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Cultural Awareness in Vocational Training through E-Learning

Demographic changes and lower birth rates posed challenges for labour market requirements in Europe. The need for qualified workers increased, and more companies required qualified immigrant workers. Multicultural societies were a constant feature.Specific challenges arised for vocational training programmes. Key issues therefore were the skills, attitudes and knowledge of trainers and counsellors to recognize and understand the needs of immigrant students. Cultural Awareness in Vocational Training through Elearning, CATEL, took the outcomes of two European projects, Orientation and CATIT which dealt with an intercultural approach to education of adults and technical students. CATIT and ORIENTATION were in-person courses, that is, they were based on the classroom setting. The teachers and trainers who took part in both courses found it difficult to comply with this requirement as they had lessons to deliver at their own centres. Their feedback on the evaluation of the courses highlighted the need for an adaptation of the programmes into an Elearning format. CATEL blended both programmes into an Elearning training course in order to prepare teachers/trainers and counsellors to meet the training needs of immigrant students/trainees in the vocational field and so improve their integration.The starting point for the programme was a survey on elearning. This survey provided a variety of information in order to create the most attractive elearning training course for CATEL beneficiaries. The training programme - and developed materials – had been piloted among technical and industrial teachers/trainers and counsellors. The final result was a training course for trainers and counsellors, so that they were better equipped to help and support immigrant students to qualify in the fields that suffer from labour shortages. Project outcomes included:•Recommendations to be used as a basis for the development of CATEL training course (R1).•CATEL training course (R2). •Guidelines for the deliverer of the course (R3).•Enhanced multimedia programme on conflict solving in intercultural issues when teaching immigrants (R2).•Analysis of the Impact (R4).•Analysis of the transfer of innovation process (R5).•Project Website (R6).The countries participating in the project were Estonia, Germany, Spain and Turkey. The partnership includes EfVET, with registered office in Belgium, as dissemination partner (reaching VET teachers and policy makers),vocational colleges, a university, companies, employer and employee organisations, job centres and public administration bodies. The work team was composed of experts in inter-cultural communication, technical and industrial vocational training, immigrant training, adult education, training of trainers, IT experts, research, human resources development as well as project management.
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