The educational models of the Basque Country and Finland will be the references of the WISE project, which seeks to collect the exchange of good practices for the promotion of social skills to improve the employability of students.
From Ikaslan Bizkaia we are in continuous search of good practices that help us to grow, evolve and adapt to a world in constant growth. We believe that diversity is, at least in part, the key to innovation. The initiatives carried out by other countries, organizations, cultures or educational models can help us to find a point of view, a new reference that, in one way or another, contributes to integrate or enhance an improvement or innovation.
Under this premise, our Network has become involved in a new European project to share visions, orientations and experiences on the acquisition of soft skills in the classroom to improve the employability of students: WISE (Working in Soft Skills for Employment).
The main objectives of the project are:
- The exchange of good practices.
- From the findings obtained, the construction of a future project of “innovation development” that involves the development of tools and methodology that can be transferred to the classrooms of the regions of the partner entities.
Nine training entities from Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Portugal and the Basque Country will participate in this exploratory initiative.
Each partner will involve key people from the business environment to get the perspective of the companies. The “success factors” will be identified, as well as the needs of companies and teachers.
Teachers from all the organizations involved will also participate, mainly those who have a link with the companies, but also trainers of general or specific subjects that integrate a soft skills approach in their classes.
WISE focuses on Basque Vocational Training
One of the great challenges in the educational field, especially in Vocational Training, is that the training process of students culminates in the hiring of graduates by the productive fabric. This aspiration implies training professionals who respond to the needs of a labor market that, in addition to knowledge and technical skills, requires people capable of providing “something more”: problem-solving capacity, creativity, initiative, emotional intelligence, critical thinking… essential skills, also, for professional performance, and that today are demanded by all companies.
Basque Vocational Training has been working for years to bring real work performance closer to the training environment. Collaborative learning through challenges or high performance cycles (Ethazi) or Dual Training in Alternation Regime are two examples of the clear commitment to turn VET into the real training field for the professionals of the future. Our model promotes a comprehensive training process where technical (hard skills) and social (soft skills) go hand in hand to train students who in two years should be able to respond to a demanding and changing labor market.
The uniqueness and referentiality of the Basque Vocational Training, together with the recognized Finnish educational model, will be the two case studies of the WISE project. The participating entities will visit our centers and facilities to learn first-hand about our experience and guidance to integrate soft skills in the training process. In addition, during the development of the collaboration we will also attend to the initiatives and projects that other countries and regions are implementing.
Ikaslan Bizkaia is proud that the partnership puts the spotlight on our educational model, that of the Basque Country. And that we are recognized at European level for our innovation and efficiency. All the agents participating in WISE will share methods and tools. We will learn from each other in a multicultural project, which ultimately seeks to provide educational teams with tools, methodologies and skills to help students improve their access to the labor market.
