European Training & Development Federation

Fedération Européenne pour la Formation

et le Développement

Javier ArmaoleaJavier ArmaoleaVice president of ETDF-FEFDVice president of ETDF-FEFD

European Training & Development European Training & Development FederationFederation

RESEARCH PROJECT:RESEARCH PROJECT:Diversity Management Diversity Management

Learning Process:Learning Process:““Configuration and development a cultural Configuration and development a cultural competences model and a methodological competences model and a methodological

guide for the actors guide for the actors (trainers/teachers/managers) involved in the (trainers/teachers/managers) involved in the integration and access of (Ethnic minorities) integration and access of (Ethnic minorities)

diverse groups in the labour market.”diverse groups in the labour market.”

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Project Characteristics

PROJECT OVERVIEW: What do we set out to achieve (aims and objectives). How does the project fit into the Leonardo programme

WHY ARE WE PROPOSING THIS PROJECT? Details of what is innovative about this project.

WHAT WILL BE THE RESULTS?

HOW WILL THIS PROJECT BE CARRIED OUT? Key activities of the project, including arrangements for management of the partners, monitoring of the project and evaluation.

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The Lisbon strategy pays close attention to the integration the immigrants in the labour market. The 2007 Lisbon National Reform Programmes (NRP) show that many Member-State authorities rank migration and integration issues among their key policy challenges. From the Commission’s side, a series of initiatives to step up policy efforts were set out in the Communication “Towards a Common Immigration Policy”, which was adopted last December. The focus is on two main types of policies. The first set of initiatives promotes the inclusion of immigrant workers in EU labour markets. This is particularly important for the large number of immigrants with low qualification already settled in the EU. The initiatives mainly consist of active labour market policies (focusing on training measures, wage subsidy schemes and the involvement of employment services). The second set focuses on the EU labour market’s need for migrant work. In particular, it looks at policies facilitating access to the EU labour market for flows of qualified migrant workers in order to alleviate existing labour and skill shortages.

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The Lisbon During the 2000-2006 European Social Fund programming period, the Fund provided considerable support to the integration of immigrants. Training was one of the key measures to help migrants integrate into society and into the job market. Each year, the ESF assists - through training and other projects – some 600,000 people with a migrant background or from ethnic minorities - and it is aiming to increase this number considerably during the 2007-2013 programmes.

 Migrants are identified as one of the key target groups for the ESF (European Social Fund) 2007-2013 period and nearly all Member States address immigration in their ESF programme priorities. Furthermore, Member States have to report on what they are doing to help increase migrants’ participation in employment.

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The Migrant women are at a distinct disadvantage, in many areas of their lives, compared to both migrant men and native women. This is one of the main findings of a study, carried out by RAND Europe on behalf of the European Commission, on the role of migrant women in the EU labour market.According to the commission there are 14 barriers which prevent members of ethnic minorities from fully participating in the labour market:

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Taking into account this scenario our European consorcium propose to work in CULTURAL COMPETENCES (Priority 5: Raising competence levels of groups at risk) that focus on integrating groups with particular difficulties on the labour market, as immigrants and those with a migrant background, and ethnic minorities, by developing their work-related skills and competences also increasing the interest and participation of men or women in those VET fields in which they remain under-represented.

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Cultural competences understood them as key competences for LLL and a major factor of innovation. Moreover, The report "Creating an Innovative Europe" (the Aho report) recommends urgent action to better exploit the EU's innovation potential and for that reason we want to introduce a strategy to facilitate the creation and marketing of new innovative products that we will point out afterwards. The users/beneficiaries will be on one hand the trainers/teachers. And on the other hand According to the priorities of the General call 2008-2010 of the Community's Lifelong Learning Programme. Special attention is given to facilitating the participation of sectors, social partner organisations and companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in all Leonardo da Vinci actions, then the managers will be also users and finally adult learners (Inmigrants)

Taking into account this scenario our European consorcium propose to work in CULTURAL COMPETENCES (Priority 5: Raising competence levels of groups at risk) that focus on integrating groups with particular difficulties on the labour market, as immigrants and those with a migrant background, and ethnic minorities, by developing their work-related skills and competences also increasing the interest and participation of men or women in those VET fields in which they remain under-represented.

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Needs analysis (regarding companies managers as beneficiaries): Nowadays the diversity is a characteristic that Europe characterizes cultural and socially, representing as a worthy increasing phenomenon of study. The woman incorporation to the labour market, the ageeing population, the European unique market, the migration movements and the use of multidiscipline equipment within the organizations are increasing the European labor force social and professional diversity . The work groups are diverse as far as gender, age, culture and functional area. This diversity increase has aroused an enormous interest in the companies on new methods of management that respond in an effective way to diverse labor force demands.There is an important lack of knowledge and skills to among the trainers/ teachers related to issues of social inclusion of this ethnic minorities in the learning environment as labour intervention, career guidance processes, legal and obligation guidances, intercultural sensitiveness, lack of intercultural values promotions…

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The recognition of the diversity as a competitive advantage and the acceptance that it constitutes an inherent characteristic to the globalization phenomenon, many organizations have been taken to implement new management diversity initiatives. These initiatives are developed to reach integration objectives. It requires, also, the specific acquisition of a series of skills or tools (denominated Cultural Competences)

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The recognition of the diversity as a competitive advantage and the acceptance that it constitutes an inherent characteristic to the globalization phenomenon, many organizations have been taken to implement new management diversity initiatives. These initiatives are developed to reach integration objectives. It requires, also, the specific acquisition of a series of skills or tools (denominated Cultural Competences)

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How are we going to generate and classify useful cultural competences in Europe?

 We will work in two ways. The first way will be through the educational system and the 2nd way will research through management environment, We will create specific resources to managers, trainers, teachers and education professionals. To accomplish the results we want to implement the following project among 6 partners from 5 European countries “Configuration and development a cultural competences model and a methodological guide for the actors (trainers/teachers/managers) involved in the integration and access of (Ethnic minorities) diverse groups in the labour market.”

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The project has got 5 planning phases during its implementation: 1.- Need analysis for developing this project. Check the cultural competences lack among our users/beneficiaries (trainers, managers and adult learners) and identify three different diversity strategies models implemented in Spain, United Kingdom and Germany through politics, procedures and programs in the organizations and in the vocational training System2.- Translate these different models (experiences) in cultural competences.

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3.- Concrete products- durable outputs development. Development of the didactic resources (Products will be based on the following methodological / didactic approaches: Teaching tools, good practices, DVDs, didactical and pedagogical resources, linguistic learning methods, inclusion competences (cultural competences), teaching models to conduct intercultural communication training, practices and models to educate a person about diversity, skills for diversity effective trainer/teacher, diversity training/facilitation skills, skills for communicating with the immigrant communities...)

Taking into account this scenario our European consorcium propose to work in CULTURAL COMPETENCES (Priority 5: Raising competence levels of groups at risk) that focus on integrating groups with particular difficulties on the labour market, as immigrants and those with a migrant background, and ethnic minorities, by developing their work-related skills and competences also increasing the interest and participation of men or women in those VET fields in which they remain under-represented.

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 4.- Pilot Project implementation. The partners will use the didactic material and a CD ROM will be edited gathering the didactic material.

5.- Disseminate, publish, and communicate the results, journals, workshops. (i.e. The partnership provide a link www.etdf.fefd.org as a network) ETDF (European Training & Development federation) in a transnational networks

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If we want to put in practice these cultural competences, we must provide to our beneficiaries, (trainers/teachers/managers) with specific knowledge and material for intercultural learning process in terms of cultural competences. Based of the needs of the final users mentioned before, one of the results of our project will be Didactic material.

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The measures that will be adopted for testing the materials on target users will carry out by means of 3 ways of action:

a) We will publish and put the didactic material on disposal of all European

trainers/diversity management professionels/teachers in the major European training website, that is European Training & Development Federation web site.

b) We will offer and send to all adult educational organizations and companies that are in transnational network with the partners of the consorcium.

c) Also the countries that will receive the innovation transference will be the leading agents in their countries expanding the cultural competences/skills.

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This Didactic material will allow trainers/teachers/managers to introduce the cultural competences and dynamics of the intercultural learning in the school and in the organizations with creative/innovative tools to ethnic minorities. Some people will consider there are a lot of manuals for diversity management, but our Didactic Material will be specific for development of the cultural competences in Vocational Training Schools and enterprises.

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(Following the LLP Guide 2009 Part I: General provisions-5C-Generic tipology of project results)

Results: 1.-The Didactic Material as a product and 2.- Methods 3.-Experiences. 1.-The didactic material will be the result of taking into account the already verified and successful experiences in Spain, UK and Germany and besides other European countries(Bulgaria ,Slovenia) will contribute with their commitment implemeiting this Didactic Material in their respective schools/organizations during the project(3rd

phase: Pilot Project implementation). So, these two last countries will become aware of the importance of cultural competences and could be the leading agents in these countries expanding the message of intercultural learning in their countries. This is the second result of the project: to make aware of the importance of promoting the intercultural learning to these two partners.

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The project itself will not invent cultural competences but will identify and innovate the concrete cultural competences. Therefore, regarding to the impact of the project to the beneficiaries the results concreted in didactic material of cultural competences will cover training needs of managers/trainers/teachers improving their skills in dealing with diversity.

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We pointed out that there are 3 types of results. On one hand, the didactic material developed among the principal partners experiences before and during the project development. On second hand, the implementation of the didactic material of the rest of partners in their respective schools/organizations during the project (3rd phase: Pilot Project implementation). The indicators that will be used to measure the progress of the work and the extent to which it will deliver the expected outcomes will be the number managers/companies and teachers/schools within reach of didactic material.