EU-PV-Trainer project fits in the Europe 2020 Strategy, Education and Training 2020, the Directive of the European Parliament and Council Directive (2009/28/EC) on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, which requires all Member States to raise the EU's share of RES to 20% by 2020. A pre-project diagnosis has been performed within the partnership, which shows, inter alia, that the demand for highly qualified PV teachers/trainers will be on the increase, level of teachers/trainers’ competences is varied, since they are not subject to competence certification and they lack professional teaching skills.Therefore, it is reasonable to take measures aimed at improving the quality of education and training of future PV installers by aligning and improving the quality of professional preparation of the persons conducting PV theoretical and practical classes, taking into account EQF, NQF, ECVET, EQAVET and specificity of the partner countries.In order to reach the EU-PV-Trainer objective, the following complementary actions have to be taken:1)First, an in-depth diagnosis of qualifications requirements for PV trainer conducting theoretical and practical training and a methodology of developing a professional competence standard will be developed (O1)2) O1 will be used to develop Standard of professional competences for the PV trainer, taking into account the guidelines of QFF, NQF, ECVET (O2). Introduction of the identified competency requirements will constitute a kind of "bridge" between education and employment sector3) The standard will be the basis for the creation of modular training program for the PV trainer with regard to ECVET requirements (O3)4) O3 will be used to develop the bank of training modules for the PV trainer with regard to ECVET requirements (stationary learning) (O4)5) O3 and O4 will form the basis for the development of E-learning training bank for the PV trainer (O5)6) For the purpose of the recognition of competences acquired informally and non-formally, the bank of tests (IT tool to check the level of professional competences for the PV trainer) will be developed (O6)7) An attempt will be made to develop a certification model for the PV trainer with regard to the requirements of ISO 17024 (O7)8) Information about the project and examples of good practices will be published in a monograph (O8)This project and its outcomes correspond with topics of the Erasmus+ Programme: new innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; recognition, transparency, certification and open and distance learning.The target group of the project are VET teachers/trainers conducting theoretical and practical classes in the field of PV or are interested in conducting such training and they comply with the legal requirements applicable in the partner countries. They may be persons at risk of losing their jobs (e.g. teachers/instructors of practical training in vocational schools, persons conducting professional courses in continuing education institutions) as well as job seekers and employers providing services in the field of PV. 6 institutions (1 university, 1 research institute, 3 associations-training institutions, 1 training institution) from 4 EU countries will participate in EU-PV-Trainer. The combination of the project participating organizations enables the effective implementation of all project activates since they have complementary profiles, experience and expertise. The proposed division of responsibilities enables the involvement and active participation of all participating organizations. Given the diversity of the partnership in the project, it is planned to develop a common methodology of research for each intellectual output taking into account the EU guidelines (EQF, ECVET), as well as each country specific circumstances (including the NQF). The key research methods are: the analysis of documents (O1-O7), expert method (O1-07) and diagnostic survey (O2).The potential long-term benefits of the project are related to, among others, the internationalization of the project results. They will contribute to the development and improvement of the VET quality in the PV field based on learning outcomes and ECVET approach, to increased mobility and employability of PV teachers/trainers by introducing vocational foreign language training. The results developed in the project will be made available as OER and disseminated among potential recipients: vocational schools, training institutions, employers in the area of PV, EU and national employers' associations, institutions validating and awarding qualifications.
The idea of EU-PV-Trainer project was tightly connected to the EU directions targeting creation of instruments for practical and flexible learning paths, as a way to improve the quality of professional non-formal education. The project was aimed at a specific form of qualification accusation of PV trainer: that one obtained through non-formal, informal learning and work experience by promoting the development of skills and competencies of trainers and teachers in the field of PV systems installation. The project is built upon three main pillars: lifelong learning approach, mobility for exchange of experience and use of ICT methods and tools (for e-learning, identifying competency gaps, and validation of competences). The partnership aimed at levelling and improving the competence of VET teachers/trainers who are conducting theoretical and practical training for photovoltaic installers; building a blended learning course with wider coverage of the subject area and clear definitions of the learning outcomes; development of a modular training programme combining theory with practice through education packages based on analysis of the work process in PV installation; creating a system of recognition of competences gained through non-formal and informal learning by the educators in PV installation and supplementing the professional competence of teachers/trainers by the foreign language skills necessary to teach within the specific field of photovoltaic. The project accomplished in cooperation with the partners from Poland, Romania, Spain and Cyprus creates great opportunities to promote vocational qualification transparency agreed with appropriate authorities and social partners especially when it comes to preparation of the computer-aided training courses for VET trainers in the PV sector. The partnership consists of European organisations involved in vocational education on the tertiary level (UGAL), as well as VET training and adult learning (EDICT, FEH); research institute (ITeE) and specialists in PV field (PTPV, SEP). All objectives were possible to fulfil due to the consortium awareness of the EU-PV-Trainer importance in the labour market. During the development of the project results, partners cooperated with strategic experts in the field of PV, potential associate partners and members of professional networks’ involving scientific experts and universities in the partnership the scientific discourse in different faculties and the transfer of project results in order to highlight more quality in university education is guaranteed. This made a contribution to achieve a better quality of cooperation between the relevant actors of the VET system and to adapt concepts related to the education needs for labour market and educational integration. The project outcomes are intended to be in compliance with the EQF, ECVET and with NQF systems’ standards in the partners’ countries. In this context, the project results can be effective tools facilitating different training forms, especially nonformal and informal, with transnational recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications. The main goal of the PV-Trainer project was to develop a model of training, certification and validation procedures destined to support the vocational education and training of VET trainers and teachers in the field of photovoltaic systems with the use of ICT tools. Specific objectives of the project were oriented towards an increase in quality of vocational education and training of PV fitters through improvement of quality of competence of vocational education teachers, trainers and conducting theoretical and practical training for PV fitters, which may contribute to an increase in their competitiveness on the labour market, thus increase in their fitness for employment or keeping their job. The consortium aimed at improving the quality of education and training of future PV installers by aligning and improving the quality of professional preparation of the persons conducting PV theoretical and practical classes and specificity of the partner countries. The established European reference frameworks such as NQF related to the EQF, together with the validation system and ECVET. The outcomes are directly linked to national education and training systems, have been taken as a basis for building the PV-Trainer project's contribution to mobility, transparency and recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications throughout Europe. The emphasis was put on trainer competences’ acquired in nonformal and informal learning trough work-based experience and in accordance with the established competence standard and with the use the requirements for general requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. The project sets the concrete objectives: to facilitate the validation of non-formal and informal learning and its permeability with formal education pathways and to develop partnerships between education and employment.