Final meeting of JS-Toolbox Project (METHODOLOGICAL TOOLBOX FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SKILL FOR FUTURE JOBS) took place on the 30th August 2012 in the city of Larissa, Greece. The meeting was attended by members of Documenta, and by the participants from the different partner´s organisations: Folkuniversitet, promoter of the project -Sweden-, Dimitra –Greece-, Studies Staropolska Bab’ya Przemysłowo-Handlowao – Poland – and Revalento, from the Netherlands.
The meeting was also characterized by the presence of experts from the labour sectors in which each partner organization focused their Country Reports, and subsequently, their workshops, in order to create curricular/ training profiles able to accomplish nowadays needs of competencies and skills foreseen as successful in creating new jobs and improving labour market conditions in the medium and long term.
The project’s main object is the adaptation of competencies and skills provided by the current vocational training programmes to the emergence of new professional profiles, and to a rapidly changing labour market. Early forecasting of future demands in the labour market is a crucial step to offer some guidelines while developing the learning paths/curricula in different specialties. It is also a useful tool for trainers and educators to let them know job competencies that will be required in a near future. Thus will be possible a greater fit between employment and capacities, which will undoubtedly help to slow down the structural unemployment.
This project is intended to create a methodological tool for management/ VET management groups able to provide:
– Interpretation of future regional labour market demands, taking in account different occupational skill profile
– Interpretation of future regional labour market needs, considering different levels of education and according to skill profiles.
– Inclusion of regional forecast for future skill profiles into new programmes of education and vocational training at regional level.
The methodological tool will be a helpful instrument to develop foreseen necessary process of VET adaptation by following several steps, from the interpretation of the forecast up to professional profile / competences, and from there to the modernization of education and vocational training programmes.
The agenda of the meeting covered several aspects related to the end of the project and final development of the Tool. During its first part, the partnership presented their different implemented methodological approaches in order to create a joint prognosis tool, from Competence Mapping of Folkuniversitetet, secondary sources´ analysis and group dynamics with experts (Documenta), Revalento´s Skill Manager, and Delphi method implemented by Dimitra.
All of these prognosis tools will be ready-to use in the Methodological Toolbox, to which target groups will be to access via project´s website, just by clicking the URL http://www.jstoolbox.eu/ and login in (under construction).
Other covered issues were related to both format and content aspects of this Tool, as well as its material support via website, considering common template developed by FU and Revalento.
The main idea is to develop it as a tool to be used by different social agents. For instance, by the main stakeholders in regional labour policies, to improve their cooperation and coordination; as well as to employers, to encourage greater employability and minimize the risk of future skills mismatches, and finally to VET providers and organizations, to create programs in accordance with the competencies and professional profiles required (taking into account the size and resources of each of these agents).
During the second part of the meeting, Folkuniversitetet, as coordinator of the project, revised the different activities developed by each partner into the various work packages within JS-Toolbox project. Estimated deadlines for the finalisation of some of these activities, such as final elaboration of the texts included in the methodological box in English, and their further translation into Spanish, Greek and Polish; as well as the research and elaboration of Best Practices developed in each country in terms of VET training curricula development.
JS-methodological toolbox and CD room with supporting material are expected to be available by the beginning of November. Other schedules activities were holding meetings with experts in each partner country after final presentation of the Tool.
