Project description
Vocational education and training prepares young people to meet the demands of modern economies.
According to the OECD, vocational education and training prepares young people to meet the demands of modern economies. Rapid development of technology and business models requires employees to have many different skills, develop them and acquire new ones at the same time.
Continuous improvement of skills is therefore necessary. To face the challenge, governments, schools and businesses around the world invest in VET and promote the idea of lifelong learning.
Companies support students in acquiring vocational skills and using their knowledge in practice. The process includes study visits and in-company training, apprenticeships and student internships, consulting course curricula with employers, creating patron classes, funding scholarships for the most talented students, equipping school workshops, and creating educational clusters, i.e. permanent networks of business partners operating in the field of education.
VET is also strengthened by vocational skills competitions. Those events are practical in nature and enable students to present their professional skills to an audience. WorldSkills and EuroSkills competitions are held at the international level. They change stereotypical thinking about learning a skill, create a professional image of vocational schools, restore the work ethos and build up a positive image of a skilled career. Most importantly, however, international skills competitions promote close cooperation between schools and employers.
In most countries, competitions begin with school-level qualifications and end with national finals. Medal winners become national champions in their skills and travel to international competitions to represent their country.
Project WeRskills – informational and consulting platform supporting the process of acquiring talents to participate in skills competitions at national and European level was created to convince all VET stakeholders that vocational skills competitions strengthen the attractiveness of VET and skills excellence among young people and encourage them to choose skilled careers in the future.
WeRskills objectives:
to facilitate development of skills competitions on different levels
to connect vocational schools, guilds and businesses
to promote vocational, technological and service oriented education and training
to increase motivation of young people to choose skilled occupations
WeRskills aims to create an online platform where people interested in skills competitions could get in touch. We would like to connect:
Students, teachers and trainers of sectoral VET schools
Trainers/experts from the industry
Institutions organizing skills competitions
Entrepreneurs from the construction industry
Manufacturers of building materials
Local and central authorities
WeRskills Intellectual Outputs:
IO1 Report on good practices related to the organisation of national skills competitions and qualification events for EuroSkills in Poland, Cyprus and Hungary
IO2 Test Projects for Plastering and Drywall Systems
IO4 Best Practices Guide which aims to be an explanatory and encouraging tool for VET students, teachers and trainers who would like to take part in vocational skills competitions
IO5 WeRskills ePlatform which will connect vocational skills competition enthusiasts
IO6 Recommendations on how to organize national skills competitions for EuroSkills disciplines
Benefits of vocational skills competitions
Skills competitions have only advantages. When integrated with vocational education and training programs, skills competitions motivate students to reach skills excellence and, in general, enrich their learning experience. It is a powerful tool to increase self-confidence, develop high-level technical competences and encourage independence. Moreover, vocational competitions develop skills sought by employers. Young people learn to work under pressure, prioritize, deal with stress and disappointment, react quickly and be accurate. Skills competitions make students aware of their career opportunities.
Studet
Building relationships with other students and the teacher;
Identification of your strengths and weaknesses;
Professional motivation;
Possibility to obtain advice;
Developing commitment, perseverance and responsibility;
Training for professional examinations;
Building a network of potential employers.
Teacher
Improvement of teaching and training techniques;
Building new development pathways;
Increased job satisfaction;
Possibility of networking and professional development;
Use of competency-based assessment
Employer
Company promotion;
Teaching current and future employees to work effectively under pressure;
Training job candidates in accordance with company standards;
Participation in the process of adapting education programs to the labour market needs.
Country
