WBL

Project lead 
Prof. Dr. Peter Weber

Project staff 
Dr. Rebeca García Murias

Third-party funding provider  
European Union Erasmus+ Programme

Project duration
September 2017 – August 2020

Coordinating institution
Regione Lazio, Italy

Project partners

• Ente di Ricerca e Formazione, Italy
• Confartigianato Imprese Lazio, Italy
• Instalofi Levante S.L., Spain
• The Valencian Employers’ Federation of the Metal Sector, Spanien
• Andalucía Emprende, Andalusian public foundation, Spain
• Mediterranean Management Centre Ltd, Cyprus
• Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zypern
• Cyprus Productivity Centre, Cyprus
• Danmar Computers sp. z.o.o., Poland

WBL Guarantee (WBL – Work-Based Learning) is a three-year project for the development, structure and validation of two curricula (training and further training) for the professional develoment of "in-house trainers" (SME) and "career counsellors/counselling specialists" (public and private sector), who work in the context of WBL programmes in Europe. The term "Work-Based-Learning" is applied in this project as a synonym for the practical components of the integrated degree programme.

The project identifies new and extended tasks (both in relation to current European labour market conditions as well as in the WBL measures and programmes) which influence the traditional roles of employers, trainers or mentors who are responsible for professional training in SMEs, as well as the requirements for career counsellors and those in similar roles (e.g. in chambers of commerce, in vocational education institutions and in the National Employment Agency), which call for further development of skills. This gives rise to challenges for the development, training and further training as well as the regulation and accreditation of these professions across Europe.

In this way, this project supports the development of EU strategies and tools dedicated to trainer and counsellors' skills using specific activities for the development of attractiveness and performance of WBL. The specific aims of the project:

1. A thorough examination/analysis of WBL schemes, specifically the competency framework/requirement profiles, knowledge and skills which the roles entail
2. The (further) develoment of curricula (further education modules/curricula) for operational trainers (SME)
3. The (further) development of curricula (further education modules/curricula) for career counsellors/counselling specialists (public and private sector) who work in the context of WBL programmes
4. Pilot run of a further training programme for operational trainers (incl. blended learning elements and guidelines for independent learning)
5. Pilot run of a further training programme for career counsellors/counselling specialists (incl. blended learning elements and guidelines for independent learning)
6. The development of a "legacy manual" for WBL programmes and mobility programme

The project will focus on the strengthening and improvement of the skills of operational trainers and career counsellors following a baseline study of existing role and requirement descriptions among a number of EU partners; the project strives to identify a number of key competencies , which are then classified and specified according to EQF and NQF standards, to determine the chances of developing a competency-based framework. The project aims to establish two curricula with best practice models, tools and mobility programmes, which successfully involve operational trainers so as to achieve prosperous, sustainable WBL results.