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Vocational Career Guidance and Counseling in a European Dimension
Leonardo da Vinci - Mobility
Bilateral Seminar for trainers involved in vocational training.
(22. - 28. October 2006 in Belfast, Northern Ireland)
EU-Programm Leonardo da Vinci in Belfast (Nordirland, UK)
Abstract of the Project “Vocational Career Guidance and Counselling in European Dimension”
In October 2006 ten experts from Berlin and Brandenburg travelled to Belfast on an exchange programme initiated by GEB. This group included vocational school teachers, occupational trainers, placement officers and careers guidance counsellors.
In the course of a one-week stay in Northern Ireland the group was able to look into the workings of the education system and the labour market in the north of Ireland. The participants visited state-run institutions as well as private organisations and companies, all of whom are engaged in improving jobseekers` chances on the labour market and advancing education across Northern Ireland. These bodies included McClure Watters, (Who are McClure Watters?), the Department of Employment and Learning in Belfast (What do they do?) and the Institute of Further and Higher Education (What are the aims of the Institute?).
Belfast City Hall presented to participants details on the labour market in the city and introduced a number of possible strategies for development in the Belfast region. During these various encounters, the participants had the opportunity to talk to local politicians and those in charge of the education system in Belfast. They were thus able to exchange experiences and debate the possibilities of future collaboration initiatives.
One of these visits was to the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education: the participants were informed about educational possibilities and proposals and were shown regarding links between the labour market and the different branches in the field of education and learning.
Furthermore, this exchange of experts served to pave the way for erstwhile preparation of a Mobility Project involving young workers and jobseekers from the technical and commercial professions. They were shown accommodation sites, were familiarised with companies where vocational training schemes might be established and visited a language school in the city.
Chances of future
The participants in the exchange programme were able to gain enough knowledge to discern ways and means of improving the chances of future young apprentices in the north of Ireland or on the wider European labour market: of great import is the aim of improving levels of foreign language competence and social skills as well as preparing interested parties for everyday reality in Northern Ireland by building on and optimising international communication skills.
The current difficult situation on the German labour market contrasts greatly to the low numbers of unemployed people in the UK and Ireland. We would like to apply within a German framework the experience gained in Northern Ireland and open these employment policies to new perspectives here.
Some of the objectives of our project in Belfast include:
- Improving education quality standards towards a deeper orientation re the demands of the European labour market.
- Increasing the competences of young workers and jobseekers from the technical professions in Berlin and Brandenburg.
- Raising the competence of trainers and occupational counsellors in their endeavours to prepare their students and pupils for entering the international labour market.
- Evaluating the project in reference to the possibilities of transformation through employment policies in an international context.
- Establishing lasting relations with McClure Watters, our partner in Belfast.
The results of the seminar have been abstracted and are accessible online. Hyperlinks to the organisations which participated in the meetings have been posted on the web in this context.
Power Point Presentations:
Belfast governance and leadership
Invest Northern Ireland: Being international
Invest Northern Ireland: Building locally, competing globally
Invest Northern Ireland: Accelerating Entreperneurship in Northern Ireland