The main objective of the project was to increase participants' knowledge of the Austrian and Norwegian education systems and their approaches to the professional learning of VET practitioners. Through visits, meetings and presentations, we wanted the participants to: - explore how VET practitioner learning is designed, organised & evaluated in Austria and Norway - observe professional learning strategies in VET colleges & how they led to improvements in learner outcomes - stimulate discussion & inform policy in Wales through comparing systems Austria & Norway and how applicable those approaches were to a Welsh context - disseminate lessons learned & share good practice examples with the VET sector in Wales - strengthen links & contacts in Austria and Norway for future collaboration CollegesWales selected 31 senior managers from these organisations to participate in the visits to Austria and Norway:- CollegesWales, FE colleges in Wales, Welsh Government, Education Workforce Council (EWC) and Estyn, Her Majesty's Inspectorate in Wales. To maximise the impact of the visits, CollegesWales ensured that there was representation from colleges across Wales as well as from organisations with an overarching national remit for VET.
CollegesWales applied for this project to explore approaches to the professional learning of Vocational Education & Training (VET) staff in Austria, Norway & Ireland. The aim was to use the acquired knowledge to inform the development of a professional learning framework for the VET sector in Wales. We wanted the learning acquired to impact on policy development for the professional learning of VET staff in Wales following Welsh Government's publication of its ‘Post 16 Professional Learning Scoping Study'. The study was commissioned to understand how effective professional learning could support the post-16 workforce to meet one of the sector's main challenges which was the quality & consistency of the professional development of its staff. We wanted the visits to allow the participants to explore international best practice & use the knowledge gained to inform the professional learning development in Wales. Due to delays, caused by Covid19, to the implementation of this project, we undertook visits to Austria & Norway only as the Irish partner named at application stage was unable to support a visit. We also had to source a different host partner in Austria due to staff & organisational changes caused by the pandemic.