Accessibility and Inclusion for Migrants (AIM) is transformative since it creates lasting impact on VET institutions and their staff, enhancing their ability to engage migrants more effectively; promoting their social integration and raising learner achievement that empowers migrants to succeed within their host countries. Research shows that VET fails to fully engage migrants. In addition to lower participation rates, attainment is weaker and dropout rates higher compared to those who are indigenous. AIM tackles this disadvantage head-on by building capacity within VET institutions through up-skilling staff to better meet migrant’s needs. In addition to the thousands of EU non-nationals and international migrants living in Europe e.g. 289,000 migrated to the UK in 2016, Europe processed more than 1.3 million asylum requests in 2015. Sweden received 163,000 and more than 2.2 million Syrians now live in Turkey. The EU has made it a priority to address this challenge and the reaffirmation of the Common Basic Principles on Integration (2004/14) puts education, especially VET - at the centre of the process. However, we are still far from reaching the goal of inclusion for migrants in VET Given this scenario, the goal of AIM is clear: increase the number of VET institutions which go beyond procedural accessibility to achieve full, proactive inclusion, thus giving more migrants the best possible opportunity to access VET and achieve outcomes comparable with native-born students. To achieve this, we will pursue the following objectives: 1. Establish 5 VET Business Partnerships and Plans; one in each country to bring together 60+ key stakeholders from VET sector, social partners working with migrants and governmental bodies, to develop Partnership Plans that improve greater access and inclusion for migrants in VET. 2. Produce an innovative SELF-ASSESSMENT SYSTEM for VET institutions to evaluate their current level of access and inclusion and generate a personalized learning path 3. Develop VET CURRICULUM; a multilingual curriculum, trainers’ guide and learning materials aimed at staff in different roles in VET institutions to help them drive organizational change towards inclusion for migrants. 4. Develop OPEN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES; interactive online learning resources complementing the curriculum and establishing a delivery platform, providing maximum flexibility to increase access and accelerate learning. The project methodology is highly participative at all stages. Alongside their coordination of an intellectual output, all partners will contribute to a proactive dissemination strategy, including multiplier events in each partner country and an international launch - At least 60 high-level representatives of organizations from the fields of VET and education in general, non-profit organizations working with migrants in the community, public authorities, and wider economic and social development stakeholders will develop 5 VET Business Plans. - At least 1500 staff of VET institutions, including managers, teachers and trainers, admissions, communications and support staff, will use the self-assessment tool and open educational resources. - At least 230 representatives of stakeholder organizations will participate in multiplier events. - Approximately 10,000 individuals will engage with our outputs via direct contact with members of our partnership or directly with our digital materials, especially interactive website. AIM is a pioneering and transformative project that empowers VET institutions to achieve much greater and more sustainable levels of inclusion for migrants. Staff will embrace diversity and inclusion on a personal and professional level as a means of staying relevant and thriving in a changing world; VET institutions will modify pedagogical approaches, incorporate transversal skills and promote student-centred learning that help close the performance gap and minimize dropouts among migrants. VET institutions will improve their reputation and recruitment as a result. Stakeholders will benefit from enhanced relationships with VET to enable knowledge and best practice sharing, a vital feedback loop to help monitor and improve services for migrants in the medium term. Overall, migrants will find more places on more suitable courses and find their education enables them to integrate more quickly into social and economic life. AIM is relevant throughout Europe, but is especially important to regions experiencing, or expecting, very high inflows of migrants, which need a swifter process of integration into the VET sector and/or where national policy change is moving faster. The project has been designed to respond to a need experienced by partner organizations and their counterparts in the vocational education, entrepreneurship support and economic development and social cohesion, and each have a vested interest and business case for using the outputs in the long term.
BACKGROUND/CONTEXT The Accessibility and Inclusion for Migrants (AIM) partnershiip has worked hard to build the capacity of VET institutions to achieve more proactive inclusion of migrants through up-skilling staff to go beyond procedural accessibility and give more migrants the best possible opportunity to access VET and achieve outcomes comparable with native-born students. ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES As set out in the orginal project intent, AIM has delivered on the following objectives:- 1. Establishment of 5 VET Business Partnerships and Plans (UK, Sweden, Ireland, Turkey and Italy) bringing together 68 key representatives from 52 VET sector, migrant networks and NGOs working with migrants and governmental bodies. Publish 5 Partnership Plans that improve greater access and inclusion for migrants in VET - plans accessed online by 663 people.. 2. Production of an innovative SELF-ASSESSMENT SYSTEM for VET institutions to evaluate their current level of access and inclusion and generate a personalized learning path that was completed by 1636 people. 3. Production of VET CURRICULUM; a multilingual curriculum and learning materials aimed at staff in different roles in VET institutions to help them drive organizational change towards inclusion for migrants. The curriculm is presented in 4 langauges and has been downloaded as a classroom course 828 times. 4. Production of OPEN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES; interactive online learning resources complementing the curriculum and establishing a delivery platform, providing maximum flexibility to increase access and accelerate learning - available on www.inclusion.how NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICANTS - 68 high-level representatives of 52 organizations from the fields of VET and education in general, non-profit organizations working with migrants in the community, public authorities, and wider economic and social development stakeholders contributed to the 5 VET Inclusion Partnerships and Plans (IO1) downlaoded 663 times. - 1636 members of staff of VET institutions, including managers, teachers and trainers, admissions, communications and support staff hvve used the self-assessment tool and open educational resources. - 99 educators participated in pilot testing - 828 educators downloaded the classroom course - 242 representatives of stakeholder organizations participated in 6 multiplier events. - 14,324 individuals have engaged with our outputs and digital materials via interactive website. ACTIVITIES undertaken IO1: Five regional partnership plans were produced and made available on the project website (www.inclusion.how). These were built on a robust evidence base. As part of IO1, 74 VET professionals across the five regions responded to a survey between November 2017 and February 2018 to assess their own experience and provide institutional perspective on the comparative value and practicality (cost-benefit) of known pedagogies, across five countries, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Turkey and UK. Partners also conducted a State of play study in the five participating countries to ascertain what has already been achieved, challenges and barriers faced by migrants and VET professionals. IO2; An innovative SELF-ASSESSMENT SYSTEM for VET institutions was developmed to evaluate their current level of access and inclusion and generate a personalized learning path. IO3: Five modules have been developed, pilot tested and made available in four langauges on the project website with the course achieving 828 downloads so far IO4: The online course has been pilot tested and published on the learning platform. Detailed pilot testing completed Offline Training Course (54 pilot testers) and Online Training Course (45 pilot testers) Strong and consistent dissemination activity from the outset, The project logo and brand manual were created at the beginning of the project, as well as a dissemination strategy. A dissemination diary has been completed by each partner as a way of logging all dissemination activities, including their dissemination activities on their own website and social media channels, project newsletters, presentations and meetings. In total, this comes to 147 recorded dissseminatin actions over the 2 years reaching many thousands of targets. See dissemination report. A sustainability strategy was developed to support the sustainability of project activities after the end of the project Quality Management and Evaluation: An external evaluator was contracted to provide a final evaluation report for the project. Partner meetings - 5 transnational partner meetings,regular Skype meetings, as well as quarterly partner surveys and progress reports AIM is proving to make an impact through its relevance throughout Europe, but is gaining particular traction in regions experiencing, or expecting, very high inflows of migrants, which need a swifter process of integration into the VET sector and/or where national policy change is moving faster.