There is strong evidence that work-based learning helps to equip young people with the skills that can improve their employability and ease the transition from school to work. In countries with work-based learning systems, young people have better opportunities for accessing to employment. Most of training curricula do not provide training in key transversal skills for employment that are required at any learning process.

That’s why Culinary Arts and Hospitality Association (CAHA) became part of a Erasum+ funded project named:

“PADAWAN GENERATION: Collaborative virtual environment with a new methodology for the improvement of 3 actors’ competences during the process of the work-based training model”

About

What is the project about, why and for who is relevant?

What is “PADAWAN Generation”?

The PADAWAN GENERATION project is designed to benefit VET learners (improving quality & relevance of their soft skills through training), business (improving trainees’ competencies) and society (promoting youth employability).

The main objective is to develop new protocols / methodologies among the different actors that participate in work-based learning in the hospitality sector (apprentice, company tutor and VET trainer) aimed at improving the employability of young people from different countries, especially those with lower qualifications, and focusing on the special characteristics of the hospitality sector.

The innovative methodology of the PADAWAN project is, on the one hand, to make the apprentice a proactive person during his/her apprenticeship in the company and throughout his/her life; facilitating a virtual space where he/she can structure and organize all online resources availability in internet with different training contents in the world of hospitality and providing soft competences to apply in his/her workplace. On the other hand, the PADAWAN project proposes an innovative methodology in the way in which the VET trainer and company tutor of the company interact when monitoring and evaluating the apprentice's learning both in the training center and in the workplace, facilitating a personalized virtual space for each training itinerary and where all the comments to the training plan of each one of the apprentices are registered in a simple and visual way.

Why and for whom is “PADAWAN Generation” relevant?

All existing studies that include elements of VET-business cooperation show that the link between the world of education and the world of work is one important axis for VET-quality and attractiveness. 

And more specifically, Work-based learning and apprenticeships are at the core of VET, where the systematic cooperation between VET schools and companies is one of the identified principles to ensure high performing apprenticeships and work-based learning. The PADAWAN project develops a useful tool to facilitate cooperation and communication between VET providers and companies: the Collaborative virtual environment – European Apprenticeship School PADAWAN. Due to the expertise of the participating organizations, we have specifically addressed the hospitality sector in the PADAWAN project, but the software and methodology developed in this project can be exported to other sectors where education is work-based learning.

According to this description the following target groupscan benefit from the results developed in this project:

-      Educational institutions offering training according to work-based learning systems

-      Culinary and restaurant as well as hospitality businesses

-      Young people and unemployed persons interested in hospitality sector

-      Professional associations of the hospitality sector

-      Policy-makers with emphasis on VET, particularly work-based learning systems

Which ones are the activities to implement within “PADAWAN Generation”?

The planned activities are divided into 2 phases (preparation and exploitation) with several activities incorporating consecutively as research and analysis, design and development, testing and implementation, validation, communication and exploitation:

Activities during the Preparation phase

Implementation of 3 deliverables:

Output 1: Collaborative virtual environment – European Apprenticeship School PADAWAN and PADAWAN Community;

Output 2: Transversal training module for the development of SOFT key-competences in hospitality sector;

Output 3: Handbook for company tutors in hospitality sector to face the training process and to have a clear vision of their role and their tasks.

Activities during the Exploitation phase

-      4 national conferences for promoting the Outputs in Spain, Italy, Germany and Bulgaria;

-      1 mobility –  Short-term joint staff training event with 12 international and 6 local participants.

Results:

Collaborative virtual environment – European Apprenticeship School PADAWAN and PADAWAN Community

An online space designed to guide, to normalize processes and to establish tasks for each one of the 3 actors involved in the work-based learning system. The main aim is to promote a new methodology for the improvement of 3 actors’ competences during the process of the work-based learning system.

This intellectual output has the following goals:

(i) To define the tasks of the persons involved in the process of the working-based learning

(ii) To define the communication needs that Company tutor and VET trainer have in the training process and therefore, the protocol that must be set to promote the correct communication between them

(iii) To create an online space where the entire learning process, in the company and in the training center, is monitored by the persons involved – coordination of apprenticeship training

(iv) To create an online space where the apprentice have specific resources to improve his/her employability during the training in order to promote the pro-activity of the learner - Orientation of apprentices career

(v) To create an European online Community where all actors involved in Apprenticeship system at European-level can be registered and be in touch, sharing documents and know-how

Available since September 2020

Transversal training module for the development of SOFT key-competences in hospitality sector

This training module is designed to develop apprentice’s transversal competences, particularly in terms of:

(i) Have the ability to make decisions in an agile, informed and sensible way

(ii) Have good communication skills, both oral and written

(iii) Know how to adapt to the circumstances and not fear the new challenges

(iv) Know how to work in a team, in an open, transparent and constructive way,

(v) know how to comply with the orders of your superiors at work

The overall objective of the course is to improve their employability by improving their adaptation to the new job, to let the learner understand how he/she can perform on-the-job-learning in a company setting, parallel to business procedures, and to be proactive in his/her training pathway

Available since September 2019

Handbook for company tutors in hospitality sector

This Handbook wants to detect needs among the company tutors in the hospitality sector when performing their training with the apprentice and, to provide solutions through the acquisition of new train of trainer’s competences. It will be a guide to provide tutors of students-apprentices in the hospitality business with the necessary basic competences that will facilitate their training and help them in the planning of training, reception of the apprentice, accompaniment, transmission of knowledge, tutoring, supervision and evaluation of training.

In order to develop contents partners will ask directly to company tutors in their countries with the aim to implement useful contents and of real application in the hospitality sector.

Available since February 2020

Partners 

Partners were chosen due to their commitment to the project issues addressed – youth employment, promoting of work-based learning systems, fostering access to continuing education and improving its relevance. They bring diverse, yet complementary competencies, experience and expertise to achieve the best group of organizations to carry out project activities:

• Formación y Asesores en Selección y Empleo SL (Spain)
• Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria y Servicios de Zaragoza (Spain)
• Confartigianato Vicenza (Italy)
• Pia Società San Gaetano (Italy)
• Culinary Arts & Hospitality Association (Bulgaria)
• Kiezkuechen gmbh (Germany)

Project website: http://www.padawan-project.eu/

 “PADAWAN GENERATION: Collaborative virtual environment with a new methodology for the improvement of 3 actors’ competences during the process of the work-based training model” is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.