More people than ever before are seeking asylum in EU. Government Offices and other agencies are working intensively to increase the capacity of the reception and the establishment of new arrivals and solve the great challenges that exist. But no country can handle this challenge alone. It is a need of shared responsibility between the countries of the EU. This project will develop tools for intercultural competence for VET staff and work based mentors to facilitate the transition for refugees to employment as e.g. woodworker, vehicle mechanics and industrial workers in industries that demand labour. It is a win-win situation if bottle necks can be reduced for the large number of new arrivals to get jobs in the industry that has a great need for workers. VET is one important puzzle piece for integration and will face new challenges for many years to come. By using e-learning methods and Internet technologies to deliver knowledge that can contribute to intercultural competence and perspective in VET for wood, metal and vehicle industry training it utilises knowledge concerning Intercultural competence. The project is designed to take advantage of the partnership experiences and ideas for vocational education and training in particular, from work-based learning. We have all have something to learn from each other’s best practices in this urgent situation. To exchange ideas, experiences, know-how and good practices to find key elements for intercultural know-how that can be implemented in VET learning.
This project has developed tools for intercultural competence for VET staff and work-based mentors to facilitate the transition for refugees to employment as e.g. woodworkers, vehicle mechanics and metal industrial workers in industries that demand labour. Some years ago, Mrs Marlis Tepe, President of GEW (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft) the largest teacher union in Germany pointed out the need for intercultural competence. It was likely to believe that VET staff and work-based mentors have a need for intercultural competence to support and motivate learners and apprentices and to more effectively achieve the learning outcomes of VET-learners with multicultural backgrounds as well. It is a win-win situation if bottle necks can be reduced for the large number of new arrivals to get jobs in industries that have a great need for workers. The wood, metal and vehicle industries are screaming out for employees. In Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden industry needs to enlist thousands of employees. Many industrial companies have difficulty in finding new staff with the right skills, particularly technicians and mechanics. At the same time new arrivals need to be established in the labour market. VET is an important piece of the puzzle for integration and will face new challenges for many years to come. Experienced technical teachers know. You can’t just copy your teaching methods from ‘regular students/learners’ for newcomers (i.e. immigrants and refugees). We therefore developed (with the help of Erasmus+) a compact online (free of charge) tool. The main project objective was the development of an e-Learning tool to promote intercultural competence in VET. To deliver a more effective learning experience for VET-learners, the project should combine international experience on how to, as effectively as possible, promote competence building of VET teachers/mentors. Learning content is typically written by individual experts. In this project, it was possible to create a didactically consistent learning content, based on the expertise and input of many authors. On one hand the contents are based on the experience of four different vocational education systems and on the other hand we were able to implement a variety of different but successful strategies to overcome intercultural challenges in VET education. That is to say, multicultural content to optimize multicultural education. The main activity to achieve the project goal was via five stages, each with clearly defined intellectual outputs (IOs), each building on the other. Those stages were: IO.1 - Survey among VET mentors in the partner countries (SE, NL, DE, AT) to identify the areas with the biggest challenges in student groups with a high proportion of migrants and/or refugees. Report (PDF/EN) IO.2 - Identification of quality criteria that could be met with the presence of high intercultural competence of VET teachers/mentors in the areas identified in IO.1 and their categorization: (1) Environment, (2) Pedagogic-Didactic, (3) Competences. Report (PDF/EN) IO.3 - Derivation and description of learning objectives for VET teachers/mentors to be able to develop such competences required to fulfil the identified quality criteria of IO.4 - Description of the quality objectives and required competences summarized in 16 modules, published as teachers/mentors/stakeholders' manual (PDF/EN). IO.5 – Development of e-learning modules with learning content for competence building in 16 most relevant competence areas for VET teachers/mentors (published on an online platform, Moodle-based) The learning content comprised approximately 40 learning hours for different aspects of intercultural training. The content is tailored to the specific needs of the project’s target groups: VET trainers working in intercultural environments on the one hand and their superiors on the other hand (manual). The outcome and impact provide support to companies, trade, VET staff and workplace mentors, to develop and deepen intercultural learning. They receive knowledge and valuable tips based on experiences from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. Methods can be used directly or adapted to develop and improve learning outcomes. This also resulted in new projects aimed at the target group. The new online course as e-learning for professional teachers and supervisors can facilitate the work of newly arrived learners. Industry experts in the supply of skills have said: "Very interesting", "Solid content”,” It can clearly be useful in our work so we gratefully accept it". Partners Amledo & Co, coordinator delivering high quality consultancy solutions in VET. Aventus is a VET college for secondary vocational education and training. The Chamber of Skilled Crafts in Gera monitoring 1,820 learners. The Bit Schulungscenter is experienced in carrying out projects in the VET field