GLOSSARY ESD = Education for Sustainable development. QA= Quality Assurance EQAVET= European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training. GREEN SKILLS The knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society (CEDEFOP, 2012). THE PROJECT INTENDS TO DELIVER A COMPLETELY INNOVATIVE TRAINING SYSTEM BASED ON MICRO-LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO I-VET TEACHERS IN THE FURNITURE AND WOOD SECTOR. THE IDEA BEHIND THE PROJECT IS TO GIVE TEACHERS NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND REDUCTION OF THE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO INCREASE THE ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS INTO VET PROGRAMMES RELATED TO FORNITURES. OBJECTIVE: The project aims at GREENING THE INITIAL VET - VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING - OFFER thanks to the innovative learning material develop by the project TABLE - TAckling Environmental sustainability through Blended Learning opportunities for i-VET in the furniture and wood sector. Indeed, the project wants to increase the quality in the VET provision through the application of the EQAVET standards and enhancing the access to training and qualification to all. CONTEST The greening of economies is causing unprecedented shifts in skills requirements. These changes include shifts in the ways in which jobs are performed (which lead to a need to retrain and upskill displaced workers so they can be employed in other sectors); the emergence of new skilled occupations (for which individuals need to be trained and acquire qualifications); and the greening of existing jobs (which also demands upskilling of those employed) (Strietska-Ilina et al., 2011). Achieving a green economy requires much more integration of skills and employment development policies into a green economic agenda. (Source: UNESCO, 2017) TARGET GROUP - DIRECT TARGET GROUP: I-VET teachers and trainers that work with students interested in technical and vocational training in the field of furniture and wood that would like to increase their competences in the field of sustainability and build strong partnership with universities and SMEs to innovate the sector. - INDIRECT TARGET GROUP is represented by VET schools, training centres, NGOs, universities dealing with sustainability and sustainable consumption of the natural resources. - STAKEHOLDER: regional development centres, local and national authorities and city hall who would like to share best practices and green jobs. PROJECT (MAIN) RESULTS 1. ESD VET quality – EQAVET, European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training, methodology and approach; 2. ESD training course for the furniture and wood sector; 3. ESD knowledge dissemination platform enriched with a code badge system to assess the acquired competences.
The main objective of the consortium was to address the sustainability issues of the furniture sector and the valorisation of wood resources by focusing on education and vocational training, i.e., by addressing the future workers of these sectors and the teachers who train them. One of the fundamental challenges was to integrate a systemic logic into this project, thus favouring the interconnection of actors, and the development of innovative learning schemes. The objective was to propose, and make available to learners and teachers, a complete training course introducing the issues of sustainable development in the field of wood and furniture. This training allows students to build or perfect their knowledge on sustainable development and all related themes and also to connect them with their future professional realities in order to invite them to implement changes in their future activities. At the same time, we wanted to provide teachers with material to integrate these notions of sustainability into their courses. Finally, the project does not replace the lessons already in place but enriches them by providing knowledge and personal skills and know-how in addition to the lessons already carried out in schools.
We have applied for this project to set up an initiative which encourage a systemic approach in the field of professional education in the wood and furniture sectors. In general, the lessons are vertical, while the challenges of sustainability are essential and integrate a lot of knowledge not yet systematically taught or not sufficiently presented according to a systemic approach. We also wished to make available the experience and expertise of the consortium partners with the aim of making the offer of education and professional training in the field of wood resource development greener. We wanted to integrate the systemic approach to increase the quality of the vocational training offer through the application of EQAVET standards and to improve access to training and qualification for all. The diversity of the consortium assembled for this project was also an inspiring driving force. To answer with an adapted methodology, the group of partners includes universities and schools, entrepreneurs’ association, environmental associations and experts from different sectors. This project also provided an opportunity to place sustainability issues at the heart of an entire sector, and to address them through training and education.