The main objective of the project is to improve the competences of the staff in order to support the successful integration of people from other cultures and social risk groups into Lithuanian vocational training. The participants were provided with theoretical knowledge about the needs of socially excluded and other cultures and their integration models; practical skills to implement integration models with the project target groups: students, teachers, parents; improved problem-solving, assistance and emergency management skills; and strengthened competence in cooperation skills. To achieve these objectives, the application of practices in the three EU countries and their organisations was analysed and compared, and observations of work in groups of different sizes and in sessions of different lengths were carried out to observe specific activities and processes. Discussion of experiences between participants and partners was used. Reflection sessions were organised, during which schemes for relevant problem-solving models were designed, key stages of the observed practices were identified, and forms of implementation were identified. The ability to cooperate was strengthened through observation, analysis of activities, reflection and discussion, group work to systematise the information by keeping an informal diary of experiences and by visualising the patterns of experiences schematically.
As more immigrants and people from other cultures settle in Lithuania, the growth of people from these groups is also being felt in educational institutions. Vocational training institutions have seen a multi-year trend of increasing numbers of pupils at social risk. There is also a lack of additional knowledge and skills among staff in dealing with pupils from socially vulnerable families, orphanages, ex-prisoners, the disabled, orphans, pupils with young children, pupils from large families, and pupils from families in difficult circumstances. It is well known that vocational training is chosen by pupils with low attainment, often with learning difficulties and often with a lack of social skills, so that the lack of knowledge and skills of vocational teachers becomes an important aspect. In light of the trends, it was found that there is a skills gap in working with these groups. In order to find a solution to the problem, a project was initiated to prepare and carry out the integration of socially excluded persons and persons from other cultures into vocational training in Lithuania and to draw on knowledge and practical skills from EU countries with relevant experience.