Suchergebnisse

A number of European Union priorities focus on sustained and shared approaches to making skills visible as well as supporting mobility of workforces within Europe including the integration of migrants and refugees. Supportive, transnational processes for the recognition and validation of learning provide an opportunity to maximise human capital and to benefit labour markets and societies generally leading to improved economic performance. The Visible Skills of Adults (VISKA) is an Erasmus+ Key Action 3 Project, filed under the call priority theme of "Employment and Skills: validation of informal and non-formal learning in Education and Training." The project partners, from Norway, Iceland, Belgium-Flanders and Ireland will address European and national policy priorities by cooperating to make knowledge, skills and competences of adults more visible through consideration of the practice of validation of informal and non-formal learning and the implementation of some field trials. An initial mapping process of the national contexts has provided a baseline set of data on the existing processes, procedural information and resources related to the validation of learning of migrants /immigrants, refugees and those with low qualifications within partner jurisdictions and subsequently reflected into an EU context prior to implementation of various interventions planned by the project team. This vital relative information provides a context for the action-based interventions and a framework for the evaluation of the outcomes.This paper details the five planned interventions drawn up by the project partners and the positions them in relation to the data collection processes and the potential for the project to contribute to policy at a local, national and European level. It addresses how well these interventions map to the European Guidelines for the Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning and inform the national responses to these guidelines, and previews the project outputs and outcomes The focus of this paper is to detail how the interventions relate to the evaluation of competence of low-skilled, migrants and refugees for the purposes of identifying further opportunities as informed by their existing knowledge, skill and competence.

The focus on the third mission of Universities is now some decades old. Boyer's assertion that 'theory simply cannot be divorced from practice' and that any consideration of the role of faculty 'must give new dignity and new status to the scholarship of application' (Boyer, 1992) has been embodied in the almost ubiquitous linking of scholarship to real world issues and applications. There is a general acceptance that the knowledge and skills required in existing and emerging labour markets are often not well served by universities while at the same time there is a realisation that these skill requirements are rapidly changing (Muller, 2015). Collaboration between universities and industries is seen as essential to innovation sys-tems, with a number of researchers pointing to the impact of such collaboration on both the company's ability to innovate and the generation of economic value within the country and the region. In Ireland a plethora of documents and a range of agencies purport to support and incentivise various forms of engage-ment interactions (Department of Education and Skills, 2017, 2016, 2015). Despite the significant apparent importance placed on university enterprise interactions, concrete measures of impact are severely lacking. Focus at a government agency level tends to be on the (relatively few) impact measures associated with technology transfer activity (Knowledge Transfer Ireland) while the myriad of more common interactions such work-placement opportunities for students, industry-based project activity, site visits, cultural and community interactions, subject matter expert seminars and customised and practice-based learning for those in the workplace tend not to attract as much attention. This full range of possible interactions has been the focus of the work of the CIT Extended Campus – a codification of interactions and an engagement mapping exercise provide a valuable perspective on the potential of collaboration across the academic-industry divide. It is recognised that the motivation and ability to collaborate changes with company size, sector and culture. Geography impacts on collaboration with many companies in collaboration with neighbouring universities, however the quality of the university is also a factor (Laursen, Reichstein, & Salter, 2011) (Fitjar & Gjelsvik, 2018). The factors that influence the scale and scope of engagement within a university differ from those which impact from the business perspective and while 'the cultural divide between universities and industry runs deep', effective measures can make a lasting difference (Science | Business Innovation Board, 2012). According to the Central Statistics Office over 99% of enterprises in Ireland are SMEs. While Cork Institute of Technology has worked to support interactions with all sectors and sizes of industry partners over many years it is still not clear that local industry has a knowledge of the possibilities and benefits of engaging. Using the initial results of the State of University-Business Cooperation study (Science to Business Mark-ing Research Centre, 2017) as a framework and question guide, a brief review of the motivators and barriers as experienced by small and medium enterprises is conducted and the findings provide some direction for future efforts.

The development of a world-class base of skills has become the key driver of economic growth in the developed world. There is a recognition that future competitive advantages will only emerge through enhancement of workplace skills. Ireland, in particular, is experiencing a significant economic downturn allied to the competitive challenges posed by more open markets. International and intense competition and technological developments, which are enabling global trading are placing increased pressure for competitiveness and productivity on enterprises. In this kind of climate organisations need to identify the precise areas where they have or can build distinctive strengths that will enable them to compete effectively. In the past, Ireland benefited significantly from the international expansion of markets for trade, capital and labour. Today, with the rapid opening of markets in Eastern Europe and Asia (especially China and India), globalisation presents both opportunities and challenges. The primary source of continuing skilled labour supply is, and will continue to be, achieved through the training, development, and learning of individuals. In effect, from an employer's perspective, the focus is on workforce (or professional) development – the upskilling and reskilling of an organisation's employees at a higher level. Changing employment patterns in the organisation of work have impacted on the demand for higher level skills. Employees are expected to be more flexible, have a broader range of skills, and be more competent at managing their own career and development. Graduate-level skills and qualifications are seen as increasingly important in the changing workplace. Knowledge creation and the deployment of new knowledge in the workplace have given rise to the workplace itself being recognised as a site of learning and knowledge production. Brennan (2005) suggests that, if higher education is to continue to make a contribution to the knowledge economy, collaborative learning activities based in and around the workplace should be considered. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are expected to be responsive to the needs of the economy and of the labour market, while at the same time affording citizens the right to appropriate levels of education to sustain economies in stable societies. Langworthy and Turner (2003) describe the University role within a complex process requiring forecasting of emerging workplace skills needs and a trend towards lifelong learning in a model of engaged scholarship. The growing interest in the interface between the higher education sector and the world of work at European Union and national levels is evident as an increasing number of research projects, incentives and initiatives now have a distinct enterprise and labour market focus.

In an increasingly digital world there is a considerable and growing divide between those who are considered to be digitally literate and those who are not. In addition, among those who are digitally literate, there is a divide between those capable of engaging with technology end products and applications as competent users and those capable of developing software themselves; between users and creators. As technology becomes more pervasive in our society it has impacts in most aspects of life, including education, health, culture and work. In terms of the workplace impact it is clear that the currently reported skills deficits, gaps and mismatches are generating significant demand for skilled information technology workers across many sectors and the ability to meet this demand can have substantial impact on economic development. Developing appropriate technological skills and competence among young people has been the focus of many government, industry-led and voluntary schemes and has given rise to a diverse set of initiatives around Europe. However, little has been published on the attainment of knowledge, skill, competence and evidence of learning outcomes through these initiatives. This research has focused on the efforts to support development of coding capability among young people through the CoderDojo voluntary initiative and sought to identify the skills which are potentially transferable in an education and workplace context. CoderDojo is a global movement of free, volunteer-led, community based programming clubs for young people between the ages of seven and seventeen. The movement was founded by James Whelton and Bill Liao, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. From the first Dojo founded in Cork in Ireland in 2011, the movement has grown significantly and by May 2015 there were over 675 verified Dojos in 57 countries globally [1]. Through a review of the extant literature and the development of a potential skills acquisition template, this research seeks to identify and evaluate the knowledge, skills and competence that may be developed by participants in the CoderDojo movement. Before seeking to identify the skills that might be attained through programming activities, consideration of the broad themes and language of digital skills attainment is presented. The actual skills that are attained are considered in relation to the context within which the learning takes place. A research instrument is developed in association with project collaborators in the CoderDojo volunteer coding movement. The findings from the research are analysed and some preliminary recommendations are considered.