QualiVET is an European pilot project of the Leonardo da Vinci programme that is being carried out in the European Union and has the participation of seven different countries (Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Czech Republic)
Currently one of the sectors of Vocational Training that has been most affected bu technological and socio-economic changes is the metal sector, which needs increasingly well-trained people who are capable of adapting to a changing society and make the metal sector competitive. This situation requires focusing attention on the nuclear topic of the quality of teaching-learning processes in this Vocational Training sector.
Quality management systems are increasingly present in Vocational Training centres. While these systems have shown themselves to be adequate for contexts such as industry, business and administration, they have not done so in the context of Vocational Training. Even if quality system such as ISO 9000:2000 and the EFQM allow for the optimisation of structures and the organisations of training institutions, they still do not resolve the improvement of quality for teaching-learning processes. This is precisely the objective of the project: to produce a system of quality aimed at improving the training offer in Vocational Training centres in the metal sector.
As specific objectives of the project the following is proposed:
- Analysis of the current situation of quality management systems in Vocational Training for the metal sector
- Evaluation of the results obtained for these systems considered as a point of reference to orientate the working group.
- Development and optimisation of indicators of quality to evaluate the process of teaching-learning in the Vocational Training metal sector.
- Development and validation of a Quality Development System (QDS) for teaching-learning processes in the context of the centres and the professional work experience centres.
- Adaptation of the QDS to the Vocational Training institutions.
- Development of the methodology for the introduction and ensuring optimum QDS operation
- Connection of the QDS with other quality management systems and structures orientated to the structure and organisation of Vocational Training institutions (ISO 9000:2000, EFQM, Q2E,…)
- Support for the management of the centres in relation to quality control on an organisational level.
- Ensuring the sustainability of the QDS.
Project development
In order to carry out this project we have had several meetings involving teachers and experts in the area of Vocational Training in the metal sector. During these meetings we worked on different topics such as quality management systems and quality guarantees, the role of the teacher in improving quality in the teaching-learning process, the participation of companies in Vocational Training, leadership of the management teams in improving the quality of the training and the influence of the organisation and management of the centre on the quality of the training, among others.
This reflective work was based on the information collected by each of the countries with Vocational Training centres via interviews with teachers, members of the management team and training managers, as well as discussion groups with Vocational Training students.
The result of this work has been the generation of tools for improving the quality of the training evaluated and examined within the different Vocational Training centres corresponding to the seven participating countries, with the aim of contrasting and improving the QDS proposal.
The duration of the project was 2 years and it took place between 2005 and 2007.
Project results
The final result of the project has been the production and publication of a document that serves to offer support to teachers in Vocational Training centres, university centres and centres for professional work experience., to develop the quality of the training. The function of the document is therefore to offer teachers, as key figures in training institutions, the necessary means to improve the quality of teaching-learning processes.
The publication consists of different parts explaining what the QDS project consists of, a system of indicators of general quality and strategies for introducing and adapting the system to the situation in each centre for its posterior application.