This project will develop a partnership aimed at promoting work-based learning by producing new training content in terms of innovative VET learning materials that are substantial in quality and quantity. The partnership will engage in the intensive dissemination of those materials which will tackle skills gaps and mismatches be addressing work-based learning, embedded in real-life practical situations that will support the workplace learning of early-career and experienced professional archaeologists. It will embed international experience and transnational mobility throughout. Context / Project Background It is difficult for archaeologists to move around Europe to work, as there are not consistent ways to record and demonstrate skills Professional archaeology as a sector was heavily affected across Europe by the global economic changes from 2008 onwards, owing to its relationship with the construction industry The sector now anticipates growth in many European countries, with concern about potential shortages of skilled workers The project proposes a novel and innovative way for practitioners and aspirant practitioners to access VET that they and employers value, in order to enhance their potential to play active roles in the labour market The project partners are from Spain, UK, Italy, Austria (German Language), Netherlands and Poland. According to labour market intelligence these countries/language groups have some of the largest European archaeological workforces and so could support increased transnationality Objectives The project will create freely accessible training materials to teach archaeologists technical skills to a common standard, delivered as digital materials, specifically short videos, in a modular format so each skill would be addressed in a self-contained learning experience that could either be separated out and learned individually or combined into a longer, structured learning VET experience Number and Profile of Participants The materials will be created by researchers, technicians and managers from six partner countries (UK, Spain, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Poland) who are sectoral experts in both archaeological practice and in VET. Approximately 60 people will contribute to the creation of materials for the project, and several hundred more practitioners will be involved in testing the materials Description of Activities Partners will collectively identify priority area for skills development (taking into account data gathered in previous labour market intelligence projects undertaken for the sector by some of the partners and funded in part by the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme) matching these against the requirements of a shared validation tool, the Archaeological Skills Passport From these priority areas the partners will create sixteen focussed training videos with voice overs available in six partner languages, thus creating a total of 96 separate VET training tools (16 videos in 6 languages) allowing their use across multiple countries. These videos will then be freely available as stand-alone training materials, and will also be able to form part of more substantial, structured learning activities The materials will be available in a portable digital format allowing access in the workplace on a mobile device such as a smartphone or laptop. The modular nature of this resource means it will be quick and easy to access training for a single skill while working on an archaeological site The videos will then be integrated into the Heritage Education Portal, an e-learning platform developed by some of the partners under a predecessor Erasmus+ project (ANHER), and through that and by use of YouTube they will be made available and accessible Results and Impact Envisaged Audiences for this training are early career practitioners and those looking to refresh their specific, technical skills that are common to archaeological practice in most countries, encouraging up-skilling of workforces across Europe. Some materials will be country-specific, so beneficiaries will learn quickly and efficiently the required skills and techniques to begin working in a different country, encouraging a transnational workforce that can meet skill shortages across Europe The materials can also be included in formal training and CPD programmes. Because they will be licensed under an open Creative Commons license, universities could integrate them into their teaching. Employers and professional associations could use the training materials as validated CPD for their professional grades Potential Long Term Benefits This project proposes the development and delivery of materials that could help train up a workforce quicker than a 3-4 year degree in archaeology, in order to meet anticipated increased demand Beneficiaries will be able to use the Archaeological Skills Passport to have their skills validated and thus demonstrated to employers
The objective of this project, DOVTA, was to create freely accessible training materials, specifically videos, to teach archaeologists technical skills, to a common standard. In a modular format so that each could either be separated out and learnt individually, or combined into a longer, structured learning experience. A total of 96 videos were to be created covering 16 skills in six languages. The project exceeded this goal, producing 180 videos, covering 30 different skills, in six languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, and Polish). Released under an Open licence these materials can be adopted and adapted by anyone in the world for their learning needs. In addition, the scripts have been released so that anyone can create captions for the videos so they can be translated into any language. This project came about after labour market intelligence data showed skills gaps/shortages in some European countries and that is was difficult for archaeologists to move around Europe to work. As such, the materials were created so practitioners and aspirant practitioners can access VET that they and employers value, in order to enhance their potential to play active roles in the labour market. To further facilitate reaching this goal, the project partners were chosen from Spain, UK, Italy, Austria (German Language), Netherlands and Poland which labour market intelligence shows are the countries/language groups that have some of the largest European archaeological workforces. While it is too early to see the full impact of the materials, a project survey of potential users found that 78% of them would use all or some of the videos in their training. The project has facilitated the uptake of the Archaeological Skills Passport, a method for measuring skill competencies, in three of the partner countries. Finally, it also provided training to all the partners so they can each undertake filming in the future and create more teaching videos.