E-Skills Training on Employability Practices & Solutions

Supporting the mobility of vocational school students in the European labour markets by addressing the skill gaps is possible thanks to the unification of educational standards and the introduction of commonly available compensatory tools (such as digital open educational resources). The answer to these needs is carried out in an international project E- STEPS (ESkills – Training on Employability Practices & Solutions). The experience of project partners associated with skill and professional development of young people and adults as well as their excellent knowledge of the issues facing vocational education resulted in the development of innovative project that will allow the digital integration for learning, teaching, training and youth work as well as the development of a European area of skills and qualifications along with improvement of the competencies of adult educators. E – STEPS project is being implemented in the international teams ensuring professional, interdisciplinary and high quality collaboration.

The E-STEPS project envisages increasing the mobility of vocational school students from five EU countries by developing their knowledge and skills in the area of soft employability skills and the development of a European area of learning by improving the quality of teachers / educators. The project will directly involved 500 students, 100 teachers and a number of representatives of educational institutions. During the project, students will undertake a course on soft employability skills (6 competencies) implemented in two stages – workshops in groups of 10 people supported by an e-learning platform and as part of self-education, completion of which will lead to a final contest – the winners of which will participate in a conference actively disseminating the results of work in the project.

The activities undertaken in the project involve the creation and testing of innovative tools in the form of an e-learning platform and a set of educational materials (guides, e-learning courses, face-to-face workshops programs and reports relating to the evaluation of the effectiveness of vocational education in the context of the needs of the youth labour market). Results of the project will include a report on the analysis of the needs of vocational education, an innovative, multi-lingual platform with workshop guides containing practical exercises, guides for educators, case studies of young participants and interviews with partners collaborating at international meetings. The results will be disseminated at conferences and communicated to all stakeholders using available communication channels. The project involves creating permanent changes in the teaching of students on vocational courses – enhancing their professional capacity and personality by developing soft skills that will help to increase mobility in the labour market and enable them to obtain a satisfactory occupations.

Teachers covered by the project activities will benefit from the innovative tools that will fill an existing gap in vocational education for the related soft skills (Career Management Skills; Self-reflection (signature strengths, values, preferences), including self-worth and confidence; Emotional Intelligence; Managing mental health (stress management, resilience); Relationship building and networking). By participating in the study and analysis of the needs of vocational education, teachers will get the opportunity to compare their experiences in relation to the other partner countries. The project also supports directly the needs of all of the participating entities, allowing them to develop and update experience as well as providing an opportunity to develop both professionally and personally.