparative research, innovative training, a manual for the recognition and transparency of non-formal education in a mobility path, a toolbox around the use of intercultural competences. 60 learners (VET trainers, youth profesionnal) were trained in local pilot testing steps to become qualified intercultural VET providers. Several communication tools around the project and promotion and valorisation of activities and results. Frameworks for coordination, dissemination, quality control and exploitation of results. An international closing event, local closing events. Results and impacts achieved All activities were carried out to achieve the expected results. (See following questions for details). Impacts on target audiences: VET structures, teachers, VET trainers, youth professionals (guidance, counseling, coaching) were visible during the test phases and final events. The participants were all impacted by the role of qualified intercultural VET providers. Long-term benefits. Upgrading skills for Eurocircle in EU project coordination. The innovative training is available in ebook and in an additional language because the partners have had many requests, via their European networks, of transferability and replicability of this training. A possible second edition to apply for March 2019 with some different partners.