Project Summary

Background: Why did we apply for this project? What are the needs we plan to address?

The COVID19 outbreak is triggering unprecedented social & economic consequences – the most significant since the 2^nd World War. We are faced with a ‘new normal’; a previously unfamiliar or ‘atypical situation that has become standard, usual or expected’, bringing established practices into question.

The negative impacts of these changes have had disproportionate effects on VET providers & training centres with the result that staff often find it difficult to look positively to the future or prepare their trainees to access the job-market.

The idea for JBSE comes observations of the current unprecedented situation & from discussions between stakeholders since September 2020. To test the validity of these observations & support the clear need for this project, the JBSE partners undertook a Needs Analysis based on dual-strand research.

It is widely accepted that Job Shadowing provides a precious opportunity to step, outside day-to-day teaching practices, discover new approaches and adapt these new ides to improve the relevance & effectiveness of teaching through critical thinking’ (Poulet, 2019). Moreover, Trzeciak stated that ‘Job shadowing can strengthen the competencies of staff. establishing long-term cooperation’.

However, our research showed that although 78% of the VET providers in our sample normally offer Job Shadowing for their teaching staff, 80% of them regularly send less that 5 staff members each year. In addition, all these organisations have currently suspended all physical Job Shadowing due to the pandemic. Furthermore, many indicated that it might be some time before they started offering in-person Job Shadowing again & that the initial number of participants would probably be lower than before the start of the health crisis.

None of the institutions interviewed were aware of alternative pedagogical models for Job Shadowing. This underlines the urgent need to develop innovative forms of Job Shadowing for & with VET providers, teachers & trainers with learning opportunities to further develop the quality & relevance of their teaching & educational programmes.

Regarding Virtual or Blended Job Shadowing, several institutions indicated that they had never even considered this possibility & that they would need help to set up this type of activity.

The response of the teachers interviewed to these new opportunities was positive; 64% of trainers & teachers saying that they would be willing to take part in a Virtual or Blended Job Shadowing, although only 44% felt they had the necessary digital skills to benefit from it.

This highlights the potential impact of the JBSE project because one of our objectives is to develop digital skills through a PERSONALISED DIGITAL SKILLS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME for all VET educators in our country-based pilot groups.

The 74 questionnaire responses confirm that the results proposed by JBSE do not currently exist & clearly support the added-value of the models, guides & modules proposed by JBSE.

JBSE partners work with VET providers & educators in their day-to-day activities. The results of the project would therefore be a valuable resource, which could significantly improve the quality of our work & thus have a positive impact on both VET educators & learners. Job shadowing can also be beneficial for management & administrative staff in VET institutions & our materials would be adaptable for other educational sectors, such as School, Higher & Adult Education.

Objectives: What did you want to achieve by implementing the project?

The primary aim of the JBSE project is to meet the challenges of the ‘new normal’ by proposing innovative Virtual, Blended & in-person Job Shadowing possibilities for staff & institutions from the VET sector & maximise the benefits.

Among the Strategic Objectives are encouraging high-quality Job Shadowing between VET providers across Europe; improving the quality of the experience & encouraging future involvement. The sharing of best practice in the 4 partner countries will positively impact the quality & the relevance of learning provision to meet todays’ challenges.

The Operational Objectives include designing a model for Virtual, Blended & In-person Job Shadowing & facilitate digital upskilling of VET staff through variable-access, interactive learning activities; undertake 8 pilot studies in 4 European countries; develop Communities of Practice & implement an innovative dissemination strategy relevant to the current context that emphasises the added-value of the project & the Erasmus+ programme.

The project relates to ‘Increasing the attractiveness of VET’. Through interactive modules covering preparing, taking part in, valorising & hosting innovative forms of Job Shadowing, JBSE will ‘support the professional development of VET teachers & trainers’. Effective Job Shadowing is based on establishing & maintaining ‘long-term partnerships’. Ito reinforce labour-market relevance of learning provision’,

The implementation of the JBSE Job Shadowing models will necessitate the ‘creation & implementation of internationalisation strategies for VET providers’. In this way, we will put ‘in place support mechanisms & contractual frameworks to promote quality mobility of VET staff’. Through the pan-European nature of the work & the virtual & in-person interactions between the Country Pilot Groups, the project will ‘enhance the ‘intercultural awareness & active citizenship’ of participants’.

Our work will be linked to ‘VET providers, Chambers of Commerce & other relevant stakeholders along the different phases of the project cycle’, through Focus Groups, Evaluation Workshops & Dissemination activities.

The project proposes opportunities to develop the most currently relevant digital competences identified as a priority in our Needs Analysis & thereby ‘address digital transformation through development of digital readiness, resilience & capacity’. JBSE will ‘increase the capacity & readiness of institutions to manage an effective shift towards digital education’. Our PERSONALISED DIGITAL SKILLS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME will contribute to the ‘development of digital pedagogy & expertise in the use of digital tools for teachers’. Our variable-access learning modules will ‘support the purposeful use of digital technologies in education & training for teaching & learning’.

JBSE contributes to ‘innovation in vocational education & training’. Job shadowing involves sharing best practices, thereby addressing ‘teaching & learning processes through the development & implementation of new & more relevant teaching & learning approaches’. Networking & internationalisation activities play a major role in this project, notably through the end-user specific Communities of Practice that we will develop.

Effective, structured Job Shadowing can ‘foster the development of social & intercultural competences’ & contribute to ‘raising awareness on & understanding the European Union context, common EU values, cultural identity, cultural awareness & social & historical heritage’.

The project activities will be undertaken in line with the JBSE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the project to a minimum. For example, partners will prioritise environmentally friendly ‘Green’ travel to the project Transnational Meetings.

JBSE links to EU initiatives & address all 3 pillars presented in the ‘Erasmus+ 2021-2027 Enriching lives, opening minds booklet’: inclusion & diversity, digital Erasmus+ & Green Erasmus+.

Implementation: What activities are you going to implement?

The Work Plan for the JBSE project is presented in terms of Work packages & sub-tasks. essential for the success of the project, each partner brings a variety of skill set, taking responsibility for one or more specific areas within the project where they can bring the greatest added-value.

Firstly, the partners decided that the working language for the project would be English in order to allow all partners to make a full & active contribution.

The partners identified 4 time-related project phases using the ADDIE method. Phase 1: Initiation from Nov-Dec 2021; Phase 2: Implementation, Design & Development from Jan 2022-May 2023; Phase 3: Experimentation from Jun 2023-Apr 2024; Phase 4: Evaluation & Restitution from May-Oct 2024.

Project activities were then divided into 5 WORK PACKAGES:, each coordinated by a different partner:WP1: Project Management; WP2: Implementation; WP3: Experimentation; WP4: Quality Assurance & Evaluation; & finally WP5: Sharing, Promotion & Exploitation Strategy.

APRECA has produced a clear ‘Communication & Cooperation Strategy’, based on the JBSE Steering Committee with 2 representatives per partner. Partners will communicate via telephone, Zoom, Face Time, WhatsApp or email.

All project materials will be uploaded & exchanged via the JBSE Dropbox account & APRECA will produce an JBSE Dropbox User Guide. A JBSE WhatsApp Group has been set up to facilitate instant messaging via a full range of platforms & the building of relationships between staff members involved in the project

The main coordinating & decision-making processes will be at Transnational Meetings, strategically placed throughout the project, where time will be set aside to work face-to-face in sub-groups on the project results; Video Conferences every 2 months & Video Collaborative Sessions for the sub-groups working on the JBSE results. In addition, Individual Face-to-Face Meetings will take place at each Transnational Meeting between the project coordinator & each partner, plus 2 meetings between each partner & the External Evaluator.

We will take into account cultural differences & needs of partner countries to produce fully adaptable models, guides & learning resources for effective implementation throughout the EU.

We encourage exchanges between regions & between countries, between VET establishments & between VET educators. There is a cross-sectoral element to JBSE project through links to the other educational sectors, such as School Education, Higher Education, Adult Education & Youth. Our models, guides & interactive learning modules can be adapted for use in these sectors, thereby dramatically increasing the potential impact of the JBSE project.

The cooperation between partners will facilitate the process of redesigning, refocusing & adapting existing tools & methods to the current rapidly changing environment. This will represent a true vehicle for promoting innovation & quality in Job Shadowing models, resources & opportunities at European level, in line with the European development policies. Situations differ across European countries & research done by partners in the 4 partnership countries before submission plus the continuing research that will be undertaken will be of value here.

Teamwork between European partners allows a more comprehensive approach to needs & solutions, as it promotes a greater understanding of different realities, bringing benefits to the project in all stages of implementation in terms of quality of work & results achieved.

The JBSE partners believe passionately in the concept of community of practice. However, our CoP model will not be limited to the local area but built around the entire European Area. Partners also believe that different generations have skills competencies & experiences which if shared with other generational groups, can increase learning & opportunities for employment.

Results: What project results & other outcomes do you expect the project to have?

The JBSE project aims to produce tangible results. Firstly, the production of Pedagogical Models a Guide for Innovative Job Shadowing including remote, blended & in-person opportunities (R1). As partners will continue research to envisage future needs & adapt content to fit the evolution of the context& how it may affect our target groups, the precise contents will only be finalised during the Design &Development Phase.

Secondly, the production of 4 Self-contained, Variable-access Interactive Learning Modules, each with adapted pedagogical methodology to maximise the benefits of job shadowing & facilitate digital upskilling of VET educators.

The 1^st module will be ‘preparing for job shadowing (R2). The 2^nd interactive module will be ‘maximising the benefits during the job shadowing period’ (R3). The 3^rd interactive module will be a ‘post job shadowing valorisation programme’, making the most of the opportunities provided by Job Shadowing (R4). The 4^th interactive module will be a ‘guide for hosting vet educators for virtual/blended/in-person transnational job shadowing’ (R5).

Our resources will be open source, freely downloadable in English & the 4 project languages. Users will be able to tailor the materials to the needs of specific target groups. This will empower VET educators & schools/training organisations by making use of the materials that we will develop in this project in order to make a concrete positive difference to VET learners. In this way although our main focus will be on VET staff our results will be adaptable for all categories of educators across Europe.

Besides these deliverables, partners will develop a website, YouTube channel, social media pages & 2 end-user specific communities of practice to provide easy & varied access to our results. They will ensure maximum functionality & user-friendliness, allowing us to showcase success stories of participants & organisations. Further details in a later section.

The Main Outcomes & Impacts of our project will be to firstly, upscaled competences & knowledge of best practice for VET educators leads to improved quality of learning provision. Secondly, upskilled VET educators leading to more innovative & relevant creation & use of remote-access/blended/face-to-face digital resources. Thirdly, increased knowledge of the Erasmus+ programme & funding opportunities leading to increased number of job shadowing opportunities. Fourthly, the provision of innovative materials & a working model thereby leading to organisations offering job shadowing opportunities to staff.

Fifthly, increased numbers taking part in job shadowing leads to improved sharing of best practice leads to improved quality of learning offered to vet trainees & employees involved in in-service training. Increased vet staff familiarity with the benefits of international mobility leads to increase in the opportunities for trainee mobilities. This is a highly significant outcome as it is recognised by the French National Agency that VET staff can be the decisive factor which encourages their trainees from disadvantaged backgrounds to have the courage to sign up for a work-based mobility experience.

Finally, increased awareness of best practice from across Europe leading to increased labour market relevance of learning provision leading to bringing the worlds of education & business closer together.

As Mutte said ‘Job shadowing can benefit from advances in digital technologies & become a continuous part of good educational practice through distance exchanges & physical mobilities’. The JobShadowEur project aims to make a significant contribution to this process.