PROTEIN
(Professional Training European
Enterprise Network)
Activity/Results
Report including Conclusions and Recommendations
Academy Avignon
Rue Jacques de Lalaing 4, B-1040 Brussels
Tel. 0032 2 285.07.09, Fax. 0032 2 230.78.61
Email: info@academyavignon.net, www.academyavignon.net
“INDICATION, EVALUATION AND VALIDATION OF COMPETENCIES
IN SME AND CRAFT ENTERPRISES”
Outcomes
of the Protein project ( Professional Training European Enterprises Network) financed by the Leonardo da
Vinci Programme
Second
phase 2000-2006 Procedure C
EUR/01/C/F/NT-84602
Presented by the “Avignon
Academy of SME and Craft for Europe”
INDEX
Annex 1 List of members of Protein network page
21
INTRODUCTION
The
Avignon Academy of Craft and SME for Europe presents in this text the outcomes
of the of the Protein project ( Professional Training European Enterprises
Network) financed by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme ,Second phase 2000-2006
Procedure C.
The
outcomes are restricted to the issue of the indication, evaluation and
validation of competencies in small and craft enterprise, in order to focus the
issue among the general results of the Protein project. The general results
have been transmitted to the Commission trough the official form produced by
Leonardo programme
Moreover,
the research products of the project which include a) “ Work material”, where
is presented the new methodology for the indication of the competencies; b) the
study “ Indication of competencies in SME and Craft: European Cases” where is
presented the way of learning the competencies and c) the “Electronic
Vademecum”, where is presented the scheme and the criteria for the
evaluation/validation of competencies, are accessible in the Protein web page www.academyavignon.net .
ABOUT PROTEIN
The
project Protein (Professional Training Enterprises Network) is a project of
transnational network submitted under the procedure C of Leonardo da Vinci
program. Its aim has been the setting up of a multidisciplinary network,
grouping together private and public vocational training bodies, training
experts, representatives of social partners, Universities. The composition of
the network has been made of 12 partners representing 6 EU countries and 2
candidate countries.
The aim
of the network has been a) to capitalise the experience of the member of the
network in the field of identification and evaluation/validation of
competencies in small and craft enterprises; to increase the specialisation of
the network in the practices of evaluation/validation systems of competencies;
c) to experiment and promote, within the members of the network and towards the
broadest number of appropriate circles, new methodology and practice of
evaluation/validation of competencies acquired in the work activity in order to
increase the transparency of qualification and worker mobility in the labour
market.
With
these aims, Protein has carried on a work program finalised to:
1)
produce new criteria and practice to make visible new
competencies and validate them, taking into account the existing experiences in
the countries of the network members;
2)
to test these criteria and practices of
evaluation/validation of competencies towards a sample of craft and small
enterprises of three sectors: mechanic, textile and wood in the EU countries;
3)
to produce a Electronic Vademecum in English, French,
German and Italian, in the web site of the Avignon Academy for SMEs and Craft
in Europe, in order to promote the validation practices of competencies.
The
project Protein has presented the results of its activity during a European
Seminar which took place in Berlin, attended by representatives of the SMEs
organisation, Union representatives, experts and entrepreneurs.
The
Protein project has been mentioned in the "First follow-up report to the
framework of actions for the lifelong development of competencies and
qualifications" which was presented to the European Council at the Spring
Summit 2003 and disseminated amongst all members of the European social
partners.
The
initiative of the project Protein was motivated by the fact that small and
craft enterprises are confronted with new challenges of vocational and
continuous training, the new professional skills needs and the change of the
labour market. It is known that continuous training and life long learning
represents the new scenario in which vocational training in small and craft
enterprises has to find new perspectives. Therefore the visibility of
competencies, acquired in informal and formal way, is a crucial element to give
transparency to professional qualification, to promote the mobility in the
labour market and to link the training activity in the enterprises with
policies of continuous and life long learning. Actually, research shows than
more than 40% of the training in enterprises do not have formal validation.
This represent a negative aspect, to be removed, for the growth of
qualification of the workers for the competitiveness and the employment. The
results of the project brings a contribution n this direction.
SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT/ACTIVITIES
The activities implemented by the Protein project during the one year
of activities, according to the proposal submitted to the Commission, can be
summarised as follows:
1) Multi-player networking activities
The multidisciplinary network, set up by
the project which included 12 multi-player member representatives of 5 EU
countries (Austria: WKÖ; Belgium: UNIZO; Avignon Academy; France: APCM, Chambre
de Metiers Lot et Garonne; Germany: ZDH and ZWH; Italy: Confartigianato and
CNA; Spain: Pimec Catalonia) and of 2 candidate countries (Hungary, University
of West Hungary and Slovenia, Chamber of Craft of Slovenia); has brought a real
added value to the project activity. In fact the network has been able to
present and discuss a new methodology for the identification of the
competencies with representatives of Social partners at national and at
European level and get their contribution for the identification of new
criteria and for the scheme of the process visibility of competencies. [1]
2) Production of new methodology for the identification of competencies.
Having experienced that it is not
possible to identify professional know-how only through performances which can
be observed and measured as in large enterprises, the first step of the network
activity has been dedicated to the production of a new methodology for
identifying competencies in small and in craft enterprises. This
methodology is based on the analysis of
the activities and actions displayed at work in given enterprises and not by
referring to the study process or to professional figures. Therefore
competencies in craft enterprises can be identified by analysing:
1)
the actions performed by the individuals;
2)
the activities to which the actions can be
referred;
3)
the system of activity, which aggregates
different activities and actions;
4)
the areas of competencies which characterise
each system of activity.
The study carried out by the project
has shown that competencies can be distributed in different ways in craft enterprises.
In fact, while a person who controls the yeast process in a large industry can
act as a professional figure, the same activity in a craft bakery does not
produce a specific professional figure because this person also does other
activities.
3) Production of a
“catalogue of competencies” in the mechanic, textile and wood sectors
According to this methodology the project
Protein has produced a study which has described the competencies found in the
enterprises of the three sectors :
-
mechanics
-
textile
-
and
wood
4 areas of
competencies :
1)
structural,
2)
organisational,
3)
relational and
4)
strategic.
For each of the above indicated
areas of competency, the study has indicated:
1)
the
characteristics of competency related to each area of competency;
2)
how these
are articulated (eg. technical, conceptual);
3)
which
aspects of the competency are “central” and which are “additional.
The study carried out by the project
has shown that competencies can be distributed in different ways in craft
enterprises. In fact, while a person who controls the yeast process in a large
industry can act as a professional figure, the same activity in a craft bakery
does not produce a specific professional figure because this person also does
other activities.
The result is a description of a
sort of “catalogue of competencies”
existing in the enterprises of the three sectors and this result is important because the work is changed and the
competencies in the enterprises are not yet known.
3) The European
assessment of the competencies
The European dimension of the
Protein network has given an opportunity to assess the new methodology and the
“catalogue of competencies” at European level, in order to give it a larger
validity. Five members of the network ,(Austria, France, Germany Italy and
Hungary), have checked the correspondence in their countries of the
competencies described in the enterprises of the three sectors. The result has
confirmed
a) a large homogeneity of the list of competencies produced in the work
analysis;
b) the validity of the model of analysis of competencies which has been
accepted by the partners.
Based on these results a new version of the “catalogue of
competencies” of the enterprises of mechanics, textile and wood has been
produced which has been used in the testing activity in the enterprises.
4) The process of learning competencies in small and
craft enterprises
In order to assess
the process of learning the competencies in small and craft enterprises,
Protein has conducted a test of the “catalogue of competencies”[2],
with the aim of checking with the entrepreneurs and representatives of workers:
a) the
correspondence of the competencies described in the catalogue with the
competencies performed in the enterprises and
b)
in which way these competencies are acquired, i.e.
through training or through work.
The
result of the testing was:
a)
that the
processes of acquiring competencies in the craft sector are specific because of
the enterprise dimension and of the work organisation;
b) there is a personalised way of acquiring competencies
while there is a need to formalise the way of evaluation in order to give them
visibility;
c)
the
enterprise is a place of learning and therefore has to be a place of analysis
of the acquisition of competencies.
5) Criteria and procedures of validation of competencies in small
and craft enterprises
Taking into account all the new elements
produced by the project regarding the way of identifying the competencies and
the way of acquiring them in small and craft enterprises, the Protein network has
debated the criteria and the procedures of evaluation and validation of
competencies.
Regarding
the criteria, the project recommended to adopt “indirect criteria” and to
avoid using standard evaluation schemes.
Regarding
the procedures, these must involve the entrepreneurs and the social partners
for the identification and for the
evaluation of competencies in respect to the enterprise and to the
enterprises of the territory.
The local
public authorities, responsible for the promotion of vocational training or
continuous learning should be involved in the
validation of the competencies.[3].
The ITC products
The importance to promote new tools, easy to
access, for the actors involved in the process of visibility of the
competencies in small and craft enterprises has engaged the network
a)
to
create a Protein Web page in the web site of the Avignon Academy: www.academyavignon.org;
b)
to
produce a Electronic Vademecum; and
c)
to
activate links between the Academy web site and the web site of the network
partners.
The Web page and the Vademecum which
present the result of the Protein project and indicate links with existing
experience and practices on validation of competencies in small and craft
enterprises, will become a permanent tool of the Avignon Academy and the
Protein network to support the implementation of process of visibility of
competencies and to sustain the activity of the network.
Dissemination
The activity of the Protein project has been
disseminated on several occasions: The Protein project
has also been mentioned in the "First follow-up report to the framework of
actions for the lifelong development of competencies and qualifications"
which was presented to the European Council at the Spring Summit and disseminated
amongst all members of the European social partners.
The Protein project has also been mentioned in the
"First follow-up report to the framework of actions for the lifelong
development of competencies and qualifications" which was presented to the
European Council at the Spring Summit and disseminated amongst all members of
the European social partners.
IMPLEMENTATION AND
PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT
New methodology for the identification of competencies
The problem which
the Protein network have addressed in the work of production of new criteria to
make competencies visible has been: how to analyse the competencies in the
small enterprises and in the craft sector where it is not possible to divide
the work into a number of parts such as the work performed in a large industry?
The
experience exchange during the network activity and the work analysis produced in Italy by Ente Bilaterale Nazionale
dell’Artigianato (EBNA) under the direction of the Istituto Superiorie di
Formazione (ISF) CNA and Confartigianato, has brought to light that: "it
is not possible to identify the professional know-how only through performances
which can be observed and measured. The professional competency can be better
described by referring to the actions and the activities in a given enterprise
instead of by referring to the study process or to a group of codified
abilities and knowledge." The competencies, in fact are, the result of
the activities, therefore it is necessary to analyse in a very detailed way
what the workers do, why they do it in that way and why the result can be a
performance of a qualitatively higher or lower level.”
Therefore
the analysis of competencies in craft enterprises has to describe,:
1)
the actions
performed by the individuals;
2)
the activities
to which the actions can be referred;
3)
the indication of a system of activity, which aggregates different activities and
actions;
4)
the indication of areas
of competencies which characterise each system of activity.
The
relation between system of activity and competency
According
to this approach, which refutes the “taylorist” model used in large enterprises
, ISF has produced and presented during the meeting in Rome in July 2002 a
“Work material”[4] which
illustrate the aspects of the new methodology and describes the competencies
(catalogue of competencies) in the three SME sectors selected by the project:
wood, mechanics and textiles. This study
has identified 4 areas of competencies: structural, organisational, relational, strategic.
1)
Structural (which includes competencies aiming at
producing products, segments of products or services. This kind of competencies
is divided into “Technological” and “Conceptual” and includes the application
of techniques, the use of technologies, and the application of theoretical
knowledge)
2)
Organisational (aims at optimising the normal modality
of production. This kind of competency is divided into “Knowledge of the
production cycle” and “Use of internal and external resources").
3)
Relational (it is set up to improve and increase
communication with productive objectives). This kind of competencies are
divided into “ Internal”, which includes the management of communication in the
work organisation between people of the same level, between business managers
and workers and “External” which includes a network of relation with clients,
suppliers, institutions, competitors, advisors, services and different actors
involved in the management of the process/productivity work.
4)
Strategic, which includes the identification of a competency
to hit targets which where identified during the years and which aim to improve
the result of the enterprise. This kind of competency is divided in “setting up
of procedures starting from an idea”, “setting up of methods to deal with
crisis”, “setting up of methods to innovate production”, “setting up of methods
to distribute products”, “setting up to promote oneself as individual
(collective people, enterprise, individual".
The
competencies have been described as “central”( the work done by an individual
with a precise hierarchical position in a precise frame of work) and
“additional”( competency which is less visible but which represents the passage
from one work situation to another in other words: the expected changes in the
competency which can anticipate the organisational and training needs.
By using
the category of system of activities,
that means the area of organisation of the production, which is common to the
large enterprise and to the craft enterprises, it is possible to reduce the
actual large number of professional
figures (27) identified in the textile sector and it is sufficient to
consider the four systems of activities mentioned before. This reduction will make the analysis of the competency easier, and
will help the training process and the definition of professional curricula.
The basic
concept on which is based the new methodology is that if the competence
analysis is based on the professional figures, the outcome is a large number of
professional figures which will be modified sooner in the future. Vice-versa,
if the analysis of competency is based on the enterprise organisation, the
outcome is that there are common systems
of activities to the large and to the small enterprises no matter what the
level of organisation or technology.
The passage from the system of activity to the competency.
The analysis of competency has been restricted in the
Project Protein to three sectors:
1)
mechanics;
2)
textiles/clothing;
3)
wood.
By taking
into account the indication of the “system of activity” the Protein study has
been concentrated on a restricted number of systems of activity in order to
examine:
a)
the aspects which are similar in the three sectors
within the system of activity e.g. “entrepreneurial;
b)
the aspects which are not only similar but identical
in the three sectors within the system of activity: e.g. administration,
marketing and sales;
c)
c) aspects which are specific for each sector:
“production of tools machinery for the mechanic sector; production of clothing
in the textile sector; assemblage in the wood sector.
For each of the above indicated
systems of activity, the study has indicated: the characteristics of competency
related to each area of competency indicating:
1)
how
these are articulated (e.g. technical, conceptual);
2)
which
aspects of the competency are “central” in relation to the area of competency,
and which are “additional” and
3)
in
which way these competencies are acquired, i.e. through training or through
work.
In this way the study has described
the competencies found in the enterprises of the three sectors.
This result is important because the work is changed and the
competencies in the enterprises are not known.
System
of activities and the production of professional figures
The other
aspect focused by the network activity has been: in which way the system of
activity can produce professional figures? This can happen in various ways,
mainly in the craft sector. The study has shown that the group of competencies,
for example, referring to an “instrumental” area of competency, can be
distributed in different ways in craft enterprises. The history of the craft
enterprise in itself has an impact on the way the know-how is distributed
between various persons.
The
professional figures change, therefore the Protein study did not define the
professional figures relating to each system of activity of the three sectors
because, according to the dimension of the enterprises and to its context
(workers, machinery), the professional figures have the competence grouped in
different way.
The
systems of activity are stable in each type of enterprise, while the professional
figure changes. The system of activity can produce a professional figure in a
large industry, with 100 employees, where, for example, the person who controls
the yeast process can act as a professional figure, but this activity in a
craft bakery does not produce a specific professional figure because this
person also does other activities.
Comparative
assessment at European level
The importance of a new methodology
to identify the competency in craft and in small enterprises, in order to receive a solid justification,
has been assessed through a European comparison, by the network partners in 5
EU countries: in Austria by the WKÖ, in France by APCM (Chambre des Métiers Lot et Garonne), in Hungary by University of West
Hungary, including Italy.
The assessment has been made through
a questionnaire to verify the correspondence of the composition of the
competencies in the enterprises of the three sectors (wood, mechanics and
textiles) of these countries.
The result of the verification of
the comparative assessment, analysed during the meeting in Paris on 25 October
2002. has confirmed:
a) the large homogeneity of the “catalogue of competencies” produced in the
“Work material” (only some of the competencies included in the “catalogue of
competencies” where not confirmed - in the sense that a less number of
competencies where found during the comparison work.
b) the model of analysis of competency has been largely accepted and shared
by the partners.
These results can be
considered an innovative contribution of the project, since the model of
analysis of competencies proposed by the project is valid in 5 EU countries.
THE
WAY OF LEARNING THE COMPETENCIES IN SMALL AND CRAFT ENTERPRISES
The
learning of competencies is a typical process in small and craft enterprises.
The methodology of identification
of competencies in small and craft enterprises, the production of catalogue of
competencies for the three sectors and the European assessment has completed a
fist phase of the project Protein. A second phase had to deal with the problem:
how to measure the competencies which are learned at work and which criteria
can be used for the evaluation/ validation of these competencies.
To deal with these objectives the
project has planned a test to be conducted with two aims: the first was to
verify the revised “catalogue of competencies” with the entrepreneur and with
the worker; the second was to discover which way (formal and/or informal) of
acquisition of the competencies. A list of questions was prepared by ISF for
that purpose and used by the researchers
Taking
into account the result of the comparative assessment, “the catalogue of
competencies” has been adjusted according to the comments and to the proposals
which came from the comparative assessment, with the enterprises. The testing
checked how much of a given activity is learned through formal training and how
much at work and the assumption that the main way of acquisition of competencies
in small and craft enterprises (the central one and the additional one) is at
work.
The testing phase has been
conducted in 42 enterprises of the three
sectors of 4 countries (Austria, France, Italy, and Germany), and 72 interviews
addressing the entrepreneurs and the representatives of the workers.
The result of the testing were
presented in the study “Indication of competencies in SME and Craft: European
cases”[5]
produced by ISF and discussed in the European seminar which took place in
Berlin on 21 February 2003.
The
testing activity has confirmed that it
is necessary to underline the difference within the process of acquisition of
competencies between the large and the small and craft enterprises. The test, has also confirmed that the
way of acquisition of the competency in the craft sector is specific. In the
sense that:
a)
the
informal way of acquisition of competency is prevalent for a large number of
competencies;
b) that the workers of craft enterprises have a high
degree of knowledge in competencies even if this knowledge is not corresponding
to the standardised disciplines;
c)
that the
worker is able to perform an activity even if he is not able to decode which
are the elements of standard knowledge related to the activity.
In small and craft
enterprises there is a typology of worker which perfectly adapts to the reality
of the enterprise
a) because
the worker is motivated to participate in the productive process;
b) because
he shares the aim of the enterprise and
c)
because he identify strongly with the future of the
enterprise.
Therefore the process of professional training and of the informal
acquisition of competencies in small and craft enterprises are typical
comparing to those of large industry. And, considering
the change in the work which is going on, these processes represent the most
advanced point of a process which is common to the organisation of the large
enterprise.
By summarising the outcomes of the testing
activity it is possible to say that:
a ) that there is a difference between the way of acquiring competencies
in craft and small enterprises in respect to large enterprises;
b) that the processes of acquiring the competency in the craft sector
are specific because of the dimension and the work organisation;
c) there is a personalised way of acquiring competencies while there is
a need to formulise it in order to give it visibility;
d) the enterprise as a place of learning and has to be a place of
analysis of the acquisition of competency
e) it is necessary to support and develop informal learning through a
training activity outside the enterprises, but which uses innovative ways of
training
f) by knowing the informal way of acquiring competency it is possible to
link it to a training activity which is useful for the enterprises and for the
worker. (Protein has given a contribution in that sense).
The result of the project proves
that a large number of competencies are acquired at work and through
personalised processes and therefore opens a new way regarding the evaluation
and the validation of competencies in SMEs and craft.
SCHEME
OF THE EVALUATION/VALIDATION PROCESS OF COMPETENCIES
The change of the work in the enterprises and the
evaluation/validation process
How to
evaluate and validate a competency which is largely acquired at work?.
The
network activity in facing the objective to evaluate and validate the
competencies in small and craft enterprises has brought to light the
characteristics of the change of work. This change shows, from one side, that
the work processes tend to be personalised and, from the other side, requires a
standardisation and a global visibility of the result.
The
validation of competency is confronting this contradiction and the Project
Protein has worked on this contradiction in order to find possible solutions.
The basic
approach followed by Protein has been to start from the identification of
competencies as can be described in the
work activity of the enterprise in order to find the system to measure
them. That means, as has been said, to start from the enterprise system of
activity in order to describe the competencies and avoiding starting from the
professional figures.
The
change of the work and the process of mobility in the labour market has
suggested that the definition of the competencies can not be stopped at the
level of the enterprise and that, after the indication of competencies
according to the system of activity in a given enterprise, it is necessary to extend this knowledge to the sector and to the
territory where the enterprise is active because this is the level of the
labour market where the worker will look for a job.
In
addition to the change process of the work , the specific way of acquisition of
the competencies in the small enterprise and craft sector and the relevance of
the informal way of acquisition of competencies requires that the evaluation of
competencies can not involve only the entrepreneurs and can not be conduct on
the basis of standard methods but requires new criteria and rules. This it
means that the social partners agree
on the definition of criteria to validate the competency in that sector of the
enterprises at territorial level.
The
important point of the change is that, in the school system and in the old work
process which characterised the fordism/taylorism process of work, validation
is conducted through objective tests to analyse work performances which are
easily observed and measured. In the case of small and craft enterprises, the
social partners have to agree on a validation process which can use indirect criteria. Protein has
indicated some of these criteria such as
such as: the time of work on a given
machinery, the possibility to consider the competency in a different context
other than where the competency has been learned, the judgement of a tutor,
etc. This means that the evaluation/ validation of competencies in small and
craft enterprises has adopting a system
based on criteria and rules and not on objective proves.
Taking into account the specific way of acquisition of competencies in
small and craft enterprises and the relevance of the informal way of
acquisition of competencies, together with the description of competencies
starting from the analysis of the enterprise work, which the project Protein
has put in evidence, the work of the European seminar in Berlin has indicated:
1)
that the entrepreneur plays a
central role in order to valuate the competencies;
2) that, since the reference of
the competence to the sector and the territory is important in making visible
the qualification of the worker, it is necessary that the social partner
representatives agree on the criteria to use for validating the
competencies in a given sector of the enterprise at territorial level;
3)
that the public authority
responsible for the continuous training at local level is also called to
certify the competencies and to give them the necessary transparency;
4) that the role of the public authority in validation will also have a
positive impact on the improvement of vocational skills and on continuous
training;
5) that the competencies in small and craft enterprises cannot be validated
through standard/objective methods such as the one used in the school system or
in the analysis of performances which can be observed and measured;
6) that the validation process could use indirect criteria such as:
the time of work on a tool machinery, the extension of the use of the
competencies to another sector; the tutor report and others to be agreed by the
social partners
7) that the validation of competencies has therefore to be based on criteria and rules and not on standardised objective proves.
The
scheme of validation of competencies in small and craft enterprises
If the
evaluation of competencies and the valuation of them foresees an important role
for the entrepreneur and of the representatives of the social partners, the
validation of the competencies also calls for a role of the public authorities at local or national level.
The role
of a third party in this process, ( that means the authority responsible for
vocational training and continuous training development), it is necessary to
give credibility and visibility to the validation process.
In
summarising the scheme indicated by the Protein project in the identification,
evaluation and validation of competencies in small and craft enterprises, it is
possible to indicate the following:
The methodology to identify the
competencies has to be based on the indication of system of activity and on the
description of the competencies in the enterprises and not on the description
of professional figures
The actors in the process of identification, evaluation and
validation of competencies in small and craft enterprises are
1) the
entrepreneur,
2) the
social partners,
3)
the public authorities.
The level of intervention for the evaluation
and the validation of the competency has to be the enterprise, the sector and
the territorial level, in order that the validation of competency produces an
effect on the transparency of qualification and the worker mobility in the
labour market.
The criteria :The validation
process has to use indirect criteria or rules instead of systems which use
objective tests, which have been proved not to be able to catch the complexity,
the composition, the way of acquisition, and the personal added value, of the
competencies existing in small and craft enterprises.
The validation
The public authority at local level is a third
subject which has to intervene to validate the competencies which have been
identified and evaluated by the entrepreneurs and the social partners according
to agreed and transparent criteria.
Taking into account the conditions
and new criteria for the validation of the competency acquired in an informal
way in small and craft enterprises the structure of the process of
evaluation/validation of competencies it is possible to summarise that:
1)
the place
where competencies are identified is the enterprise, because it is the place
where they are acquired;
2)
the
entrepreneur is the figure who recognises the competencies acquired by the
worker;
3)
after the
enterprise level, a new level is needed, in order to evaluate if the competency
acquired in a given enterprise can be used for the entire level of production
at the local level and in the local labour market;
4)
the
social partners, who know the local productive system (e.g. district, labour
market, region) and are interested in the promotion of the transparency of the
professional qualification, can agree on criteria for the validation of
competencies in small and craft enterprises;
5)
the
criteria which can be adopted by the social partners has to be indirect
criteria and has to avoid using standard evaluation schemes. Protein has
indicated some of them, such as: the time of work on a given machinery; the use
of the acquired competency in a different sector; the evaluation of an ad hoc
tutor, others to be discussed;
6)
the
public authority, responsible for continuous training at local level, has to
validate the competencies which have been identified and evaluated by the
entrepreneurs and by the social partners, according to agreed and transparent
criteria:
7)
it is
necessary to support and to develop the competencies acquired in an informal
way with a training activity, which can use modern technologies and therefore
can take place also outside the enterprise.
CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS
The
conclusions of the Protein project are the followings:
General
conclusion
The process aiming
to identify competencies in small and craft enterprises is strictly linked to a
new knowledge of the work. The transition from a production system which we
know under the name of “Fordism” to a new production system, which we call
“Post-Fordism” has produced a deep change in the way of doing work. What we
know is that
a) the
process of acquiring competencies in small and craft enterprises is specific in
the sense that the worker adapts himself to the reality and to the exigency of
these enterprises;
b) there is
a personal way of learning the competency which is not necessarily linked to
formal knowledge (we know that the craft entrepreneur knows exactly how much
varnish is needed to paint a room without measuring it)
c)
the informal way of acquiring competencies plays a
great role in small enterprises and conflicts with standardised methods of
measurements . Therefore we need to increase the knowledge of the work in the
enterprise and of the way in which the work is performed and to indicate some
parameters which will enable us to describe in the most objective way the path
of learning the competencies without cancelling the specificities.
But we also know that the level of the enterprise is
not sufficient to analyse the competencies learned in an informal way. The
dimension where to learn and measure the competencies is the territorial level
because it is also the level of the labour market. At this level, entrepreneurs
and social partners have to agree on the criteria and procedures for the
validation of competencies. And at the same time we know that it is necessary
to support the competencies acquired in an informal way with training processes
which could use innovative technologies and, in this way, establish an
interactive action between the training system and the visibility of
competencies in the enterprises and the continuous learning process.
The
learning and validation process of competencies in small and craft enterprises
The innovative approach adopted by Protein in
analysing competencies by putting the enterprises in the centre as learning
place and as the place of analysis of the acquired competencies and of the way
of learning competencies, has been able to take into account all these aspects
and to adopt a model of identification/evaluation and validation which
combines:
a)
the role of the enterprises in producing and in
learning the competencies;
b)
the role of social partners as experts of the
competencies existing in the sector and in the territory;
c)
and an indication of the criteria and procedures for
the validation of competencies in small and craft enterprises.
The project experience has proved that:
1)
the analysis of competencies based on the “activities”
and not on professional figures has a large correspondence at the level of
sector of enterprises and in the tested European countries. This approach
facilitates the identification of competencies and the way of learning them by
the entrepreneur and by the worker representative;
2)
the agreement of the social partners on the evaluation
phase of competencies in a specific area of enterprise and of territory is
necessary in order to avoid objective and standard methods which are
inappropriate when used in the analysis of competencies in SME and craft
enterprises;
3)
the intervention of the public authorities responsible
for continuous training is necessary in order to validate the competencies
which have been identified by the entrepreneur and the worker representative
and evaluated by the social partners according to transparent criteria;
4)
even though the validation and recognition of informal
learning is linked to the structure of the existing training models and of the
Social Dialogue in each EU country, the Protein experiences proved that the
validation of competencies in SMEs is possible on the basis of reciprocity
agreements and informal criteria, starting from those proposed by Protein, and
not on the basis of formal procedures;
5)
the exiting different systems of validation requires
the production of common criteria/common reference points which can be used on
a voluntary basis which can introduce transparency into the procedures and in
the results and can promote voluntary convergence between the existing
validation procedures.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Protein network at the conclusion of the project
is pleased to present to the Commission and to all the relevant stakeholders
involved in the promotion of visibility of competencies and continuous training
in SME and craft enterprises the following recommendations in order to improve
the visibility of professional qualification in SME and craft enterprises
·
increase
the research work aiming to know the change in the labour in small medium and
craft enterprises, because the recent change of work is not sufficiently known;
·
valorise
the approach based on the “theory of activity” to identify the competencies in
small and medium enterprises because the competencies are the result of the
activity and not of professional figures;
·
privilege
the identification and the visualisation of competencies in small and craft
enterprise and not the formal measurements because the acquisition of
competencies in small and craft enterprise is specific;
·
extend
the work of identification of competencies in the enterprises to the sector and
to the territory because the sector and the territory are the dimension of the
labour market;
·
support
informal learning in enterprises with training activities using new
methodologies because the entrepreneurs and workers need training to be
competitive and to contribute to the economic growth and to be in the labour
market;
·
support
the social dialogue at, all level, in order to foster the valuation/validation
process of competencies in SMEs and craft, because actually not in all EU
countries, representatives of small and craft enterprises are involved in the
decision regarding the training SMEs, in all its forms, and the visibility of
competencies;
·
pursuit
actions to create common reference point in the existing systems of
valuation/validation of competencies in SMEs and craft enterprises and
encourage the convergence, on voluntary bases towards systems of
valuation/validation which can guarantee the transparency and effectiveness of
the systems.
Brussels June 2003