Fundación Laboral de la Construcción was invited to present the final results of european project Co.Tutor on the promotion of mentoring of apprentices in SMEs and the figure of the tutor-company, at the IV Forum of the Alliance for Dual VET, which was held on October 2nd and 3rd in Malaga.
The professional meeting, organised by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Bosch Group, in the Edgar Neville auditorium in the Andalusian city, brought together some 400 attendees from educational centres, companies, clusters, trade unions and administrations from all over Spain, as well as young people and national and international speakers. Among the latter were Ingo Thomas, senior vice-president of the Office of the Board of Directors of Robert Bosch GmbH; Tanja Nause, training director of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain; and Paul Comyn, senior specialist in Skills and Employability at the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Financial incentives and a commitment to the future
In addition, Montserrat Gomendio, director of the Competence Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presented the report “Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2018. Preparing for the Future of Work”, which addresses, among many other issues, how to encourage the participation of companies in Dual Vocational Training.
Gomendio showed how in the countries where the apprenticeship model is implemented in companies, the increase in unemployment in times of crisis is better combated. In addition, he stressed that financial incentives for companies are key and a commitment to the development of Dual Vocational Training in the present and future of young people.
This fourth edition of the forum continued the objectives of the previous ones: to deal with current issues related to dual vocational training (FPD); and focused on the promotion of the FPD model in Andalusia.
The Secretary General of Education and Vocational Training of the Junta de Andalucía, Manuel Alcaide, opened the meeting together with the second vice-president of the Diputación de Málaga, Ana Carmen Mata, and the director of the Instituto Nacional de las Cualificaciones (Incual), Mariano Carballo.
Co.Tutor among the eight selected projects
Co.Tutor project, part of the Erasmus+ programme, has been developed over 24 months by a consortium made up of entities from Spain and Italy. Led by the Fundación Laboral de la Construcción, the National Construction Confederation (CNC), Associazione Nazionale de Costruttori Edili (Ance) and Ente per la Formazione e l’addestramento professionale nell’edilizia (Formedil) have also participated since October 2016.
It was one of the projects that presented its final results at this IV Forum of the Alliance for Dual FP, together with:
- German Chamber of Commerce for Spain: Supra-entrepreneurial Vocational Training.
- CPIFP Corona de Aragón: Manufacturing, engine of Dual FP.
- Water School: Training technicians in Water Networks and Treatment Plants.
- Federación de Empresas de La Rioja: Tailor-made training for companies.
- Fundación Laboral de la Construcción: Erasmus+ Co.Tutor Project.
- INS Pere Martell: Dual FP at the Institut Pere Martell.
- Leroy Merlín: National Dual FP Programme.
- Qipro: The new door to your professional future.
“There are no good apprentices without good tutors”
In line with the objectives worked on in Co.Tutor, José López San Román, vice-president of Human Resources at Bosch for Spain and Portugal, stressed that “there are no good apprentices without good tutors”, and that the figure of tutors, both in companies and in educational centres, is “vital for quality Dual Vocational Training”.
The Quality Working Group of the Alliance for Dual Vocational Training shared three fundamental criteria for consolidating this model:
- Relationship between the training centre and the company.
- Training of tutors.
- Continuous monitoring.