Project title:
School and the World of Work
Rationale and background:
School education is the base for successful processes of further education and training, for lifelong learning, also for access to the world of work and employment.
This is a central point of the Lisbon strategy and includes the aims of policy for Youth in Europe, participation and social cohesion.
The relaunched Lisbon strategy (Presidency conclusions, Brussels 2006) gives a strict orientation on benchmarks and indicators in the field of “education and training 2010”. The second joint interim report shows, that there is some progress, but not enough, especially in the benchmarks related to young people.
It must be a strong focus to improve systems and processes in school and education to give young people a chance to join the world of work and employment.
But there are visible drastic discrepancies between the performance in benchmarks and indicators and in the situation of young people concerning to labour market and employment in many countries.
Some member states which are best performer in most of the benchmarks areas have also the highest unemployment rates of young people.
The detailed analysis “Towards to the Lisbon objectives in education and training” – 2006 report (Education and Culture, unit A 6 / Eurostat / Crell) gives a lot of information and background to this topic – but it is obvious, that there are not enough information and consequences to improve school education concerning to the needs and demands from the world of work and labour for all young people in Europe.
The partnership includes member states with quite different situations, e.g. such one with high performance in the five benchmarks areas education and training (e.g. Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic) and such one which are at the other end of the scale (e.g. Spain, Italy, Romania, Turkey) also countries with high performance in youth employment (e.g. Netherlands, Denmark, Austria) and member states with high level youth unemployment (e.g. Poland, Slovakia, Greece).
As the Commission paper (Annex-detailed analyses 2006) shows, are situations and conditions for young people very differentiated, there is not one and the same model to improve the process of transition from school to further training and the world of work, in various national, regional and personal contexts.
This is the main aim of the network: To identify the crucial criteria and elements of successful pathways for young people from the world of school to additional learning processes and to the world of work and employment, with the focus of successful processes of lifelong learning and social cohesion and participation.
The task of the network includes aspects of improving basis competences in school, developing personality and social skills – also concerning to the European framework of key competences, using competence portfolios to make visible non formal and informal gained qualifications, and options and methods for links and cooperation between school and world of work, e.g. early work experiences.
As an integral part the network has a strong focus on the task of guidance and counselling as a part of the strategy for lifelong guidance.
Education and employment for young people are main political priorities in all involved partner countries and in the European Union; most of the member states have written strategies for lifelong learning including development of school quality, access of young people to further training and employment and strategies for guidance at school and at the interfaces between school and the world of work.
Aims and objectives:
The main aims and objectives of the network are
Ä To collect, to analyse and to disseminate and to transfer Existing results, experiences and recognitions at the interfaces and transition between initial education, training and profession, especially from Comenius projects and other European, national, regional and local measures and activities in the field “School and the World of Work”. (see CLP-Obj.-K and COM 1.3.5./2)
Ä Exchange of experiences and networking between stake holders, institutions and administrations, from the field of school, enterprise and business, social partner, public employment service etc. initiating, structuring and analysing for further developments. (see COM 1.3.5./3)
Ä Identification, documentation and transfer of successful concepts and best practice of early guidance and counselling for education, training, career and profession. (see COM 1.3.5./1)
Ä Basic needs for successful preventive measures in the education system and principle, criteria and concrete developments for European wide dissemination in various contexts of educational and employment systems.
An additional focus is the improvement of basis competences, individual development of personal skills, especially with a focus of ability to decision making and entrepreneurial spirit.
The overall goal is support to reach the Lisbon goals concerning to education and employment for young people.
There is not in all countries a strong correlation between the performance in the educational benchmarks and youth employment and successful career development.
One of the main goals of the network should be to identify the essential criterias and elements of successful transition of young people from initial education to working life.
This network will identify, document, compare, analyse and disseminate these principles, criteria, processes and preconditions, which are the real movements for successful transition of young people from initial education in the world of work and employment.
A main result will be concrete examples of successful processes, recommendations and guide lines for policy, strategies and for activities, measures and projects in the field of education, school and the field of transition between school and world of work. These results should support and guarantee a successful transition of a maximum of numbers of young people from initial education in career and employment.
Detailed description:
First step:
- Collecting the relevant European and national data, analysis, documentations in the field of transition educational – employment – regarding to the most important facts and criteria in the area of transition between school, further training and the world of work.
- Identification of areas and processes, which works well, also of gaps, deficiencies and discrepancies between good performance in educational benchmarks and Youth employment and vice versa.
- Documentation of examples of successful policies and strategies, good practice, innovative services and measures in the partner countries, also based on former Comenius and other European and national projects.
Second step:
- Thematic conferences to several topics in the field of school and links to the world of work, transition between school, further training and world of work and improving policies, strategies, systems and services too facilitate smooth transition processes from school to further training and employment.
Third step:
- The results of the conferences and additional reflection and documentation will be clear concepts and recommendations in the identified areas of transition, clear definition of core criteria and elements of successful transition processes and improving the competences and quality of school and young people concerning to the task of the preparation for further training and employment.
One of the results will be a handbook for all stake holders in school, economy, social partners, policy makers on national and regional level, which is useful to analyse concrete situation in special fields of transition, gives example of good practice and improvement of structures, systems, processes and services.
The target group(s) that are to be addressed:
The main target groups addressed within the duration of the network will be responsible institutions and persons at the interfaces between school, further training and world of work, esp. responsible persons, policy makers, school inspectors, head masters, teachers, entrepreneurs and human resources experts in enterprises, responsible persons in the field of further training, post secondary and tertiary education, social partners, public employment service, other involved institutions e.g. project executing organisations etc.
The main needs of persons in school are: Better information and personal contacts to the world of work, knowledge about qualification, needs and demands of a changing world of work, methods and options to get contact to companies and entrepreneurs, links to partners outside of school, support to improve preparation and guidance of young people for their further education, training and access to employment and labour market.
The need of responsible persons in the world of work are e.g. good contacts to the education system, to improve the educational base concerning to the qualifications, needs and demands in companies, well prepared and orientated job seekers, young people with self esteem, entrepreneurial spirit and social skills as employees in the future.
The needs of politicians and other stake holder are relevant information, data base and arguments as base for policies, strategies and political decisions to improve the educational systems and processes concerning to the needs of young people, school, world of work etc.
The long-term beneficiaries and the anticipated impact on them:
The substantial benefit of the network is addressed to the Youth in Europe, to give young people a better chance to improve their educational and personal preconditions as a basis for further educational and professional pathways.
Those young people, who have specific challenges for transition and employment – young people with special needs, migration background etc. – are especially addressed by the tasks of the network, also using information and results of other European activities (e.g. EU Cluster-Group on access and social inclusion – peer learning activity, early school leaving etc.)
Outcomes and benefits will be spread to the long-term beneficiaries:
The outcomes and benefits should reach the long-term beneficiaries by the following steps:
Ä find clear arguments and concrete starting points to improve policies, structures and processes for the transition of young people from school to the world of work to all relevant stakeholder
Ä to make visible concrete examples, best practice, innovative models and methods to generate smooth pathways of transition from school to work
Ä to identify the gaps and deficiencies – especially for young people with special needs, early school leavers, migration background etc. – to maximise the number of successful success to further training and world of work
Ä using the results – especially the handbook for transition to initiate and realise innovative services and measures to improve the processes of transition from school to world of work, including clear concepts for services for guidance and counselling within and outside of school
Ä to use additional channels for dissemination and valorisation in existing European and national networks, e.g. in the European lifelong guidance policy network, in peer learning activities, contacts and cooperation in the fields of school, teacher training, involving social partners and policy makers.
The reason for the duration of your project/network:
To use additional channels for dissemination and valorisation in existing European and national networks, e.g. in the European lifelong guidance policy network, in peer learning activities, contacts and cooperation in the fields of school, teacher training, involving social partners and policy makers.
The indicators that will be used to measure the progress of the work and the extent to which it will deliver the expected outcomes:
- The European benchmarks and indicators for education and training are the framework for the network activities, additional parameters and data about situation of young people on European and national level, especially access to labour market and employment.
- Additional each country will define concrete national project goals with the main aspects of the network approach concerning to the situation in the own country including indicators for measuring influences in the own country.
The point of reference for progress of work in the network is the action plan with clear defined milestones and work loads. An internal evaluation will guarantee the ex ante and ex post check about progress and success of the work.
The activities are networking activities:
The following activities are foreseen:
- Interactive communication within the Comenius multilateral network partners by personal and virtual communication, especially by using interactive ICT communication tools (virtual communication platform)
- Using additional European networks and platforms, in which the partner are involved, e.g. European Expert Group for Lifelong Guidance, European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network, School networks, involvement in other European projects in the LLL program or other projects, educational and economic clusters etc.
- Using the national and regional networks platforms and cooperation also at regional level.
The planned project will contribute concretely to enhance the diversity of languages in its different activities:
- Each country should use the basic European and national documents in their own language.
- The key documents, working papers, interim reports and final documents should be translated into the partner languages, if possible.
- The interactive ICT communication platform will contain documents, texts and links in all partner languages.
- In smaller (virtual or physical) working groups the languages should be used, which have the most overlapping in the knowledge of language of the participants.
Project coordinator:
Dr. Michaela Marterer
STVG - Steirische Volkswirtschaftliche Gesellschaft
(Styrian Economic Association)
Freiheitsplatz 2
8010 Graz
Austria
E-mail:
Project partners:
1 / Czech Republic / Ing. Zuzana Freibergová / / Opietalova 25Prague 1
CZ-11000
2 / Germany / Christiane Schiersmann
Peter Weber /
/ Universität Heidelberg
IBW Institut für Bildungswissenschaft
Arbeitseinheit Weiterbildung und Beratung
Akademiestr. 3
69117 Heidelberg
3 / Poland / Czeslaw Noworol / / Education, Training and Mobility Task Force
Jagiellonian University
Gronostajewra 3 room 127
ul. Golebia 24
31-387 Krakau
Institute of Economy and Management
4 / Netherlands / Hans Migchielsen
Theo van de Veerdonk / , / Gemeente 's-Hertogenbosch
Sector CWS, afdeling Jeugd en Onderwijs
T.a.v. Theo van de Veerdonk
Postbus 12345
5200 GZ 's-Hertogenbosch
5 / Finland / Jaana Kettunen
Helena Kasurinen
Raimo Vuorinen /
/ Finnish National Board of Education
Kumpulantie 3
00520 Helsinki
6 / Rumania / Mihaela LaRoche
and Mihai Jigau /
/ Institute of Educational Sciences
Euroguidance Romania
Stirbei Voda Str. No. 37
Bucharest 010102
Romania
7 / Italy / Luciana Levi Bettin
President / / Eurocultura
Via del Mercato Nuovo 44/G
36100 Vicenza - Italy
8 / Greece / Sofoklis Sotiriou
Eleni Lampou /
/ Eleni Lampou
Research and Development Department
Ellinogermaniki Agogi
Dimitriou Panagea
Pallini, Attiki, GR-15351 Greece
9 / Slowakia / Jozef Detko
Aneta Baranova / , / Euroguidance team, Slovakia
10 / Turkey / Mevlut AYDOGMUS / / Konya Province National Education Directorate
Adres : Abdülaziz Mah. Atatürk Caddesi No:48 42040
Meram / Konya
11 / Denmark / Carla Tønder Jessing,
Jette Larsen,
Lisbeth Højdal /
/ VUE - Knowledge Centre for Educational and Vocational Guidance
Reberbanen 11
8800 Viborg – DK
12 / Spain / Valentin
Miguel Angel Mejías / ,