JS-TOOLBOX: an online toolbox for the adjustment of VET-programs

DOCUMENTA, European Studies Institute for Training and Development is aware of the crucial role that early identification of future skill needs has for regions in terms of social, economic and territorial development. Due to this reason, Documenta is now taking part in the European initiative JS-Toolbox: Methodological Toolbox for Development of New Skills for future jobs

Suitability of a toolbox to cope with training needs and labour market demands in the UE

Management/peer groups, decision makers, as well as VET training organizations need practical tools to define strategies oriented to predict future training requirements and to adapt training curricula accordingly. On the other hand, students want attractive programmes and companies expect well trained workforce in the right amount for right field.

The goal of the JS Tools project is to develop a model for VET providers to prepare for future changes and to provide sustainable quality VET programs. The project seeks paradigms, methods, instruments to track and trace changes, to investigate their impact on the labour market and on jobs. Therefore VET programs will be able to provide in the right amount of future workers with the right skills.

This initiative is aimed to ease the detection process of top demanded professional curricula (careers) in the medium/long term, as well as the interpretation of the forecast for new skills and training needs regarding these new professions.

JS-Tool project partnership: moving towards the right direction

DOCUMENTA works on this project in conjunction with other European organizations: Folkuniversitetet Uppsala (Sweden), as coordinator, is wide experienced in the fields of Adult Vocational Training and Quality Assurance of VET-training.

A “step by step” approach has been the base of the whole development process of the Methodological Toolbox, from the definition of two main work stages:

1. The process / steps that are required to do prognosis of change and arrange for incorporation in education, starting from the elaboration of common standards for the structure and work of management/peer groups. Different education stakeholders have collaborated during this part of the project (including PEs, companies, VET providers) with information and recommendations.
2. Identification of the instruments and tools that can facilitate each of these steps: starting from the elaboration of common standards for adjustment of VET – programs for new skills demanded by future labour market in different EU countries. The final result of the Project is a Methodological Toolbox able to consider the specific conditions of their final users (mainly, the size and resource of the entities).
   

Practical use of the JS-Toolbox

JS-Toolbox focuses on the development of a model for practical use for VET organizations of any size, both large or small. This model consists in the description and use of different methods and techniques to detect present and future drivers of change for different sectors in different spatial contexts, in order to predict their impact on the labour market and jobs and then, adapting training curricula by making necessary arrangements in order to provide an internal quality assurance system for these organizations.

JS- Toolbox will be distributed in two different formats: an online tool, only accessible for registered users, and a multilingual CD with supporting material. Both formats have the same contents: a methodological guide and a set of good practices framed in the use of these methods and techniques. The good practices are applied to the context of adapting training programs.

The expected impact will be the update or the adaptation of the existing VET programmes according to new labour market demands in a constantly changing world of work.

For more information on the project, we encourage you to visit its website: www.jstoolbox.eu

JS-TOOLBOX: Methodological Toolbox for Development of New Skill for Future Jobs

Life Long Learning Programme, TOI, MULTILATERAL PROJECTS, LEONARDO DA VINCI                        

Call number:               2010/1/SE1/LEO05/04797

Project duration:         25 months. October 2010 to November 2012