Here you will find the 9 interviews from Peer Learning Activity hosted by Tknika, College of Technology of the Basque Government in San Sebastian, Spain, on November 17th, 2022, under the ENE SISI-Sharing Innovation in Social Inclusion Initiative, with CoVEs from Israel, Türkiye, Albania, Georgia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
Developmental story n°1: partnership
Ms. Flutura Vaqarri, Director of the Hospitality and Tourism School of Tirana, Albania, describes how a sound partnership between the school, businesses, and public institutions has been granting a remarkable employment rate to this VET centre’s graduates since 1995. A collective effort for a partnership which keeps on growing to this day: an excellent example of integration between training offer and employment. Ms Vaqarri provides insightful reflections on how the Hospitality and Tourism School of Tirana, Albania is impacting the formulation of the policies at sector level.
Developmental story n°2: technologies and social inclusion
Mr. Lev Berman, Head of the Amal Shimon Peres Entrepreneurship Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, shares his insights and practical examples about which enabling factors can support a smooth introduction of digital technologies targeting disadvantaged individuals. Technologies represent an incredible opportunity for inclusion, as they can bring together different fields of knowledge concurring to creating an accessible, inclusive training: their applications are many and articulated, and they keep in mind numerous profiles, including the pedagogical and psychological ones.
Developmental story n°3: accessibility
Mr. Enock Jumah, Manager of the DAPP Mikolongwe Vocational School, Malawi, illustrates the steps undertaken by his organisation to grant accessibility to trainees with disabilities, from the initial assessment to the establishment of tailored facilities. The school also investigates how to involve students from rural areas and collaborates with them by supporting their small business start-ups, to improve the general rural community’s wellbeing.
Developmental story n°4: effective policies
Mr. Mirian Memarne, International Programme Coordinator at LEPL College Akhali Talga, Georgia, recalls how effective collaboration between public institutions and teachers offers the chance to provide sound digital training to their students, despite the Covid-19 harsh conditions.
Developmental story n°5: guidance for a VET system
Mr. Jordan Banda, from the TEVET Authority in Malawi, describes the process of ensuring VET institutions in Malawi meet the governmental standards for VET training. TEVET Authority in Malawi is strictly working with DAPP Mikolongwe Vocational School and with other schools. This is another best practice on how policy institutions and centres of excellence are strictly linked and impacting on each other.
Developmental story n°6: women’s training
Ms. Priscilla Chihota, grants administrator for the DAPP Ponhesai Vanhu Technical College, Zimbabwe, tells how the whole community should be targeted in a systemic rights-based approach to ensure female participation to education. She remarks that the process of ensuring the implementation of the right to female education in the context of Zimbabwe is not only about raising women’s self-awareness and offering a tailored didactical plan, but it has also to be accompanied by a socio-sanitary intervention.
She then offers her insights about how the College targets the most disadvantaged and fragile individuals in rural areas.
Developmental story n°7: community
Stimulating a sense of community in trainers is fundamental to allow them to become active citizens and to foster inclusion, linking VET providers with its surrounding community. Ms. Zeynep Dereli, founder and manager of Tink technology and Humanity College of Istanbul, Türkiye, highlights how this is a shared effort between her centre of excellence, local government, and civil society. She also describes how reaching inclusion passes through policy makers’ advocacy and a constant grass-root assessment approach.
Developmental story n°8: training and businesses
Mr. Besim Xhaja, Head of development Unit of the Hospitality and Tourism School of Tirana, Albania, describes how the partnership between the school and the local businesses can lead to a constant improvement of the training offer. He then considers social inclusion as a systemic approach in the school teaching model.
Developmental story n°9: leave no one behind
The government of Zimbabwe has a mandate of leaving no one behind: Ms. Grenia Chaomba, district social welfare officer in Zimbabwe, describes the process of ensuring an equal access to education to the most fragile and marginalised students by working with the training centres on the territory and the local chiefs. Disabilities face a social stigma in Zimbabwe: ensuring the access to education means involving the whole community in making a shift of perspective to identify these individuals and assess their needs.
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