Rationale

Objective

Innovation

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The following innovations ensure that the objectives are achieved:1. Extensive co-operation of the training organisations enables precision measures 2. Training paths are planned and carried out in close co-operation between the participant, employer and trade union representatives. 3. Mentor training and activity 4. Testing the training support voucher as a model for acquiring flexible training courses. 5. New learning technology, e.g. open learning environments, is applied to support training.6. Upgrade and development of skills required in information society is central to the project.7. Learning difficulties are taken into account as factors increasing exclusion ﷡﷡﷡

Budget Action 2

500 000 – 1 000 000 €

Beneficiaries

Empowerment

 With beneficiaries

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Promoting individual empowermentThe aim of the ABOAVITA network is to produce tailored and practically oriented precision measures, which will help the participants to continue studies specific to their needs and plans or which will make them more able to find employment. Participation in the project designImmigrants, their organisations and immigrant-workers of dp-partners have been participating in the project design from the beginning.Participation in running and evaluation activitiesMembers of target group, that is immigrants in Turku area, are involved in running and evaluation activities. In DP's steering committee, for example, we have three immigrant-members.Changing attitudes and behaviour of key actorsOne aim of the ABOAVITA network is to change attitudes and behaviour of key actors; aim is to ensure immigrants, who may have disappointing experiences before, that education pays back, and also to find new ways to make employers to see that diversity management is not only part of multi-cultural society but also good business.

 Between national partners

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here is eight partners in ABOAVITA network:
Managing organisation: Turku Vocational Institute
Co-ordinator of transnational operations: Turku Vocational Adult Education Centre (Turun AKK)

Turku Vocational Institute
Turku Vocational Adult Education Centre (Turun AKK)
Senior Secondary School (Turku Night School)
Turku Christian Institute
Expert co-operative Turku Norssi -services /Teacher Training School in Turku (Norssi)
Turku Adult Education Centre (TSUTO)
University of Turku, Centre for Extension Studies
Åbo Akademi University, Centre for Continuing Education

Empowerment between national partners means that all partners have their own projects and responsibility areas.

A path for immigrants and others at risk of being excluded / Turku Vocational Adult Education Foundation / Turku Vocational Adult Education Centre·
- an investigation of the customer's needs, language, computer and working life skills and his/her life situation. ·
- a guidance period followed by a path directing to employment or studies.·
- during the path the students have, using the training support voucher, a possibility for remedial training, parallel guidance, (cultural) interpretation, computer courses and brush-up of the Finnish language. They can also acquire services from other providers according to need.Smoothly into working life/ Turku Vocational Institute ·
- guiding and complementary immigrant training which covers basic education: Special attention is paid to individual guidance, assessment of working life and language skills, differentiated vocational and linguistic contents and development of co-operation in working life. ·
- a fine module structure is worked out, in support of which new learning material is developed in co-operation with the other DPs. ·
- a possibility for a personal skills demonstration plan in connection with the up-dating of working life skills is offered. TAIURA and BestEnd /Turku Vocational Institute·
- transition from basic to vocational education is facilitated through a construction that guides the learners smoothly into the right lines of work. ·
- fewer school leavings and diminished risk of exclusion. ·
- a central part of the project is to create practices with which young people's learning difficulties and other problems can be identified as early as possible; thus helping and supporting them becomes easier and more efficient. Strengthening young adults' basic education /Senior Secondary School (Turku Night School) ·
- contact and distance learning courses aimed to strengthen basic education and language skills. Merko/ Turku Christian Institute·
- testing of learning disabilities, arrangement and development of training periods in order to correct them, special focus on literacy difficulties. Virtualfinland -network "VISIO" / Expert cooperative Turku Norssi –services / Teacher Training School in Turku ·
- development of open and flexible learning environments for computer based learning of the Finnish language. ·
- content and study material for contact and individual studiesActivation through craft skills, creativity and self-realisation / Turku Adult Education Centre·
- courses developing creativity and craft skills which activate the participants forward on the training path toward employment; a possibility for self-realisation, which motivates and enhances the participants' resources and their ability to cope. Step by step -training for supporters /University of Turku, Centre for Extension Studies·
- support project aimed at young people with difficulties and at their families·
- in order to create a system, which strengthens the protective network for young people, the project includes guidance and training of supporters. Mentor support project /Åbo Akademi University, Centre for Continuing Education·
- mentor training within the ABOAVITA. ·
- the mentors are at the service of all Aboa projects. ·
- co-ordination of mentor activities.Credit to experience / Åbo Akademi University, Centre for Continuing Education·
- finding paths leading back to working life and creation of practical employment models for aged immigrants with higher education through co-operation between the target group, employers and authorities.

Transnationality

 Linguistic skills

• English
• suomi

 Percentage of the budget for transnational activities

• 20.0%

 Transnational Co-operation Partnerships

Background

 Involvment in previous EU programmes

• Two and more partners involved in A&E

Networking

 Interest in networking

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Aboavita has already managed to succesfully create a new network of educational organisations in Turku area. The aim of the Aboavita-network is to offer immigrants guiding, support and education in order to speed up integration of immigrants into the Finnish society and to improve the employment of immigrants and to emerge best practices and service packages to prevent immigrants from being excluded from the labour market.

 Events

 Products

N.C.

National Partners

Agreement Summary

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The transnational partnership consists of 3 Development Partnerships (DPs) from 3 different countries. One of the main interests of all the DPs will be to combine the theme “employability” with the theme “adaptability”, because we believe one theme adds value to the other one. Therefore the UK DP under the Adaptability theme will co-operate with German and Finnish DPs focused on the Employability theme.

The 3 Development Partnerships consider it necessary to work on improving the situation of disadvantaged groups (including immigrants) of the job market by means of a new, elaborate number of strategies concerning job market policy. These instruments must work simultaneously and in a balanced way on both the individual improvement of the target group’s employability and on the capacity of the regional employment system to integrate disadvantaged groups. Additionally, there has to be strategies to improve HR policies for those currently in employment who could become the new unemployed when or if a recession develops.

The transnational co-operation focuses on three main areas:
* Transition processes from school/education to working live
* Intercultural awareness
* Learning and structural barriers

Learning and structural barriers
Barriers experienced by employees in accessing training within SME's. In many cases large companies have the resources to invest significantly in their workforce and ipso facto attract well-qualified workers from other organisations. However, SME's have major constraints on both the release of staff to participate in training and quite often the budgets to fund them. The UK DP is in charge of this area.

Transition from school to work
Pro-active and preventive measures at the interface and transition from primary education to training and occupation form the basis for an transition from school to work that is beneficial and can form a life-long process of learning. Important within these processes are the actors, who are responsible for a more balanced and open transition process. The assignments of the teachers are in general very complex, not only an education and instruction duty, but also a so-called “transition to vocational training responsibility”. At the moment this third responsibility has less importance at the school practice than it is supposed to have because of the rising and partly unknown requirements at the work place. The German DP is in charge of this area.

Intercultural awareness
Prevailing employment patterns across the European Union requires much more of the worker and the employer (especially in SMEs) than just mastering of the work process or to supervise and guide a worker. Immigrants are often in a weaker position than their fellow workers because their language skills are under developed and their vocational qualifications are weaker or inappropriate. In many cases they are unaware of the 'rules at the work place' and they lack a social network. It is also asserted, that many employers (especially in SMEs) need to learn and/or increase their intercultural awareness in order to better manage situations and relationships in the work place. In order to avoid conflicts in the encounter, to guarantee labour force satisfaction and to prevent marginalisation of migrant groups we need an equal dialogue between groups as well as respect for diversity. The Finnish DP is in charge of this area.

Turun ammatti-instituutti

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Turun ammatti-instituutti is managing organisation of the DP. Turun ammatti-instituutti (Turku Vocational Institute) is educational organisation, which gives vocational training in secondary school level and also develops and provides vocational adult training in various fields.

Contact person(s)

Turun Ammatillinen Aikuiskoulutuskeskus

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The government of Finland has authorised Turku Vocational Adult Education Centre (Turun AKK) to function as a Vocational Adult Education Centre. The activities of Turun AKK are regulated by the respective act on Vocational Adult Education of Finland. Turun AKK is a non-profit organisation, whose legal form is a foundation. Turun AKK develops and provide vocational adult training in various fields.﷡Turun AKK consists of five training departments and it employs more than 100 full time teachers, lecturers and tutors.

Contact person(s)

ABOAVITA

Rationale

Objective