QUAVETS in Reykjavik 25. - 26. May 2009

Welcome and Introduction.

Ólafur Jónsson welcomed the QUAVETS Project Group to Iceland and particularly to IDAN. As there were some new participants, all introduced themselves to the group, explained from which organisation they came and their role in the project.

Overview of Project Progress

Ólafur Jónsson reiterated the aims of the project which were to address, examine and reconsider the concept of the quality of Vocational Education and Training, with reference to the quality indicators in four study programmes – comparison of skills and competences at EQF Level  3 for House Painters and Decorators, Cooks, Receptionists and Nurses in the partner countries.

• Not all countries had a National Qualification Framework, but would have to post all qualifications on the EQF.
• There were major differences in the level of detail provided in the definition of qualification levels from country to country.
• The terms skilled worker and qualified worker were defined for this project, but at the previous meeting it had been decided that the term Ready to Work Worker be used. For someone who was considered qualified to enter the industry, although in some nations, the absence of a qualification is not necessarily a barrier to getting a job.
• Skill categories to be used in relation to defining the term Ready to Work Worker included:-       Vocational and Knowledge Skills, Personal and Social Skills  and General Skills

A Questionnaire had been developed which was designed to be used by all four groups and aimed to identify the most important characteristics for new workers who were starting to work in their chosen profession.The questionnaire would be distributed to a) Students, b) Teachers, c) Workplace Supervisors, d) Employers. 

QUAVETS was designed to diminish or scale down the gap between VET learning providers in the workplace and VET institution learning and to improve the quality indicators for both work-based learning and school-based learning and integrate new approaches in the students’ learning process. 
The Objectives of the Reykjavik meeting were: 

• To gather information needed for the Status Report.
• To conduct a comparison of skills and competences for Chefs and Social Care and Health Workers.
• To undertake an overview of qualifications and list of competences and prioritise and define the 10 most important ones at levels 2 and 3 for Chefs and Social and Healthcare workers.
• To devise a portfolio of quality indicators.
• To finalise the Questionnaire – common understanding of terms and relevant and practical and methodological issues.
• To agree a timetable for the distribution of the questionnaires.
• The Status Report Information was still required for this, namely: Information about the VET structure and learners in the UK, Spain and Norway Partner matrix – information about partners in the UK, Portugal and Norway.
• A list of skills and competences for Chefs in the UK and Portugal, Health and Social Care in Portugal and Receptionists in the UK.
• Future Activities August 2010 Interim Report October 21-24 2009 BILBAO – during the EfVET Annual Conference.
• January 18-19 2010 NORWAY March 22-23 2010 PORTUGAL June 14-15 2010 LITHUANIA September 2010

Final Project Report Quality Indicators for Assessing Quality in VET 
For further information see Recommentation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training.

1. Relevance of quality assurance systems for VET providers. VET Providers sharing internal quality assurance systems.
2.  Investment in the training of teachers and trainers.
3. Number of Participants in VET programmes.
4. Number of participants completing VET programmes or dropping out.
5. Responsiveness of VET to changing demands
6. Utilisation of acquired skills in the workplace. Increase in employability. Satisfaction rate of individuals and employers with acquired competences.
7. Unemployment rate.
8. Prevalence of vulnerable groups. Percentage of participants in VET classified as disadvantaged.
9. Mechanisms to identify training needs in the labour market. Changing demands. Support employability.
10. Schemes used to promote better access to VET. Information on existing schemes at different levels. 

Workshop 1 In two specialist groups (Chefs and Health and Social Care), participants first engaged in an ice-breaker activity. State name, country of origin, job, organisation, interests, something unusual/interesting each person had done and a skill each person possessed. Discussion of roles within the sector and choice of common role and level Consideration of suitability of skills categories chosen at the Bath meeting for these two sectors. Comparison of details of qualifications relevant to the “skilled worker” at the chosen level.  

Plenary Feedback Each Group presented the findings and outlined the 10 most important competences:   

COMPETENCES FOR QUALIFICATION AS A PROFESSIONAL COOK AT LEVEL 3.

To achieve Level 3 competences as a COOK, learners must be able to: 

1. Prepare and cook a wide range of hot and cold dishes, using quality ingredients.
2. Select quality seasonal ingredients, locally, regionally and internationally.
3.  Recognise and react to the continuing changing trends within the international culinary profession.
4. Use correctly all culinary machinery and tools as required.
5. Maintain the health, hygiene, safety and security of the working environment.
6. Contribute to food safety in the working environment.
7. Calculate food costs and control the use of resources in the preparation and cooking of food items.
8. Value the basic notions of nutrition, dietetics, aesthetics and sensory properties of food.
9. Understand and produce specific technical terminology related to the regional, national and international culinary sectors.
10. Establish and develop positive working relationships with colleagues, staff and customers.  

 COMPETENCES FOR QUALIFICATION AS A NURSE AT LEVEL 3 

Visit to the Hotel and Restaurant School in Kópavogur. 

DAY TWO Tuesday 26 May 2009  

Workshop 2 Development of Questionnaires Each Group discussed the draft questionnaires, developed at the Bath meeting and made amendments and additions. In the plenary report, each group had decided that a discrete questionnaire for each curriculum area would be more appropriate and targeted specifically at each group of respondents, rather than a common one to apply to all those contacted. Additional job-related skills and knowledge were added or substituted. It was felt that the instructions were confusing. This had been confirmed by those who had tested the draft questionnaire. It was proposed that respondents be asked to indicate for each competence their view as to its importance, where 1 = Very Important, 2 = Important and 3 = Less Important. In this way the 10 most important competences could be determined and compared with the competences identified by the project partners. The two revised questionnaires are attached. 

Work package for Reykjavík

Work package no. 3. Reykjavik-meeting on the 25. - 26. of May 2009. In the following attachment you will find the agenda for the meeting in Reykjavík. Our main focus in Reykjavik will be on skills and competences of Social and Health workers and Chefs in our countries. We will discuss different views and similarites on the concept of a quailfied worker in our professions and discuss bencmarks for quality indicators in our study groups. We will discuss research methology and the questionnaire. The last update of the questionnaire from Pete is now being tested in Iceland for Patinters and Receptionists. We have agreed to use the same questionnaire for all target gropups. We will discuss the outcome in our meeting in Reykjavik.

Our poet Jarl Ove has set the mood for our meeting in Iceland.