SMART E-Quality@WBL

Smart Electronic System for Quality@Work-based Learning – Why quality of Work-based Learning is key to future youth employment

The Erasmus+ projects Apprentice Track and ApprenticeshipQ invite all interested parties to their joint workshop at the EC-TEL conference on 14 or 15[1] September.

[1] The exact date will be published here as soon as it is fixed.

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Speakers

Alicia-Leonor Sauli-Miklavčič

Alicia-Leonor Sauli-Miklavčič

Association of Slovene Higher Education Colleges (SKUPNOST VSS)
Miha Zimšek

Miha Zimšek

Association of Slovene Higher Education Colleges (SKUPNOST VSS)
Naïla Wagner

Naïla Wagner

Baden Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn

Svenja Wiechmann

Svenja Wiechmann

Baden Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn

Topic

The workshop shall have two strands. One strand will present the innovative digital management tool developed under the auspices of the Apprentice Track project. A prototype has the following components: management of identity, apprenticeship design, recording details of placements, assigning and documenting learning activities during placement, feedback & evaluation, assessment and reporting, as well as database of final credentials. The web platform to support the monitoring and evaluation of apprenticeships shall:

  • Support digital transformation in PHE institutions (to be also environmentally friendly);
  • Establish requirements for students to report progress;
  • Assess the progress and implementation of practical training provided by employer and student;
  • Create a tool for helping companies easier to understand learning competences under framework of business skills;
  • Give students a better understanding of their positions and more opportunities for improvement;
  • Promote the benefits (to companies, students, social benefits);
  • Provide proof of learning outcomes and present learning outcomes at the core of apprenticeship experiences.

The other strand of the workshop is going to address quality in Work-based Learning (WBL) by presenting the ApprenticeshipQ and the Apprentice Track projects’ results.

Evidence suggests that WBL can be a promising pathway towards better future employment outcomes for young people. Vocational, technical and professional training combined with work placement can improve future employment, earnings and career outcomes for students. Assuring quality is key to securing positive outcomes for all stakeholders of the knowledge triangle (HE institutions, world of work and students). Hence, ApprenticeshipQ focused on approaches to securing and developing high quality apprenticeships/WBL.

In particular, the identified quality criteria, developed manuals and policy recommendations in the project ApprenticeshipQ are going to be discussed in terms of comprehensiveness and relevance. The leading questions are going to be:

  • What kind of policy level interventions do you expect to intensify/enable the cooperation of PHEIs and employers?
  • What will be the future role of practical experiences during education programmes?
  • What needs to be done by each stakeholder group to enable high quality WBL?
  • What is your experience with WBL in your home country?

Workshop plan

Introduction to the workshop

Strand 1:

Presentation of WBL Quality standards

World café method in groups focussing on:

  • quality in WBL. Which key criteria to develop, implement and maintain high quality WBL periods. What needs to be done by each stakeholder group to come on the same page?
  • Policy recommendations and how to mainstream adoption of the quality criteria and manuals, with the aim of integrating apprenticeships into quality management systems of educational organizations and companies throughout Europe.
  • Future Students, Future Universities, Future World of Work. Do you have different experiences in your home country? What will be the future role of practical experiences integrated into education programmes?

Strand 2:

Presentation of the Smart Electronic System for Quality@Work-based Learning

Testing of the functionalities of the Smart Electronic System for Quality@Work-based Learning based on prepared scenarios for 3 groups, each playing a role of one of the following stakeholders of WBL:

  • students
  • companies, especially SMEs (mentors)
  • educational institutions (WBL organisers/supervisors)

Collecting:

  • impressions
  • information on usability, comprehensiveness
  • recommendations for improvement
  • indications of interest
  • policy recommendations

Wrap up and conclusions.

Sources:

Apprentice Track: https://apprenticetrack.eu/

ApprenticeshipQ: https://apprenticeshipq.eu/

EC-TEL conference: http://www.ec-tel.eu/index.php?id=957