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#03/2006
newsletter
This is the 3nd newsletter of the international Leonardo da Vinci Project (A/04/B/F/PP-158.130) "PreQual“ - http://www.prequaloniline.org
conducted by 7 partners from 6 countries (maiz- AT, EBG-DE, IEPALA-ES, Antigone-GR, HCA-BG, ADBI-IT, CESV-IT). It's objective is to highlight current information and results of the project's activities.
CONTENT:
1.
News from
the Pilot Courses
1.1. targets achieved so far
1.2. difficulties encountered
2. Feedback from participants of the Pilot
Courses
3. Website
4. Supplementary Partner Meeting
5. Project Calendar and further Steps
6. Announcements
Leonardo
da Vinci Pilot Project – PreQual
Duration October 1st, 2004 – March
31st, 2007
1. Pilot Courses
Austria:
The Pilot Course in Austria ran from January 2006
to June 2006 and included 2 one-week shadowing internships in various health
and care institutions. The Course came to a successful end in June whereby
participants were presented with their
certificates of completion (in German and English). Many of the women
intend to continue training in this field.
The team at maiz is presently busy with compiling
and writing material for the PreQual Handbook. This among other things includes
analysing and processing the results from the self-evaluation process.
Italy:
In
the first semester of 2006 CESV has operated with several actions in order to
create the context to run the Pilot Course, in particular CESV has worked:
- to build the trainers team (it includes experts from
CESV itself, doctors from the Rome Policlinical Hospital, experts from
organizations operating in the sector of services for migrants)
- to organize the course agenda (promotion, submission
of demand of participation, calendar),
- to meet the responsibles of the local institutions in
order to know the context and to build consensus and start the path of
requesting to regional department of Labour, Education and Training the
recognition of the new model proposed by the Pilot Course (one Focus Group)
- to meet the representatives of associations of migrant
women in order to have a realistic feedback about the interest to participate
at the course and the conditions affecting the possibility to participate
- to meet directly the migrant women in order to present
course objective, contents and opportunities.
The course starting date has
incurred in several rescheduling (from May to September) due to aggravating
circumstances migrant women have to deal with.
Germany:
The course in Germany started on May 3, 2006 in Halle (Saale) with 13
migrant women. 12 of them completed the whole course including a theoretical
part and an internship with shadowing in different health and care institutions
like hospitals, homes for elderly people etc. in the region of and around Halle.
Target
of the pilot course was the testing of a new pre-qualification in the health
and care sector in Germany
and its evaluation. The curriculum which was developed by the Austrian, Italian
and German project partners was conducted very successfully. At the moment the
results are under evaluation..
1.1. Targets achieved and
Effects
Austria:
Three participants
have already been accepted to further training programs for: „nursing
assistant“ and „Nursing assistant and geriatric care“.
On May 12, the International Nurses Day, the
PreQual course participants
organised an Open House Event to celebrate the. This was an opportunity
to advertise the course contents, demonstrate some skills learned (taking blood
pressure, wheelchair etc.), present
their personal experiences in the course, presentation of the
internships and inform other women interested in the nursing and care field. Nursing
schools, strategic partners and the general public were invited to participate.
Another positive effect from the PreQual course
is that the participants are planning further meetings at maiz. The Purpose of
these meetings are manifold and include exchanging ideas and experiences
regarding training and work opportunities in the health and care field.
Italy:
In the frame described above the intermediate
results are:
- construction of a network
of public and private institutions and migrant associations
- several individual guidance
talks with migrant women, of which some have been decided to enrol the course
- start of the procedure to
obtain from the Department of Regione Lazio for Labour, Education and Training
the recognition of a new standard professional profile.
Germany:
90% of the participants are highly motivated to do a further training in
this sector. Especially the practical part of the pilot course in Germany
offered an excellent impression of health and care professions to the women.
This increased their interest to finish a vocational training and to work in
this field.
The curriculum was fulfilled in a high quality.
The teachers, one of them with migration background, worked with regard to the
needs of the addressees and were very successful in increasing the motivation
of the participants to step into this profession. The participants were all the
time open minded towards the learning contents and the language lessons, which
were didactically prepared for health professions. The women gave the feedback
that this was extremely important for them and prepared them very good for a
profession in a new country.
1.2. Difficulties
encountered
Austria:
Among
other things, a strong sense of demotivation is also experienced by migrant
women due to the extent of bureaucracy and obstacles that they face when
wanting to enter a training program. Another major challenge is securing
financial support for both the PreQual course participants and for those who
will go on to further training in the health and care sectors.
Italy:
The main difficulty encountered until now has to
do with a strong dichotomy between:
- the interest demonstrated
by women in attending a course (interest in obtaining the specific competencies
previewed) and
- the need to receive a
formal certificate recognized in the Italian labour system in the sector of
social and health care and assistance
The fact is that in Italy this type of curriculum is
compared (wrongly) with the ones adopted in some courses aiming to qualify
people (not only migrant women) in the health and care sector. Working in such
sector requires a certificate of professional qualification from recognized
institution which organize these types of courses.
Germany:
In the preparation phase of the course there were some difficulties to
face with regard to the financial support of the women. Most potential
participants of the target group were already supported by the German
employment agency and it was not clear, if they lose their support while
attending the PreQual course as it is a kind of vocational training.
In the end there was a way found to cooperate with the employment agency
and all the women received a financial support during their participation in
the course.
There was also a lack of motivation among few women after the course
started. Some participants were not convinced of the sense or the future
advantages of such a course for themselves. But only one woman left the course,
the others became more and more “excited” while attending the lessons and the
internship. 4 of them have excellent chances to get a place in a care
institution and to complete a vocational training with final exam.
2. Feedback from participants
of the Pilot Courses
Austria:
„I knew that this course offered a vocational adjustment to the field of
health and I thought it was important for me. I liked the course and it was
well organised...This course increased my safety ... The course helped me for
my job. Before nobody knew my profession, my education. Now they know at many
places, what I am able to do, who I am.“ Participant from Guinea
„I have finished a training in health assistance at home. It was my
dream to go on with this profession. At maiz, within the course I felt very
well. I got to know many women and I have learned a lot of things that I didn't
know before.... Now I have the power to go on, to find my job. Now I am 100%
sure, that's my job...“ Participant from Chechenia
Feedbacks to the internships:
„I could watch the whole working process of a nurse and than also
assist, it was psychologically challenging“
„They never had a black colleague before. They asked me many
questions...“
„I looked after a child that was completely alone because both parents
live in Croatia.“
„Taking a bath was no relaxation for the residents but
only a cleaning process which is done as fast as possible“
Germany:
Some comments from the participants:
“German is a good language because there is a
difference between man and human being.”
“Non scholae, sed vilae discimos – Not for
school but for life we learn.”
“Learning does never end.”
“Who stops learning is old. It does not matter
if he is 20 or 80 years old. Who continues learning is young. It does not
matter if he is 20 or 80 years old.”
“Who does not learn foreign languages does not
know anything about his own language.”
“Thank you for this course!”
3. Website
The prequal website is a space that has been created to share
information about this pilot project, with other organizations, associations,
and individuals, who are related or want some information on the health and
care sector. This is a space where all the relevant documents and didactic
materials developed by the partner organizations, is made available to the
public for their use.
The materials, products, newsletter and important information on the
project are uploaded on this website, which is all available in: Bulgarian,
German, Italian, Greek and Spanish.
The experiences, evaluation tools and methodological approaches used,
are explained and included in the different sections of the website, so that
the user has a clear picture of the project.
The partner organizations have promoted this website on each country,
amongst organizations and people involved either in the health sector and as
well as within migrant organizations.
The contents of the page are:
Project Description, Phases of work, Networking, Evaluation, Milestones
& Products, Pilot Courses, Archives, Links
Also, the website has been uploaded in the most used searching engines,
so it is available to the public in general.
It also has an archives section, which is for the partner's internal
use, as an space for information exchange, guidelines and procedures, and other documents used for the follow up
and organizational activities.
In the last six months, the page has received 2930 visits, of which many
come from searching tools such as google, yahoo, etc.., and the rest come from
different institutions of each of the partners' countries.
We want this information tool to be as useful as possible, so any
questions, comments and suggestions are welcome!
www.prequalonline.org
4. Supplementary
Partner Meeting
All participants of the meeting agreed that an additional meeting would
be very useful for the project implementation and it should take place after
finishing the 3 pilot courses in Austria,
German and Italy
and before the printing of the handbook.
After extensive discussions
concerning the location, it was decided to carry out the 4th
Partners’ Meeting in Vienna (Austria),
hosted by Maiz, in the 17th and 18th of November 2006.
Emphasis of the meeting will
be put on the realisation of the implementation of the pilot course, on the
preparation of the handbook and on the necessary actions for the successful
closing of the PreQual project.
5. Project Calendar and further Steps
Phase 1: Planning and Analysis, Study of Labour Requirements
01.11.2004 - 31.05.2005
Phase 2: Development of the Curriculum and Preparation of the Pilot Courses
01.06.2005 – 31.12.2005
NOW! Phase
3: Testing of the Pre-Qualification Course, ongoing
Evaluation and Product Modification
Start: 01.01.2006
End: 31.12.2006
Results: Pilot courses, with up to 60 participants, will run in Austria (maiz), Germany (EBG) and Italy (CESV) which will span 6 months during 2006; Handbook; Evaluation; Product adaptation; Translation of the curriculum in all partner languages; 3 Newsletters; 3rd Partners’ meeting in Italy (January 06):
January – March
2007
Final Conference; Handbook production;
Dissemination;
Final reports
6. Announcements
- PreQual II !!!
maiz' extensive networking activities have resulted in the approval for
funding for a follow-up PreQual course slated to begin in January 2007.
- Due to
popular demand, the team at maiz also provides counselling services beyond the
course duration. The target groups are PreQual participants as well as other
migrant women interested in the follow-up PreQual course or other training in
the health and care fields.
- An
Information Event for women interested in the follow-up PreQual course in
Austria is scheduled to take place in mid-October. Some former participants have expressed
interest in sharing their experiences and
providing information on the course.
This Project has been funded by support of the European Commission’s Educational Programme Leonardo da Vinci. The content of this report reflects the results of the analyses performed by the project partners, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the authorities or the respective National Agencies, nor does it involve any responsibility on thezir part.
The Leonardo da Vinci programme
Leonardo da Vinci is the European Community's vocational
training programme whose aim is to implement and
support lifelong learning strategies in accordance
with the national training strategies. In an effort
to increase mobility, foster innovation and improve
the quality of training, co-operation between the
various players in vocational training are promoted
within the framework of transnational projects.
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