Vocational skills competitions aim to develop the quality and attraction of vocational education and training. This project is designed to develop further a training program for the needs of the top skill workers that want to compete. Helsinki Vocational college has developed a training model for the practical nurses in a Nordplus Junior project which would now be tested in various professional fields and with a new partner group. The effectiveness and further development is based on the models of training of the partners and experiences gained in this project. The partner group consists of five colleges out of which three offer training in beauty care and three for cooks. Each of the partners are enthusiast in participating in skills competitions and want to improve the training they have to offer for the learners that aim to the top. The project layout gives students a chance to test their limits in a secure environment. 72 young talented students in Europe will test their competences in 5 training camps where there will be a three days Skills competition simulation. These project weeks are the key for the training and give the learners a chance to test how it feels to work with strict limits, with a time pressure and under constant evaluation. The training in the camps project layout allows the learners to learn more of their future profession in a natural way, by normal daily tasks formatted into cases which will work as the base of the project learning teaching training activities. As the learners will not only be the competitors but are also asked to work as judges for one another with a similar criteria as in the skills competitions, learners will have a chance to reflect the methods used in the tasks not only technically but also from cultural point of view. To support the study path of the top skilled workers varied pedagogical approaches are needed. Achieving top expertise requires goal-oriented and long-term preparation which regular vocational training offers few chances for. The purpose is to support the curricular development and learning methodologies so that student can complete a vocational qualification in a manner that takes into consideration one's individual needs, areas of emphasis and learning methods. The knowledge gained in the project aids each participating organization to plan and develop their path for the top-skilled workers as well as develop a common training model for the learners. The produced cases for competitions can be taken into daily use in the teaching but also can lead to use skills coaching as a pedagogical approach to general teaching. After this project the model of the training program and its suitability has been tested in different professions. This should secure that it can be implemented to any vocational qualifications the colleges offer.
The objective was to test a training model that is based on competition simulation weeks in other professional fields and with a new partner group and to be able to evaluate its effectiveness and further develop it based on the models of training of the partners and experience gained in this project. These project weeks are the key for successful training: giving the learners a possibility to test how it feels to work with strict limits, with a time pressure and under constant evaluation. As the learners will not only be the competitors but also are asked to judge one another with a similar criteria as in the skills competitions, learners will have a chance to reflect the methods used in the tasks not only technically but also from cultural point of view. The project layout allows the learners to learn more of their future profession in a natural way, buy normal daily tasks formatted into cases. For one to be able to evaluate others performance with a strict criterion asks for the evaluator to first interpret which of the actions taken are due to cultural difference and not purely a question of right or wrong working method. This “secret Asset” could not be gained if the project would be carried out nationally.
The project was applied to support the study path of the top skilled workers with varied pedagogical approaches. The purpose of the project was to support the curricular development and learning methodologies so that student can complete a vocational qualification in a manner that takes into consideration ones individual needs, areas of emphasis and learning methods. Future top skilled workers need competences to work in varied settings in foreign languages and have an ability to evaluate and reflect the chosen working methods in the cultural context. To consider one as a top skilled worker one needs good command of foreign languages, communicational skills, cultural knowledge and ability to perform well even in stressful circumstances. Achieving top expertise requires goal-oriented and long-term preparation which regular vocational training offers few chances for.