An adequate valorization of vocational education programs focused on learning at work can be achieved through lasting collaboration between schools, vocational centers and companies. This statement was the focus of the course “Learning in Cross-Border Work”, held on November, Thursday 15 th in the MIC Centre for Enterprise Education in Nova Gorica. The course was conceived as part of the Interreg Project “Italian-Slovenian Alliance for Work-Based Learning in Cross-Border” (acronym: CB_WBL).
The meeting was attended by several experts working in the field of vocational education and planning of pupil mobility programs. Project partners also participated in the event (The Cooperative Center for Social Activities is the Lead Partner). In the introduction, Branco Jazbec (Cooperative Center for Social Activities) listed the goals achieved in the framework of the CB_WBL Project; then Mojca Brus (Hidria d.o.o.) spoke about the opportunities for learning at work in the Slovenian Company HIDRA which operates in the industrial production and auto components sectors: for a long time the company has been valorizing effectively these programs.
In the second part of the meeting, Mitja Stefancic (Cooperative Center for Social Activities) and Vedran Jakačič (Center RS for Vocational Education and Traning) presented the results of the comparison of mechatronics programs in the program area and with reference to updated data regarding the most sought-after jobs in the Slovenian labour market. Teja Žagar (Center RS for Vocational Education and Training) discussed the key aspects of cross-border pupil mobility in the program area, focusing on the mentoring of pupils and the search for the most suitable learning places for school- work alternation and, finally, on the insurance cover of pupils.
In the end of the meeting, Fabio Banali (contact person for Liceo Bagatta, Desenzano del Garda, and coordinator of Veneto project in school-work alternation for Verona Confindustria) presented the features of school-work alternation of Italian Programs which in some regions, such as Lombardia and Veneto, are becoming strategic for the educational system as well as companies and industries of these regions.
Participants in the course agreed that it’s the young people the main beneficiaries of quality careers paths in cross – border context. These kind of pathways can be useful in facilitating their gradual learning of transversal skills (soft skills) – skills which are very important both in the work and in everyday life throughout a lifetime. Courses of CB_WBL program will end with an important joint meeting scheduled on November 28 th, in the Azienda Agricola Castelvecchio, in Sagrado. For further information about this meeting, please contact the email address katia@zadruge.it or the telephone number 349.6263006.
Operation co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
