The project NEXTSTEP is a follow-up project to the successful CSTEPS project. Partner countries and regions of this project are sharing the same challenges faced by VET. This includes the early student drop out, employment challenges of the students with fewer opportunities, and rapidly changing demands of the working sector. The aim of the NEXSTEP project is to collaborate, explore, and share ideas how to solve these problems. The project aims at strengthening partnership with working life, aligning working life based thinking to the curricula and to everyday school/college life. There is also an objective to improve the special needs students apprenticeship process. By learning from the other countries practices each partner will gain new tools and cultural perspectives to their development process. New approach to employment and apprenticeship is an opening for all involved institutions to review their approaches to national changes and for staff to develop new perspectives and methods to support student achievement and success. Also the idea is to have a clear process for the practical training and apprenticeship, as well as new methods of guidance and coaching during the practical training. Partners plan to prepare 4 training events for staff and 4 blended mobilities for pupils.
The project NEXTSTEP was a follow-up project to the successful CSTEPS project. Partner countries and regions of this project were sharing the same challenges faced by VET. This includes the early student drop out, employment challenges of the students with fewer opportunities, and rapidly changing demands of the working sector. The aim of the NEXSTEP project was to collaborate, explore, and share ideas how to solve these problems. The project aimed at strengthening partnership with working life, aligning working life based thinking to the curricula and to everyday school/college life. Project partners invited companies as an efficient tool to promote closer cooperation with working life: in the U.K. students experienced in companies Alconbury Weald, ABB and Luminus in Finland students visited company Mediapolis which is a huge recording centre for film and video production in Italy students experienced with culture of eating and food production in a Rice Mill which is traditional for this part of the country In Czech Republic student had chance to learn more about winfow production with company PKS. . . There was also an objective to improve the special needs students apprenticeship process. By learning from the other countries practices each partner gained new tools and cultural perspectives to their development process. New approach to employment and apprenticeship was an opening for all involved institutions to review their approaches to national changes and for staff to develop new perspectives and methods to support student achievement and success. Also the idea was to have a clear process for the practical training and apprenticeship, as well as new methods of guidance and coaching during the practical training. Partners prepared 4 training events for staff and 4 blended mobilities for pupils.