Estonian Conference 2008

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First Transnational Conference

Paide, Estonia

December 18 21, 2008

Leonardo da Vinci Partnership Project2008 - 2010

Building the Best2008-0012-LEO-PP-09

On Thursday the 18th of December 2008, the first transnational conference of theLeonardo da Vinci Project Building the Best as written in the work scheduletook place at Srevere Manor of Jrva County Vocational Training Center inCentral Estonia. Organizations represented included N.E.T Association Italy;Lepido Rocco Association Italy; BONUM Institute or Support of Education andEntrepreneurship Poland; and Wisamar GbR Germany. Not present wasPanstwowe Szkoly Budownistwa Poland.

In terms of documenting and promoting project results, the Partnership decidedto have Jrva County Vocational Training Center develop and host an exclusiveweb page located on the schools existing website, links of partner organizationsas well as information and reports will be added. This site now exists, althoughstill under development, and may be found at: http://www.jkhk.ee/4657.

The Project Leader and Coordinator, Elizabeth Parsons-Lenz of Jrva CountyVocational Training Center, opened the conference by providing an overview ofthe project reviewing aims, objectives, expected results, and tasks to beaccomplished during the project, as well as assigning members to the projectcommittee. There was a full schedule of activities to accomplish during this 2-dayplenary session. We needed to define the model to be used in determining bestpractices in vocational teaching and enterprise training of construction trades.Construction teachers of Jrva County Vocational Training Center prepared a

presentation on applied teaching methods to share with partners. And finally wehad a scheduled visit to a medium-sized construction company to learn abouttraining practices and company needs for training student apprentices.

The applied approach in using our model for determining best practices is #1 byanalyzing the teaching tools, methods and theoretical principles used byvocational schools and enterprise trainers, and #2 studying and findingagreement in best practices of teaching and training methods in consultation with

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industry experts while noting the utility of new technology and innovative industrypractices.

Each partner opened by giving a short presentation about their organization andexpected role in this project. The conference proceeded with the defining of best

practices by identifying pedagogical aspects; quality aspects and collectionmethods, sectoral documentation, and reporting requirements; analyzingmethods and taking into account of the different contexts of each partner country;and by identifying informational needs and barriers to learning and training. Themain challenges to overcome during this plenary conference were: whatinformation is deemed most important to explore in the course of this 2-yearproject and how we will collect best practices from participating constructioncompanies and vocational schools. Team work here is essential to achieve thesetasks and it is important to take into consideration the European dimension as awhole, not only the countries where partners come from.

To help our European partners to understand the economic conditions in Estonia,guest speaker Indrek Peterson, Managing Director with the Estonian Associationof Construction Entrepreneurs attended and gave an excellent presentation thatput things into perspective, especially regarding the economic forecast for thisindustry. Partners have requested a copy of this presentation to be added to theofficial website, something that has been requested but has yet to be acquired.This Union helps develop Estonian laws, awards official training certificates andengages in research of the construction market. Mr. Peterson talked about theconstruction market over the past few years and what is happening today.Ultimately the market is decreasing resulting in lower employment levels, but heis hopeful that the economy will turn around in the next five years. This is

because the fall in the construction market started before the overall economiccrisis arrived, so theoretically the construction industry will start to rise beforeeverything else.

Other conference discussions were equally as interesting and centered ondefining the model of best practices. A solid model is crucial for knowing whatdata to collect, analyze, and compare. We will use this model to ascertain bestpractices from among the tools, methods and principles that are presentlyapplied in vocational schools and enterprises where students practice.

The seven (7) main points identified during this conference and listed belowserve as the framework of our model by which we will observe and evaluate thesystem of vocational training of construction trades in partnering countries. Inusing this model we will be able to carry out a comparative work betweenEuropean countries for determining best practices.

1. apprenticeship system2. level of cooperation between schools and firms3. connection with construction unions

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4. training of enterprise trainers5. teaching materials/curriculum6. continuing education program for teachers to gain new skills7. feedback loop

In summary of the thoughts and discussions that produced these points, welearned first the perspective of Estonian vocational teachers and expert partners.Later on at the company visit we gained the perspective of constructionenterprise management on their perception and experience with the existingstudent apprenticeship system, which is discussed later in this report.

With this in mind, teachers and partner experts decided upon several aspectsusing these seven (7) points as guidelines in examining the apprenticeshipsystem used by European vocational schools and enterprises. These include:how cooperative agreements between vocational schools and enterprises areinitiated and organized; how well teachers and students function in this system;

what functional improvements are needed; the extent of the cooperation and howit is maintained and strengthened, especially the communication betweenvocational teachers and enterprise trainers; how often the vocational schoolprovides training to enterprise trainers and at whose expense; and to identify andpropose a solution should a gap exist between the teaching materials andcurriculum applied by vocational schools and the actual needs and expectationsof enterprises operating in the marketplace.

The situation in Estonia regarding vocational training in construction will be usedas a basis for comparison with partnering European countries. It was identified

that in Estonia it is not a common practice for vocational schools to train trainers,that workplace trainers have little to no incentive to take time out of their busyschedule to train students. Similarly, vocational teachers communicated theirwish for a continual updating of skills, knowledge and abilities, preferably to beacquired by job shadowing at enterprises that apply the most modern methodsand technologies.

Together, teachers and expert partners acknowledged that a strong connectionand active relationship is essential and very much needed between vocationalschools and national trade associations. Stronger connections would make it lesslikely that there would be a gap between what is being taught to students andwhat companies actually need in skills and abilities of an employee or studentapprentice. A closer relationship would allow a sharing of information, broadeningof networks, and improved training system for student apprentices. There needsto be a systemic solution developed for ongoing integration of knowledge, skillsand abilities to be shared between vocational teachers, students, enterprisetrainers, and trade associations to ensure continue feedback into existingprograms to create a learning system.

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Once the model was defined and teachers observations noted, the newlydeveloped model was applied for the first time during our visit to AS Paide MEK,an Estonian company that constructs buildings and metal frame structuresemploying approximately 120 people. Jrva County Vocational Training Centerhas strong ties with this company that regularly receives 30 40 student

apprentices each year. In 2006 2007 there were 45 students that did theirvocational practice at this firm. All partnering organizations were represented atthis meeting.

Questions presented by partners to AS Paide MEK included:

1. How satisfied is this company with students and how often do they hirestudents for a permanent position after graduation?

2. Has this company noticed something lacking in students?3. Does this company have a special contract with the vocational school?4. How does the company get new information on technical standards? How

do they get informed of industry changes? Do they share this informationwith the school?5. What does the company do to retain trained workers, what incentives are

in place?6. What motivation or incentives are in place for company workers to train

students?

During this visit we attempted to apply the new model as best as possible, but didnot follow it exactly as planned, the main reason being we had only just definedthe model and not written out for partners to reference during our visit.Summarizing discussions we learned that at this enterprise it is up to the

students on how well they do the work and it is the trainers decision on howmuch work they entrust to the student based on the level of trust between them.

One problem area identified is that the labor laws and qualification system inEstonia are deemed too rigid. As one example, prior to apprenticeship thecompany needs students to have been already nationally certified in first-aide,not just studying it as a matter of course work; they must be officially certified.Otherwise companies at their own expense end up paying to teach the sameinformation again, but for official certification to meet national requirements.

No formal contract exists between the company and Jrva County VocationalTraining Center, although this has been considered. Realistically, it is notpossible to say the firm will take a certain number of students because it dependson the kind of contracts they secure during the year. Rather, the vocationalschool influences students to come to this company, and many students returnfor their second apprenticeship training because they like working there, which isalso seen as a plus by managers since students already know how to work wellin their position.

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Several company employees have been trained to train students, which hasbeen very beneficial, but has been at the companys expense. The company isinterested in having more of their employees trained as trainers of students bythe vocational school. However, another rigid government requirement is thattrainers must have a pedagogical degree to be qualified as workplace trainers.

This company itself evaluates workers to get a pay grade level and few workershave the necessary qualification to teach. Then, in terms of motivating trainers,thus far this role has been voluntary, but the company does give workers a 10%raise to teach students. Company management believes this system could beimproved by having the government to pay this amount, especially since thecompany is already losing out because workplace trainers are unable to do the

job that they were hired for because their time is monopolized in trainingstudents.

Regarding employee development and continuing education the company tries toregularly give courses to workers and test them in order to maintain their ISO

rating and requirements. Suppliers also provide training to accompany use ofnew products and materials for free. If a worker desires more training, they mustpay for it themselves. At present, 1 manager and 2 project managers areattending the university.

AS Paide MEK has several long-term employees that the company strives toretain by providing good working conditions and caring for them. The company isable to retain good employees because they are a reliable company to work for.

In looking back, our partnership learned and accomplished much during our 2-day First Transnational Conference. In review, we learned more about partner

organizations and deepened our relationship in our pursuit of common aims.Each partner presented information about themselves and we determined rolesand responsibilities. Discussions ensued resulting in a defined model to be usedwhen analyzing teaching tools, methods and applied principles for determiningbest practices in vocational teaching and enterprise training of constructiontrades. This model was partially tested during our visit to the local constructionfirm AS Paide MEK, that led to a deeper understanding of enterprise needs andhow the apprenticeship system might be improved in the future in relationshipand function with participating enterprises.

7-Point Model EvaluationThe seven (7) main points identified during this conference and listed belowserve as the framework of our model by which we will observe and evaluate thesystem of vocational training of construction trades in partnering countries. Inusing this model we will be able to carry out a comparative work betweenEuropean countries for determining best practices.

1. apprenticeship system2. level of cooperation between schools and firms

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3. connection with construction unions4. training of enterprise trainers5. teaching materials/curriculum6. continuing education program for teachers to gain new skills7. feedback loop

1. Apprenticeship

Students in the construction program must complete 22 weeks of practicaltraining divided between Year 2 and Year 3, training preferably done atenterprises. This year in 2010, enterprises have not been able to take on asmany student apprentices for lack of work for their own full-time workers, letalone students. Therefore, the School has had to organize on-campus trainingprojects overseen by a building foreman with extensive building experience. Theschool has requested additional funding for this expense, but the Ministry has notyet given approval.

2. Level of cooperation between schools and firms.

No formal contract exists between Jrva County VTC and enterprises and isinstead based on relationship. The reason being from unpredictability of jobcontacts so that firms cannot guarantee student placements. Students areresponsible for finding their own placement, but the school does advise studentsto approach specific larger firms in the road and building sectors known for theirconsistency and reliability in taking students for training. However, most firms aresmall or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and can only accept students if theyhave ample projects or jobs on which to train students.

3. Connection with construction unionsJrva County VTC is a member of Estonian Association of ConstructionEntrepreneurs. The E.A.C.E is a voluntary association of constructionenterprises created in order to support and co-ordinate its members actions inmatter of industry related economic issues and relations with employees andemployee unions. This is a union primarily comprised of roofing companiesuniting 100 companies active in Estonia whose overall turnover comprises morethan 45% of the construction turnover of the entire Republic.

Principle activities of E.A.C.E as relates to the needs of VET training are:

participation in the elaboration of legislation concerning the Associationand its members (including expressing opinion);

generalization of construction and economic experience and theirdistribution;

arrangement of marketing and economic research and elaboration of therespective recommendations;

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arrangement of construction associated refresher courses,encouragement of the development of the construction education byfinancing respective target programs;

distribution of information concerning construction activities, includingissue and distribution of advertisements and other publications.

As things presently stand, Jrva County VTC can attend informative meetingsas organized by the union, but mostly these topics do not directly aid theschool in planning training content or activities, nor does this membershiphelp the school find placements for student apprentices in companies. Mostlythese meetings report only on E.A.C.E activities with little relevance to theneeds of schools.

4. Enterprise training

Training of company trainers is only seen as a priority if the company is large

enough and can expend the manpower for such specialized training. Mostlycompanies are SMEs and agree that, although it would be beneficial for trainersto know how to work with students, it is done at the companys expense ratherthan the States. Companies are interested in having more of their employeestrained as trainers of students by the vocational school, but this does not takeplace. In terms of motivating trainers, this role as trainer is mostly voluntary somecompanies give trainers a 10% wage increase to teach students. Companymanagement believes this system could be improved by having the governmentto pay this amount, especially since the company is already losing out becauseworkplace trainers are unable to do the job that they were hired for because theirtime is monopolized in training students.

5. Teaching materials and curriculum

Vocational schools are given a State approved basic structure for teaching difference

courses. The school then creates the curriculum and sends it to the Ministry of

Education for approval. It is the schools responsibility to find materials and resourcesfor training students using the budget annual amount given for each registered

student.

6. Continuing education program for teachers to gain new skills

There is some degree of retraining and updating of knowledge for vocationalteachers, but is only in the form of 2 -3 day free seminars that providepedagogical information (50%) and industry-specific training (50%). There areother more extensive courses available, but this is at the teachers expense andso is rarely undertaken. At Jrva County VTC, since 2008, most updating ofskills and knowledge has been through sending teachers to European countries

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for observational visits at various enterprises or vocational schools through theLeonardo da Vinci Life Long Learning Programme.

7. Feedback loop

The school tries to organize meetings with enterprise owners or managers twicea year in order to discuss ways of improving relations, work through problems,and discuss students progress. Such meetings do not take place between EEELand the School or between any other relevant stakeholders.

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Estonian Conference 2008

Documents

Transcript of Estonian Conference 2008