To refresh the project aims and the concept of AKS. The project aims: Minutes of meeting

Transcription

1 Minutes of meeting Project title: Accumulated knowledge and Skills (AKS) Project no.: n N/02/B/PP Subject: Second partner meeting in Greece Follow up Date: Participators: Koutoulakos Christos (SIVITANIDIOS) EL (Kostalos Efthimios (SIVITANIDIOS) EL) Julian Sikondari (JTL) UK Martin Payne (JTL) UK Peter Holm Petersen (Jydske Haandværker skolen (JHS)) DK Jesper Kofoed (JHS) DK Jonas Wallin (SEF) S Agnes Trainer Olssøn (OREE) NO Hans Jacob Edvardsen (ELBUS) NO Svein Harald Larsen (ELBUS) NO Day one : Welcome. Svein Harald Larsen opened the meeting and wished everybody welcome to the second meeting in the AKS Project in Athens at Svitianidios vocational school. He opened the meeting by giving a short review of the program for the first day. To refresh the project aims and the concept of AKS. The project aims: Methodology To develop and establish a harmonized pan-european methodology or procedure that will enable electro-technical enterprises to document and assess the accumulated knowledge and skills of their workforce. By methodology, we mean the whole process that is carried out, i.e. a method that specifies a a specific procedure to evaluate and document the accumulated knowledge and skills of an employee or potential employee. This methodology is explained in a handbook, and is supported by a paper-based and electronic-based tool to aid the process. Documentation procedure and associated tools To develop and try out a tool to aid the process of identifying and objectively assessing an individual s accumulated knowledge and skills. 1

2 The tool will help the individual to record his/her own experience and skills. By record we mean that the individual will, in an systematic manner, register his/her personal details, qualifications, social skills (family life, social activities, interests), milieu and local community work (committees, voluntary duties, affiliations to any societies, sports club, choir), professional skills (work, hobby, interests, etc.) and any wishes or future intentions related to their interests or work. Accumulated Knowledge and Skills AKS is: A person s competence, meaning: qualities, qualifications and other abilities and skills that will provide employment opportunities Presentation. At this meeting there were two new members in the project group; Jonas Wallin from the Swedish Electrician Union (SEF), Sweden and Martin Payne from JTL, UK. The presentation technique this time was that each member who had been in the Oslo meeting should present one of the other members from the first presentation. This was a good refresh one's memory exercise. The ability to take Action or in other words, Accumulated knowledge and skills (AKS). The next part of the meeting was to become absorbed in one of the main subjects in this project; The ability to take action. ELBUS has developed a form in the period between the first meeting in Norway and this meeting. The first step in this work with The ability to take action was that the entire project group on an individual basis should try out the form for themselves by answering the questions. After this session the project group was divided into twos with intention of trying out an interview or a dialogue situation on the basis of one's completed AKS form. One of the two was the guide, and the other was to be guided trough his/her own form. This session was a dry run of the employee dialogue planned to take place in all of the pilot companies and was therefore a very valuable experience for the entire project group giving lead to various opinions on the AKS form. From the UK point of view, it was found that the AKS form was probably too sophisticated to use directly towards their apprentices. On the other hand, they found the form suitable to use toward adults or skilled workers. From the Norwegian point of view, it was found that the form could be suitable to use with apprentices, but the AKS form should also be followed up by an interview or a dialogue between the employer and the employee (apprentices) to find the right starting point for the both parties. From the Danish point of view they find that the AKS form and the dialog always has to been seen together as whole method and not as separated parts. The project group finally came to the agreement that the AKS form and the dialogue together would be used in the pilot test, but the AKS form had to go through a needed English language vetting to avoid any misunderstanding in the content. It was decided that Julian would be responsible for the language vetting of the AKS form. 2

3 Shared vision. In the Oslo meeting, the project group worked with the project vision. From that workgroup the project vision can be formulated like this; The AKS project will make non-formal qualities visible and give a common understanding of accumulated knowledge and skills gathered in a European perspective. On an individual basis the project will give a valuable evaluation and assessment of individual quality. From the companies point of view, the project will help to brake down barriers and stimulate to mobility between European countries. The project will also help to give greater synergy to the companies both internationally and domestically. What about the personal vision of each member in the project group? In this session each project member wrote his or her personal vision: Svein Harald: A method and tool so simple /easy to use that any company can use it. Christos: How to improve an individual s / employee s positive sides/traits and reduce their negative side/ traits. Develop an individual s potential. Build a national human network. Martin: To participate in a European model of assessment for electro technical personnel, by developing a suitable, easy to use tool. To efficiently map individual strengths, weakness and experience, to form a basis for transferable skills and employability (between participating countries). Julian: To develop a tool valued by employers. To find a suitable target group. Jonas: To learn more about the project, and make a basis to build on. To find a way of validating an electrician s skills. To find a way to got better further education. Jesper: To be a part of the international team that delivers a useable tool to map an employee s competences both formal and informal. Peter: To make a tool I can use when employing people, to get better understanding of them. Hans Jacob: To develop a dynamic Web tool to administrate the individual s and the organisation s competence. Agnes: To make a web based tool that works, and becomes accepted for assessing AKS on an international level. End of day One. 3

4 Day two : This day started with a short evaluation of day one. Guide and dialog analyses. In this session, the group discussed the concepts of guide and dialog. The ensuing brainstorming came up with following concept: To guide; - sharing - help - discover - help to seeing your self - discuss - mirror speech - lead - make aware The following sentence was developed: Guide: to aid an individual in discovering his/her own skills, abilities and potential. Dialog; - Create - Common understanding - Generate - Balanced - Improve - Equal The following sentence was developing: Dialogue: developing a common understanding of an individual s accumulated knowledge and skills. Professional Competence. Workshops The group were divided into two smaller groups to work toward forming a common European professional competence section based on the Norwegian first draft. Both groups came to the conclusion that the first draft could be used in the pilot companies test, but that there are some small changes needed both in the language and in the principles. The whole idea is that electrical companies throughout Europe can use this tool to validate and assess professional competence in their work force. In this project, where there are participants from UK, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Norway it is very likely that this idea will work. This project group found that there are clearly similarities between several European countries when it comes to education and professional competence. It is therefore possible to try out the tool on a large scale (in several countries at the same time) using the same method and tool. 4

5 This acceptance of the professional competence and the acceptance of The ability to take action (AKS) including the employee dialog (on page two) is a very important brake through in the project. The next step in the process will be to develop a common platform consisting of all the three parts; 1. Ability to take action (AKS) 2. The professional competence 3. The employee dialog as a web based tool, that is very easy to use and are in the different participating countries languages. This tool, a result of the project, will be the mapping tool used in the project. When this is finished, the project will also have reached the first part of the aims in the project. After lunch day two, there were some social activities. Day three : This day started with an evaluation of day two. The involving play. This session started with a role play: Two persons from our project were invited to a company to give more information about the AKS project. The outcome of this meeting would hopefully be an agreement between the project and the company to participate in the project by trying out the tool and taking part in the whole AKS process. In the play there were four actors. Two from the company: one from management and one from the workers union. The relationship between the manager and the workers union official was strained. From the project there were two actors. The play was run in two phases. In the first phase, the four actors played through without interruption but with the rest of the project group as spectators. Act one. The two persons from the project try to give information about the project and express it as interestingly as possible. This was made somewhat difficult by the bad relationship between the manager and the shop steward. By the end of the play, there was some small movement in the company toward expressing interest, but it was far from any kind of agreement. The next act was played in a different way. This time the whole group were to be involved. At any time in the play one of the spectators could stop the play and change places with one of the first actors (from the project side). The purpose was to go in where one saw weaknesses, change the direction of the play, and thereby bring about another outcome hopefully getting closer to an agreement with the company. In the discussion after the play the group agreed that they had got a new understanding of how to introduce the project into a company. This role playing, lead to another very important issue in the project: anchoring. 5

6 The method. Method Introduction Handbook Method Anchor AKS project Handbook Tool What happened? Spot: - Deviation - where? Find: - Correction what? Do: - Carry out - Evaluate again Evaluation Effectuate Mapping Schedule Web Tool pilot Gap This figure illustrates the whole AKS-process. The anchoring process will among other important issues also deal with the understanding of this figure. It is easy (and a common mistake) to have strong focus on the mapping sphere in the figure. It is essential that every step is taken in the process. If the anchoring process is properly understood by the company and done well it will create a very good starting point for the rest of the process. In our project, one success criteria will be if the company are able, or have the ability, to carry out a strong anchoring process in their own organisation thus ensuring a good mapping process. 6

7 The Mapping process. 1) The ability to take action form (ATTA) Mapping Process To be worked on in the project Social- Competence Learning Competence Method- Competence Professional Competence 2) The professional competence form WEBbased 3) Dialogue (guide) To be worked on in the project 1 CV 2 Prof.comp 3 AKS Result 1 The scheduling process Gap analysis AKS project Personnel development plan Result 2 This figure illustrates the mapping process. 7

8 Task to be solved agreed in this meeting (outwards the time schedule). Professionals skills. UK (MartinP), work trough this document correct and organize the content. Martin sends the corrected version around the project group with in 1 st of June The ability to take action (AKS) translated and language vetted by UK (Julian) with in the 1 st of June The document ( professional competence, ability to take action (AKS) and the interview ( dialog) sends to Denmark (Jesper) and Sweden (Jonas) both in English and Norwegian with in 15 th of May Start to translating whole tool into partner country languages mid June. Finished: Denmark 1 st of July 2003 Sweden mid July 2003 Greece mid July 2003 Make the web tool. Norway Finished mid August Flyers, company references and the Info pack. Norway work out an English version (draft) as soon as possible and no later than 1 st of June Second project meeting in Athens closed Svein Harald Larsen PM AKS-project. 8