In the week of 15-19 November 2021 ENAIP NET hosted the 1st Joint Staff Training (JST) of the MOVET Project. The JST was attended by more than 15 colleagues on behalf of the partners from the Western Balkan countries Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania.
First chapter of a series of five appointments, the training has been designed to contribute to the modernisation of the Western Balkan VET system, by promoting an upskilling and capacity building process of its staff and learners.
The first JST in Italy was organised by ENAIP NET in its training centre in Dolo, which is hosted in the beautiful Villa Ferretti Angeli, in the province of Venice. In the recent years Dolo VET centre has grown in response to the economic and social needs of the territory, the dynamic Northeast of Italy. In Dolo, ENAIP offers courses of Professional Qualification of Operator (3 EQF) and Diploma of technician (4 EQF) in the graphic design, catering and electrician sectors.
The first day of the JST started with the official greetings of Andrea Giacomelli, MOVET Project Manager, who gave a warm welcome to the participants and provided a comprehensive overview of the activities of ENAIP NET, the hosting partner. ENAIP staff also presented the agenda of the three-day training and gave some practical information to the partners. This introductory presentation was followed by a guided tour of the VET centre’s facilities, including the workshops, conducted by ENAIP trainer Claudia Bordin, who then further presented the main services and activities delivered in Dolo.
At lunch, a restaurant practice was organised by ENAIP trainers and catering students, who prepared and served a menu with local and regional products: a welcome surprise much appreciated by MOVET partners!
In the afternoon, the participants splitted into three groups. Each group took turn to partecipate to a focus group, organized for each WB Country, and conducted jointly by ENAIP NET and Wisamar. Here the participants were introduced to the “time machine” method, which helps to track the development of the VET-sector over time. Also, MURAL was used as a tool to work remotely and collaboratively. The partners started analysing the external operating environments that western balkan-partners share. As a second step, they identified key elements of their findings and examined what opportunities and challenges they may entail.
Once completed, the mural provided important factors to be considered when developing promising strategies, and will also serve as a working environment for upcoming collaboration between EU and WB partners.
Meanwhile, in the parallel sessions, the other groups worked following the “HMW - How Might We” methodology. Each group was encouraged by facilitators Marco Angeli and Silvia Giopp to exchange and discuss starting from a set of given questions: “How might we create fruitful relationships and networking to support internationalisation process?”, “How might we make mobility accessible?”. The fruitful discussion helped the participant to explore crucial topics, such as the process of identifying local stakeholders, building partnerships and networks, and going through the different dimensions required to achieve an inclusive VET provision, from the economic, physical and cultural point of view. The results highlighted the concrete issues that most often prove to be barriers to mobility in the Balkan countries.
On the second day of the JST, ENAIP NET presented a selection of relevant practices, proposed as possible models to be transferred to other organisations. More in details, Ilaria Perin, MOVET project officer for ENAIP and mobility coordinator, presented the initiative “Go+Learn FVG - Mobility and Training”, while the topic of sustainability was at the center of the project “LIFE FOSTER - Love Food, Reduce Waste”, presented by the project manager Barbara Archesso. Finally, international project manager Daniela Dal Zotto talked about the experience ENAIP have had as coordinator of the project “YOUTH GUARANTEE – work experience abroad for young NEETs”.
Each presentation was followed by highly participated debates between the partners, who compared similar experience they had and shared their views on the possibility to adapt and transfer these practices to their local situation, highlighting both the opportunities and the struggles they might face.
The working day was finally closed by Mauro Zampieri, trainer at ENAIP and sommelier and maître at Hotel Bologna (Venice), who provided an insight of his work as a former company tutor for partners that hosted ENAIP’s students for their traineeships.
On the third and final day, a circle-time activity was held, where partners were encouraged to examine the results of the previous days’ workshops. ENAIP staff opened the session illustrating all the inputs collected in the various group works activities, animating an open dialogue with the partners.
In the last training session of the week, light was shed on the protagonists, the Balkan partners, who had the opportunity to present their relevant projects and good practices. The presentations were all followed with much interest by the participants, and were essential to create a common ground of discussion, an opportunity for VET practitioners to share solutions to common obstacles, and a way to find new opportunities of cooperation.
During the week there was no lack of socialising and cultural activities, such as the must-do visit to nearby Venice. All activities were carried out in compliance with COVID-19 prevention regulations, and the partners were also supported in fulfilling their testing obligations during their stay in Italy. Although organising these events in presence during the pandemic crisis can be very complicated, the result is worth the effort: working together and getting to know each other in person was priceless!
Looking forward to meeting MOVET partners again soon!