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This paper compares the integration policies of workforce in eight European countries (Austria, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania). A summary of the training needs surveyed among advisors and trainers of immigrant work in five of eight countries is explained. A practice-inspired intervention study focuses on developing Finnish vocational education and training (VET) of immigrants, who are the final beneficiaries. This study is a part of a research and development project which has the aim of increasing teachers’ intercultural competence and promoting good ethnic relationships. The intervention study was conducted in a large vocational college specialising in social welfare and health services in Helsinki. The emphasis has been to empower immigrant students by participatory practices. Hence, students have become active cultural agents in their studying and in their every day living. The intervention study means that practices are intentionally explored and changed in order to facilitate understanding and transformations of those specific practices and social realities. Developmental work research, approach used in the study, combines scientific inquiry and developing of local practices. The findings showed that the participants made numerous suggestions and thus actively participated and contributed into development work.

http://www.b.shuttle.de/wifo/abstract/!ecer07.htm Show less

The paper provides insights into the conceptual and methodological groundwork of the European cooperation project [A Framework for the Continuing Professional Development of Trainers] TTplus. Firstly the project will produce qualitative research information on the educational and professional position of trainers in six European countries (Germany, Greece, Portugal, Romania, the Netherlands and the UK). Secondly the project will develop a framework for professional development of trainers. Therefore, the project has to combine openness for cultural diversity (including different systemic backgrounds) with a focused approach to development of training cultures (with openness for different strategic options). In order to meet these imperatives the research approach will be based on ‘contextual images’ and ‘twofold contextualisation’. The paper discusses from this perspective the research design of the project (including the mapping instruments, educational scenarios, ‘instances of change’ and ‘patterns of change management’ that are considered as key elements of the research approach). Based on these preparatory steps the paper outlines the common framework as a relatively open knowledge resource environment with pre-structured or open learning areas and related support facilities.

Available papers from this conference are indexed from TD/TNC 91.451 to TD/TNC 91.476. Show less

This paper reports on a project involving an investigation into the factors influencing the participation of technical workers in continuing vocational education, training and learning (CVETL) activities in six countries. The initial findings have suggested that participation in continuing vocational education and training (CVT) is more influenced by individual agency in Portugal, Spain and Greece, whereas structural factors (in terms of forms of provision of CVET and learning) are more influential in Germany, Italy and the UK. This paper focuses upon the comparison of CVETL in case studies of aerospace companies in England and Germany. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews and nonparticipant observation. The German ‘case’ is a single company, while in the UK because the CVETL for a number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was organised collaboratively in an aerospace components supply chain learning network the ‘case’ will be the responses of three SMEs to the challenges of facilitating continuing learning, development and continuous improvement. The project found that the German system could be seen as collaborative at the institutional level (especially between employers) but dependent upon individual commitment for further development of intermediate skills. Whereas institutional collaboration is generally much weaker in the UK, but skill development is more likely to be collaborative at the level of individual workers, as they are more likely to be working in teams and there is less formal structural support. Show less