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You are in: Home > Newsletter Number 5, April 2008 |
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Newsletter Number 5, April 2008 |
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Welcome to the MEDA-ETE third Annual Forum
Dear participants,
As we gather for the third annual forum, the MEDA-ETE team would like to thank you all for joining us at this important event. The annual forum is one of the key events in the MEDA-ETE life cycle as it will review our past achievements and discuss the sustainability of the project results.
We would like to start by thanking you for your hard work during 2007 and the commitment you have shown to the development and implementation of the MEDA-ETE project. It has been a demanding year with a busy work programme.
During 2007, component 2.1 (the Euromed Observatory Function) has made significant progress towards collecting and analysing data on TVET and the labour market in all countries. Components 2.2 (apprenticeship and enterprise-based learning) and 2.3 (quality and quality assurance in TVET) have both provided fresh insights on TVET systems and reforms in MEDA countries. These insights will be discussed during the annual forum and will soon be ready for disseminating to policymakers.
 We are also pleased to report that component 4 (the e-learning course for teachers and trainers) is bearing fruit, with around one hundred teachers and trainers enrolled in the course. In March they were able to meet face-to-face for the first time in Sestri Levante, Italy to compare notes, share knowledge and improve their skills. They have shown great determination to make the course a success both for their own personal development and for the good of their institutions and society in general. Here at the MEDA-ETE team, we are looking forward to turning their experiences into the first stage of sustainable regional cooperation in the field of e-learning.
Events within component 3 (entrepreneurship training) have also been moving fast in recent months. The process of transferring best practices is well advanced. Courses to train teachers and trainers how to use these new best practices have already been organised in five of the ten countries as we go to press. Following the annual forum, we will conduct training activities in the remaining countries and begin actually using the new best practices for training the final target groups – young MEDA entrepreneurs.
Moreover 2007 has been the year when the idea of building national working groups and organising local events came into its own. Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco each hosted useful workshops and conferences in 2007. This experiment has proved so successful that we have decided to continue the work on apprenticeship and quality assurance in a more country-based form while keeping the regional dimension, with funding from the ETF.
We are now well-placed to reach the project goals and are pleased to see how all the MEDA-ETE initiatives are informed by the same coherent spirit and vision. Our thanks to all of you who have helped us to develop this vision; we could never have done it without you. But an even greater challenge lies ahead: how can we ensure this project has a lasting impact both nationally and regionally? What can the MEDA-ETE team and people in beneficiary countries do to make this happen? What form should future regional cooperation take? These are all questions to be discussed over the next two days and we look forward to hearing your suggestions.
We hope you will find the annual forum a stimulating and useful experience. We also hope that by the end of the two days we will have managed to produce some relevant recommendations and strong arguments for the sustainability of the MEDA-ETE project results and for broader ongoing regional cooperation in the field of TVET and the labour market.
The MEDA-ETE team
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A year of consolidation for the observatory network
The twelve months since the last Annual Forum has been a period of intense activity and consolidation for the Euromed Observatory Function Network. The network has pressed on with its work of developing a set of common indicators on education and training systems which will allow for first comparisons across the ten participating countries for the first time.
The second round of data collection has now been completed and the MEDA-ETE team are currently hard at work inputting the new data in the Euromed database which will be available online soon. Gathering data will beamed much easier in future by the growing relationship with MEDSTAT, the European Commission’s parallel project for building MEDA capacity in statistics. Each project will concentrate on gathering data in specific fields and will share the results, thus avoiding duplication. “This will save a lot of time and effort by countries,” says Jens Johansen, the MEDA-ETE team’s co-ordinator of this component, “and by having the best-equipped organisation gathering data in its relevant field we can be sure of producing good quality indicators
 ”A study visit to Estonia last November focused on the need to involve a wide range of stakeholders, including social partners, in the selection and development of statistical indicators. “There is often little dialogue between stakeholders and we want to encourage people to talk to each other and not just work in isolation,” says Johansen. Estonia also provided a chance for the participants to express their interesting how the work of the Observatory Function can continue beyond the lifespan of the MEDA-ETE project. “People were asking a lot of questions about the future of the project,” says Johansen, “they feel they have put a lot of effort in and they want it to continue.
”Two more methodological notes were drafted during 2007. This series aims to give network members a common frame of reference for developing regional indicators. The third note, focusing on available data sources and definitions, and the fourth, on the sustainability of the Observatory Network and possible synergies with MEDSTAT, will be presented at the Annual Forum.
“This is an extremely ambitious project so I am happy with what we have achieved so far,” says Johansen. “Capacity-building in statistics can take years to get anywhere and if you want to do it regionally, this just adds to the complexity. We have managed to get the countries to start talking about their different programmes and comparing data across the region and this is definitely good start,” he adds.
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Apprenticeship project plants seeds of sustainable growth
Progress on apprenticeship and enterprise-based learning has continued apace over the last nine months. As component 2.2 of the MEDA-ETE project, it is carrying out an in-depth analysis of the state-of-play of apprenticeships and enterprise-based learning schemes and policies in the ten MEDA countries. A second aim is to stimulate the process of reform by means of regional networking. The project is built upon three types of activity or pillars; analysis, regional networking and policy learning. Nine months on from the project’s kick-off workshop in July 2007, some interesting results are beginning to emerge.
This summer will see the publication of a major report, mapping the provision of apprenticeship and enterprise-based learning in each of the MEDA countries and establishing comparisons between them. Compiled by apprenticeship expert Professor Richard Sweet, it will also be discussed at the 2008 annual forum. “We hope it will be useful for countries to see their own system through the eyes of others and to find out about innovative examples from elsewhere such as the Algerian initiative on financing, the intermediary body in work-based learning in Egypt or the example found in Morocco of linking an apprenticeship programme and a learning-rich form of work organisation”, says Helmut Zelloth, the MEDA-ETE team’s co-ordinator of this component.
 The cohesion of the regional network, comprising representatives of education ministries and social partner organisations, was given a boost by the study visit to the Netherlands in December 2007. The Netherlands was chosen to host this event due to the flexibility of its apprenticeship system. It also provided a real life illustration of the positive contribution that support organisations can make to this kind of training. The Dutch apprenticeship scheme is aided by state-supported centres of expertise which act as mediators between VET schools and employers and also train mentors for students that combine work and learning in enterprises, both services which do not currently exist in the MEDA countries.
Peer learning, a fundamentally cooperative way of learning, will come to the forefront when representatives of the other nine countries travel to a tenth one next summer. A host country with a long-established tradition of apprenticeships will be chosen so it will have plenty to teach. But peer learning is never a one-way process and Zelloth expects that visiting countries will also be able to give their hosts some new insights in return. “With this kind of exercise, the participants learn about the host country but they also give something back. This innovative method can be called 'Peer Learning Review' (PLR)” he says.
As a project which aims to prepare the ground for sustainable change, MEDA-ETE is also seeing encouraging new growth appearing outside the hothouse of official support. The Egyptian network members now meet in addition to the MEDA-ETE calendar of events and are soon to organise a workshop to disseminate the results of last year’s study visit.
Both Morocco and Algeria hosted two-day policy learning workshops last autumn with input from Professor Sweet. MEDA-ETE has helped put apprenticeships back on the political agenda in Turkey. Helmut Zelloth is reluctant to claim too much credit for his component but does believe it can accelerate changes that are already underway. “In countries such as Algeria or Morocco where apprenticeship is a declared priority, MEDA-ETE is definitely making things happen at a faster rate,” he says. The project has revealed that there is potential for apprenticeship and enterprise-based learning in other Mediterranean countries too in the years to come.
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Study visit to Italy demonstrates quality assurance in the midst of decentralisation
Members of the MEDA-ETE network on quality and quality assurance came to Italy to find out about the Italian approach to quality assurance on 26 – 30 November last year. The study visit provided an overview of the tools and procedures being developed by the Italians for quality assurance (QA), with a special focus on how they have involved social partners and how QA fits in with greater decentralisation. Field visits to the regions of Trentino and Lombardia gave the participants a taste of specific issues relating to implementation.
Italy is not the most advanced country in Europe in QA in VET. Such tools are more developed in countries like the UK, where the split between training institutions on one side and awarding bodies in charge of qualification on the other has lead to the development of some very specific and effective approaches to QA. However, Italy is a very active participant in the work of the European Network for QA in VET. And regional policymakers and some VET institutions here are very familiar with EU instruments such as the Common Quality Assurance Framework, the guide for self-assessment and the indicators for quality.
Italian VET has undergone major changes in recent years. -reaching decentralisation to the regions and districts has taken place. Social partners have taken on more responsibility for administering the provision of continuing VET while schools and training centres have gained greater powers to manage themselves. “This is seen as a way of boosting quality by promoting empowerment and partnership,” says Jean-Raymond Masson, the MEDA-ETE team’s co-ordinator on quality, “but at the same time it has introduced more complexity and red tape and sometimes even leads to conflicts between stakeholders.”
 A robust quality assurance system is therefore vital in order to ensure transparency, consistency and equity throughout the VET system. Plans are afoot to develop accreditation, self-assessment and external assessment in both public and private VET centres. Several centres have already introduced tools such as total quality management. And just one week after the study visit, a national conference on QA in VET took place, marking the launch of a national reference point and the publication of a self-assessment guide for training providers. Nevertheless, all the main actors in Italian VET are convinced that much is still to be done.
MEDA network members were surprised by the complexity of the Italian system. They were keen to learn about specific QA management tools and procedures as well as accreditation and self-assessment. They were less prepared for hearing about the complexity of the relationships between the state and the regions or about the barriers to social partner involvement.
The participants identified several strong points with the new, more decentralised Italian system. It has put a national framework in place with dedicated QA support from research and evaluation centre ISFOL. A culture of quality assurance is gradually being developed and an element of competition has been introduced between centres. However they also spotted several issues they saw as weaknesses. Accreditation is currently about centres rather than programmes, centres under the ministry of education are not able to select their own teachers and, overall, there is no provision for the continuing training of trainers. While the sheer number of procedures constitutes a waste of resources, decentralisation has not gone
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New approach to entrepreneurship training snowballs in Jordan
There is no time like the present for JOHUD, the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development. On 9 – 13 February this year, trainers from this Jordanian NGO participated in the first training of trainers workshop for transferring best practices in entrepreneurship training to MEDA countries. A few days later, they were themselves using the new method – an approach from Sweden called Open for Business - to train budding entrepreneurs in the towns of Madaba and Jerash. “It was really interesting as we managed to open some doors and help change their way of thinking,” says Hassan Morahly, director of JOHUD’s Small Business Development Centre, “we showed them two tools from Open for Business and they were already asking for more.” The young trainees from Madaba then told their friends and a fresh group for a second workshop has since been formed. Another workshop is also being planned in the port city of Aqaba.
 This kind of multiplier effect is just what component 3 of the MEDA-ETE project is all about. It aims to improve the quality of entrepreneurship training in the ten MEDA countries by giving training organisations there access to best practices from their EU and MEDA partners.
The current economic climate in Jordan makes encouraging entrepreneurship a national priority, according to Morahly. “Many Jordanians used to rely on the government to provide them with jobs, but times have changed and the government cannot possibly hire all graduates,” he says, “also large companies are coming to Jordan and they need complementary services so this is a good opportunity for our young people.”
JOHUD’s next step will be to get its original trainers certified in the Open for Business methodology and to give them more experience by conducting pilot workshops for young entrepreneurs. This core group will then be used to train more JOHUD trainers and make the method available to other local NGOs. “JOHUD has the largest outreach of any of the Jordanian NGOs, with 50 community development centres throughout the kingdom,” says Morahly, “we intend to offer Open for Business in all of them but the challenge is how to finance these activities. We are taking things step by step.”
Further afield, JOHUD is to include the new approach in its work with NGOs in Saudi Arabia. “We also have partnerships with NGOs in Lebanon, Syria, Morocco and Yemen so we are hoping it will have a big impact,” says Morahly.
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E-learning component gives rise to new course in Jordan
MEDA-ETE’s e-learning initiative has found fertile ground in Jordan. This component aims to improve the quality of e-learning in the MEDA region by teaching members of the e-learning network – all representatives of one MEDA training institute per country – how to design and deliver an e-learning course. The result, a course which is designed to fit the needs of the region, is currently being followed by a carefully selected group of teacher trainers in each country.
In Jordan, 21 trainees, 10 from the field of ICT training, 11 from hospitality and tourism, are currently completing module five of the course which covers using story boards. “People are very glad to join this programme,” says Zaid Al-Qaisi, Jordan’s team leader of the e-learning initiative, “they gain a whole range of new skills and we have found the methodology of the course very useful.” Working with two different groups of trainers did pose some problems at first. “The ICT people were already very familiar with the concepts of e-learning, but although the others can use computers, their progress tended to be slower,” says Al-Qaisi. The difficulties have been overcome by dividing the trainees into mixed subgroups of three or four people. Thus each can contribute their different skills, with the trainees from tourism for instance using their creativity to design storyboards while trainees from IT use their technical knowhow to produce an animation.
 Things have been going so well that the Vocational Training Center (VTC), the Jordanian host institution, has adapted the MEDA-ETE course and aims to make it available to all of its 700 trainers possibly by the end of 2008. The course will be provided in Arabic and will contain 60 e-enrichments developed by the Jordanian team.
To take things forward, the VTC has set up a new e-training division, headed by Al-Qaisi and another new division in charge of developing a VTC e-learning portal. The staff of the e-training unit have been trained using the MEDA-ETE methodology, following the different steps such as carrying out a needs analysis in parallel with the MEDA-ETE course. “We have reused the questionnaire and the idea of using focus groups,” says Al-Qaisi. The Jordanians also used a recent e-learning workshop for the whole network in Sestri Levante, Italy to work on the story board ideas for their new course, thus using this training opportunity to produce tangible benefits.
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