For the past few years unemployment is both a concern and a challenge across Europe, the consequences hitting masses of people, a lot of them middle aged. Increased lay-offs in the service sector and the industry are leaving professionals and trained workers in the middle of their career both out of job and without prospects. At the same time technical/traditional vocations that are being abandoned can be seen as job opportunities, especially through small-scale social entrepreneurial activities. Vocational education and training are important means for addressing these issues;however, their success presupposes vocational orientation and guidance. Up to now lifelong learning programs have been giving emphasis in the logic of “go ahead rather than to get by, which does not match the emphasis on the low-skilled” and the participation of the lower skilled who are the ones that would benefit the most is significantly low (Education and Training Monitor 2013, p.68), while orientation and guidance practices target mostly young people. Now the need arises for the relevant tools and methods to be adjusted to an older age group, addressing profession or career change. The same need arises as far as the integration in the labor market of newly arrived refugees/ migrants in the EU countries is concerned. An adequate response to these challenges is the strengthening of knowledge and the offer of relevant and effective (re)orientation tools to coaches/trainers/counselors to use in their immediate work with beneficiaries. Our Project’s objective is to provide for them the contextual framework and the educational material to address the needs of their diverse (and steadily more diversified) group of beneficiaries along with easy to use materials and tools for vocational re-orientation of adults and vulnerable groups. Our partnership joins forces in order to provide an innovative approach to strengthen the VET effectiveness and indirectly aid in combating unemployment through VET means: enhancing access to training and qualification for all, with special attention to low skilled;providing efficient and integrated guidance services; introducing opportunities for professional development of VET trainers/coaches/counselors; developing effective, open and innovative education techniques through the use of ICT. Project targets trainers/coaches/counselors and VET providers, aiming at upgrading their skills to enhance clients/beneficiaries chances in the labor market. For this, it creates an innovative methodology and the complementary ICT educational materials to support it, in the context of vocational re-orientation, technical orientation and up- & re-skilling. Approx. 150 trainers, coaches, counselors will be trained within the partnership. 16 of them will participate in the short term Joint Staff Training Event in Lisbon. Given the Project’s objectives and target group, we have decided to apply to all its educational activities the liberal adult learning approach: its main characteristics adopted in the Project’s activities and embedded in its outcomes, are self-assessment, critical thinking, relying on the participants professional and/or life experiences and previous knowledge on a learner-centered basis and group work. The project’s development follows three complementary steps: a) re-drafting and re-design of orientation materials and tools for unemployed people including refugees/immigrants that need to re-focus their vocational orientation; b)creating educational material for trainers/coaches/counselors and VET providers with the use of ICT in the form of a Virtual Reality Space for the beneficiaries to try out different vocations along with; c) a collection of videos by artisans explaining their profession and techniques offering to beneficiaries a virtual hands-on experience and better guidance at technical vocational training. Target group members will be actively involved in the Project’s development through focus groups and piloting, so that the final products reflect their experience and enhance their knowledge, offering practical help in their everyday work. The activities conclude in the creation of the re-orientation material for adults, the guide and the Electronic re-orientation kit. The OER platform offering to trainers/coaches/counselors the use of the Project’s materials at any time and place, also beyond its life cycle. The Partnership is particularly interested in gaining insights and a strong basis for future development of ECVET curricula on technical vocations reflecting the needs of the labor market and the unemployed.Resulting from transnational cooperation and encompassing a European perspective, we do hope that our final products will be useful across Europe. We plan to disseminate the Project’s results and inform target group members, networks and stakeholders all over Europe, while the Project’s outcomes are to be available for free on the internet after its completion.
The Re-Orient project aimed to provide tools for the economic and professional integration of adults in Europe for vocational trainers who wish to improve their skills in order to increase the chances to access the labour market. The Re-Orient Project has developed educational tools using innovative tools, including such as a virtual reality application (IO.3), allowing virtual situationalizations for target audiences, and an online internet platform (IO.5), accompanied by activities specifically developed by all partners (IO.2 and IO.4) following a conceptual analysis of the needs (IO.1) of these audiences-targets today. The 5 intellectual productions produced during the Project (with the responsible partners) are: - IO.1 - Conceptual and Analytical Framework (Infodef), - IO.2 - Toolbox (IEKEP), - IO.3 - "Re-Orient" Virtual Reality Environment (Omegatech), - IO.4 - Trainers' Guide and Project Tool Use Manual, (APEA) - IO.5 - Online platform and website (TLP). The project was completed as planned despite the context of the Covid-19 and the objectives set are all met with the expected quality set at the outset. The project's productions are completed and translated into the different languages of the partnership: - IO.1 - Conceptual framework and analysis: led by Infodef, this report is a 40-page summary document with (i) an analysis of labour market trends by country, (ii) a state of affairs, by country, on (re)career guidance devices to date, and above all (iii) recommendations for the other IOs of the Project). - IO.2 - Toolkit: This 128-page guide, structured around 6 themes (one per partner) with 9 activities and practical exercises: (a) Change Management: APEA, (b) Re(Orientation): IEKEP, (c) Career Orientation Information Collection: ITG, (d) Professional Networks: APEA, (e) Entrepreneurship: Infodef and (f) Personal/Professional Life Balance: TLP. In total, there are 54 activities, which are now available on Dropbox. - IO.3 - "Re-Orient" virtual reality environment (Omegatech) is a seemingly digital tool (audio recordings and programs intended to be used withedigital virtual reality equipment Oculus Rift-s: https://www.oculus.com/rift-s/. brought by Omegatech. These products (scenarios with methodological explanations) are documented in a 21 pages guides, translated into different languages of the partnership. - IO.4 - Project Tool Use Practical Guide and Manual: This 21 page guide is not only a methodological guide to the presentation and use of tools, but above all a guide to tips for things to do (recommendations) and things to avoid (warnings), for the use of tools by trainers. This guide also highlights the personalized steps to be adapted according to the profiles of the audience to accompany. - IO.5 - TLP-driven online platform and website: this combined IT tool is online (IO.5 and hosts all Project content. In the run-up to the Projet Re-Orient, thefeedback from the piloting and dissemination activities put before the innovative side of the IO.3 tool that basically marks the participants, not or unaccustomed to experimenting with virtual reality training, with associated computer equipment (virtual helmets) and associated scenarios on situations. The IO1 study report is commended for the relevance of the findings and recommendations on career reorientation in Europe. The toolkit (IO.2) is appreciated by the number and flexibility of activities (54 in all). The Trainer Guide (IO.4) is an asset in terms of practical advice, as highlighted in the feedback returns. The website (IO.5) contains all the tools of the project (from IO.1 to IO.4) and is thus a practical vector to use for any public wishing to address a topic of career reorientation. Overall, the feedback from entities and the community of adult education and guidance practitioners is very good and underlines the relevance of such tools produced and above all the innovative and dynamic dimension of virtual reality tools.