The second coaching session “Motivating and involving companies in work-based learning” is completed

The second session of the European Training Foundation (ETF) - ETF Network of Centers of Excellence (ENE) - Vocational Education Association (PIB) project’s virtual workshop series on practical advice on how to motivate and involve employers in work-based learning (WBL) is completed.

In this seminar, the Headmaster of Liepāja State Technical School, Agris Ruperts, shared his experience gained during his working life with regard to involving employers and getting them interested in WBL, so that they would not only be interested in implementing DVB, but would also actively promote and support it. He acknowledged that medium and large companies, as well as companies with foreign capital or those that are in sectors with higher activity of associations, are easier to involve in this process, and it takes less effort to get them interested in WBL.

The Headmaster of Liepāja State Technical School identified obstacles that prevent small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from participating in WBL and illustrated the principles that form the basis for a successful cooperation with the industry, as well as pointed out that cooperation should be established at the initial stage. He also explained how the Sectoral Expert Councils function, how are the conventions of advisors of educational institutions organized in Latvia, and what is the role of these institutions both in WBL and in cooperation with companies.

The training workshop took place over two days in English and Russian with the participation of partners from Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Northern Macedonia. The questions asked by the participants sparked a wide-ranging discussion on various aspects of WBL, such as, how practical training for adults is organized, what are the Sectoral Expert Councils, and how the educational conventions of advisors function.

During the workshop, the participants shared their experience, for example, the representatives of Belarus explained in detail and with interesting examples how various practical issues are being addressed in Belarus. All participants were interested in a number of practical issues, such as, how to “attract” employers, how to raise the prestige of vocational education, or how to form an examination commission and ensure the qualification examination materials.

As these practical questions are extremely important and many of them can be adapted in other countries, PIB will invite questions and discussions on the ETF's official website OpenSpace.

The next session of the workshop series is scheduled for April; in it, Latvia will share the experience on practical issues in organizing WBL.