Virtual Reality Job Interview Trainings allow students for the first time to interactively play through authentic application situations by using VR glasses in the classroom. Through the immersive experience, young people strengthen their professional skills and are being motivated to reflect on their professional future. By using VR technology, teachers are supported to optimally prepare their students for future job interviews. Context In Europe, a high employment rate starts with the early development of vocational skills in schools, so that seamless transitions to a state of employment are possible. This includes the practice of job interviews. These are particularly effective under realistic conditions. However, this is not easily achieved in the classroom. At this point, the project comes in with an innovative solution and develops an interactive VR Job Interview Training using 360° videos including concept and teaching materials for the implementation in school lessons. Objectives -Schools receive free access to future-oriented VR technology without further investments in existing infrastructures. -The use of VR training improves the quality of vocational orientation at schools and complements existing methods. -Students strengthen their professional skills. On this way, they are prepared for application processes and the job market. -Teachers strengthen their digital skills, specifically within vocational orientation. -The project encourages a transnational knowledge exchange about digital education. Participants The project involves five partner organisations from three countries: The social enterprise Studio2B GmbH from Germany develops innovative concepts and methods for vocational orientation and vocational training. Euphoria Net Srl from Italy specialises in the organisation and implementation of EU projects in education. İzmit District Directorate of National Education (IDDNE) from Turkey is the largest state institution in Izmit and responsible for the planning and coordination of education and training activities. Also involved are the Instituto Tecnico Industriale "Leonardo Da Vinci" (ITIS L. DA VINCI) from Italy, a vocational school, and the GEBKİM Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School from Turkey. The project addresses teachers and students from general education schools. They will use the VR Job Interview Training. Activities The above objectives will be achieved through the following activities: -Requirements and competencies for modern application processes will be researched comprehensively and presented in a clear manner. -Based on this, interactive learning units will be designed for the VR Job Interview Training, scripts will be created, a prototype of the 360° video will be produced and tested at pilot schools afterwards and a VR learning app will be developed. -For the teachers, a teaching unit for the application of the VR Job Interview Training in school lessons will be designed and materials will be produced. -Modules for a digital teacher training will be designed and integrated into a learning platform developed for this purpose. -VR Job Interview Trainings are carried out at schools in the partner countries. -In each participating partner country, multiplier events will be organised to introduce the project and the VR Job Interview Training to other schools, training centres and further stakeholders. Outputs -A compact manual with a matrix presenting requirements and necessary competences for a modern job application training. -An interactive VR Job Interview Training in several languages that can be conducted in class by using a learning app with VR glasses or smartphones. -A didactic concept including Open Educational Resources for VR Job Interview Trainings to support teachers. -An online learning platform with a digital teacher training on virtual reality and application training. Outcome/long-term benefits -Teachers expand their digital skills and can offer an interactive, sustainable application training for their students. They can integrate the VR Job Interview Training into already existing vocational orientation activities at schools in a targeted manner and improve the quality of such activities in a sustainable way. -Young people know how to successfully prepare themselves for modern methods in application processes. They improve their vocational qualifications and chances on the job market, as they acquire knowledge from experience at an early stage. This has an effect on future job interview situations they will face. -The Partner organisations reinforce their capacity for European cooperation with partners bridging youth work, lifelong learning, digital literacy, vocational training and research. - On a systemic level, the project strengthens the opening of vocational orientation in schools with regard to new digital technologies.
The project outputs will provide valuable resources, orientation and practical tools for teachers to prepare their students for real-life job application processes. Teachers with be able to strengthen their digital skills, specifically within career orientation. Students will benefit from the outputs by receiving up-to-date, practical and private sector-oriented application training with the possibility to learn about and experience an application process in a 360°-environment and in a peer-advice-situation. They strengthen their professional skills and are better prepared for application processes and their transition into the job market. The use of innovative tools for application preparation improves the quality of career orientation at schools and complements existing methods. Overall, the project aimed at fostering a transnational knowledge exchange on digital education among the participating partner countries Italy, Germany and Turkey.
In 2020, youth unemployment was 14.9% in the EU (Statista, 2020). In 2022, this number was about the same with 15.9% in the EU (Statista, 2022). In non-EU-countries closely cooperating with the EU, such as Turkey, the youth unemployment rate is even more volatile and potentially critical with rates between 11 and 42.4% depending on the sources (GTAI 2022; FAZ 2021). One pillar in combating youth unemployment is sound, comprehensive and target group-oriented career orientation and preparation for the job market in order to guarantee a successful transition from school into employment. Schools play a major role in providing preparation for the job market and application training for youths. Here, we identified a gap: schools and their teachers often struggle to provide a realistic application process scenario and companies expect youths applying for their jobs to be prepared for the real-life application process. Teachers often only have limited resources to prepare their students for application processes and/ or lack up-to-date application experience in the private sector themselves. Our project taps into this gap with its objective to develop an interactive VR-training including respective didactical material for the classroom.