CB_WBL

IMPLEMENTATION, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

At the end of July 2019, the project CB_WBL - Slovene-Italian Alliance for Cross-Border Work Based Learning, has been successfully completed.

The objective of the project, approved under the INTERREG V-A ITALY-SLOVENIA 2014-2020 co-operational program, was to improve cooperation between public training institutions and companies within the Program area with regard to work-based learning, with the help of innovative approaches and shared standards for the implementation of cross-border mobility pathways.

The partnership was composed of six project partners: Zadružni center za socialno dejavnost - Centro cooperativo di attività sociali (VP), Center Republike Slovenije za poklicno izobraževanje (PP2), Gospodarska zbornica Slovenije (PP3), Šolski center Nova Gorica (PP4), Asociate partner: Deželni šolski urad Furlanije Julijske krajine - Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per il Friuli Venezia Giulia (PP5) and ECIPA Soc.Cons. a R.L. from Venice (PP6).

CB_WBL project activities started on 19/10/2017 with the convocation of the Kick-off meeting of the Steering Committee, which took place at the headquarters of Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per il Friuli Venezia Giulia/Deželni šolski urad Furlanije Julijske krajine. There, the partners accepted the necessary documents and defined responsibilities, and jointly defined the plan for the effective implementation of the project activities.

I addition to the implementation of regular activities that include the management and coordination of the project, we highlight the following important activities (outputs) that the project team organized and coordinated:

-  Cross-border workshops at Nova Gorica, Udine/Videm and Goriška Brda/Collio Goriziano on the topic  »Development of collaborative capacities in vocational and professional education«. The training was intended for school workers and representatives of the world of work from the Italian and Slovenian part of the program area. The activity, which consisted of three working days, firstly provided participants with an insight into the education and training system of students in companies in the neighboring area. After that the topics of the labor market were discussed at the joint workshop, in particular the employment of graduates and the use of European frameworks and systems, such as the EQF and ECVET, which enable dialogue and can facilitate cross-border cooperation in vocational education and training. The training was completed with success and exceeded the target indicator.

- Signing the Protocol on cross-border cooperation between vocational education and training stakeholders in Slovenia and Italy, and for the purpose of the signing ceremony, the organisation of the media conference, attended by several representatives of the media, signatories and stakeholders. The purpose of the protocol is to establish collaborative relationships between education and vocational training institutions on the specific theme of work-based learning. The agreement between Italian and Slovenian institutions as well as between the trade associations of the two territories, represents a highly significant moment for the promotion of work-based learning in the cross-border context and the need for collaboration between educational systems and the productive world at transnational level.

- Cross-border courses ar Nova Gorica, Videm/Udine and Zagraj/Sagrado on the topic  »Cross-border work based learning«. The participants who took part in the courses (experts, speakers and stakeholders from Slovenia, FVG and from the Veneto region) agreed that young people are the main beneficiaries of high quality cross-border career paths. This type of path can be useful in facilitating their gradual learning of soft skills - skills that are important both at work and in daily life over a lifetime. In addition to getting familiar with the normative frameworks from the essential areas of organising cross-border work placement, verification/assessment/validation methods and the organization itself, the participants also acquainted knowledge about the solutions and tools that could facilitate the management and implementation of the paths of work-based learning and student monitoring.

- Meetings of experts from the field of vocational education and learning mobility of students and representatives of the economy in order to prepare two comparative analyzes and solutions and tools: The main research activity of the project was to establish three working groups of experts in the field of VET and the economy. Two groups were in charge of producing comparative analyzes, precisely for designing concrete solutions, expected learning outcomes using existing European instruments (EQF, ECVET, EQAVET, Europass); the second group was responsible for the creation of unified procedures for the organization of learning mobility, along with the reduction of administrative barriers and the training of mentors. On the basis of comparative analyzes of the first and second groups, the third group contributed to the development of solutions and tools, focusing on the innovation of tools for interactive integration of companies and students, as well as mobility coordinators at schools and mentors in companies in the cross-border area. The results of both analyzes, as well as solutions and tools, significantly contributed to the design of the digital platform INPRAXI.INFO.

- Digital platfrom INPRAXI.INFO: innovative tool in which students are able to view internship offers and to connect with companies, to find answers to questions on cross-border training. Employers have the opportunity to present their activities and interface with potential candidates, all this is monitored by mobility coordinators. The INPRAXI platform is accessible through the domain www.inpraxi.info . To promote the platform and receive feedback from users, we have organized or participated in numerous events in the Program area: Trieste, Gorizia, Nova Gorica, Koper, Venice.

The project has achieved all the expected results and outputs that will contribute to achieving the Program's specific objectives. But our story does not end here. In order to support and sustain the results of the project, the project team has already prepared a sustainability strategy, that envisions further organisation of events, maintenance of the INPRAXI.INFO platform and the annual enrichment and update of project results from the Permanent Cooperation Network made up by the signatories of the protocol.

At the end of the project, the CB_WBL project team sincerely thanks all those who contributed to achieving the results, in particular: participants of the events, external collaborators, members of the work groups of experts, protocol signatories and the program structures, always available for help and professional advice.

You can find contents, photos and more information about the project CB_WBL on the following link: https://www.ita-slo.eu/en/cbwbl .