Paul Schober

EVLAC

Enhancing Vocational Language Skills and Working Culture Awareness of European Construction Professionals

The aim of EVLAC project was to develop new learning materials that focus on the construction industry and that refer to everyday work issues and to working mentalities in Turkey, Greece, Austria and Great Britain. The main focus was on learning and teaching methods for Turkish, Greek, German and English language. Target groups of the project are mainly construction industry professionals, civil engineers, architects as well as students of these areas of studies.

The main task of the participating organisations of the project was the collection of audio, audio/visual and written authentic materials regarding the construction industry (culture) and the presentation in a digital media format. In order to disseminate the results a website was developed during the project to pass the material on to the target groups. In the long run, this project should not only enhance language skills, but also raise awareness of working cultures in the European construction industry.

Results

  • Development of a language course dealing with construction industry in four languages (Turkish, Greek, German and English)
  • Publication of language course on DVD and online

Project duration

December 2007 till November 2009

Project Partners

Parents Guide on Career

Martin Maier, Anna Paszkowska-Rogacz, Paul Schober (Hrsg.)

Wege ins Berufsleben – Ein Leitfaden für Eltern
My child is choosing a career

Innsbruck, Lodz: Hafelekar Eigenverlag 2008

147 Seiten

Short description:
Parents often feel overwhelmed when it comes to the professional future of their children; Often their help results contraproductive. Changes in the labor market, unemployment and the increasing amount of information about jobs and training opportunities for young people lead to confusion, indecision and lack of information.

The Parents’ Guide “Pathways to employment” describes clearly, how parents can help their children at their school and professional orientation.

Vocational orientation does not begin until the last year of compulsory education, and so there are also indications for the phase before the actual decision-making.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part deals with various aspects of career planning like different development stages of a child and their relationship to the professional orientation process, the importance of biological and psychological factors and external factors. In addition it gives practical tips for career guidance, job search and the application process.

In the second part the authors examine factors that influence the relationship between parents and children, such as motivational structures and levels of relationships between adolescents and their parents. The appendix of the book provides information on institutions for professional advice.

This publication came in English, German, Spanish, Romanian, Lithuanian, Polish and Greek, and published the result of the EU project “Parents as vocational trainers“, which brings together institutions from Poland, Austria, Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Cyprus.

GABEK III

Josef Zelger, Margit Raich, Paul Schober (Ed..)

GABEK III – Organisationen und ihre Wissensnetze
GABEK III – Organisations and their Knowledge Nets

Innsbruck, Wien, Bozen: Studienverlag 2008.

ISBN: 978-3-7065-4391-0; 336 Seiten; € 39,90

Short description:
To understand an organization the relationships between people, there have to be perceived and understood their knowledge, beliefs and their goals. That´s what the GABEK ® (Integrated management of complexity) is dedicated to. It allows a representation of conceptual knowledge and networks of an organization and its interpretation.

This volume contains the English-and German-language contributions from renowned international scholars and practitioners from different disciplines and covers the following complex issues: Origins and goals of qualitative research, integration and community building, representing practical knowledge with GABEK® and applications of GABEK® in psychology.

Study Welfare in Upper Austria

Study of social welfare organizations in Upper Austria

The scope of this research study are the structures of elderly care in Upper Austria. Questions of the request were treated methodically and professionally in respect of the scientific standards. Hereby the authors of the study should exceed a segmented view of elderly care. Moreover and in addition, concrete measures to optimize the existing systems should be proposed and evaluated. An extensive analysis includes tasks, structures, financing and efficiency of the social welfare associations. Therefor a well structured and analytically separated view at all three system levels (APH, mobile services, SHV, SO) was necessary. Althoug the central focus of the study is elderly care, additional tasks and services of the SHV (social welfare association)also considered should also be put into consideration.

The four social welfare associations Braunau, Linz-Land, Perg, Steyr-Land and Steyr have been chosen for a deepening analysis. Built on that, the situation is to be drawn on state level.

PART 1 includes the analysis of existing systems of the regional providers of social welfare. Hereby, in particular the currently performedtasks and the organization, regarding structures and processes, were analyzed, and structural particularities were brought out. All existing documents were taken into account to establish a research report.

PART 2 gives an overview of middle and long term financing. Considering prospective demographic developments and other system components a forecast calculation was prepared.

PART 3 focussed on an extensive evaluation of any possibilities to adapt the organization’s structure. Hereto all three system levels were analyzed: Mobile and stationary services, Social welfare associations and social departments in cities with an own statute

Client

Land Oberösterreich, Social Services

Project duration

March till October 2008

Project Partners

Hafelekar Unternehmensberatung
MCI Management Center Innsbruck, Department Social Work, Department Business & Management

Pro-Nurse

Language Competence for Nurses

The idea of the project is to create an elementary self-study multimedia language course to develop English, German, Italian and Spanish language skills for nurses. The course is made for nurses, trainees and other participants of the health care sector who are interested in learning those languages and/or who prepare for working abroad in this sector. On the one hand participants will improve their language skills particularly regarding professional vocabulary; on the other hand they get to know the health care systems in the respective country.

Within the scope of this project, language courses for self-study are developed on an E-learning plattform and on CD-ROMs, specially designed for the needs of nursing staff. The focus lies particularly on technical terms and colloquial language necessary for this professional group in performing its daily duties. The course responds to the special requirements and conditions of health care and nursing practice of respective countries with course materials, designed at an A1/A2 level. The core in-put materials are all video-based or rely on visual presentations, with a special emphasis put on practising pronunciation and intonation.

Results

  • Development of a 60 hours multi media course on a self study basis for the following languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian from basic to intermediate language level
  • Release of the language courses on CD-ROM and online

Project duration

November 2006 until October 2008

Project Partners

Parents

Parents as Vocational Trainers

Main issue of the project is a further education and training for career counsellors at schools regarding the cooperation with parents of their students. The direct aim of the project is to create a training addressed to school-based vocational counsellors which would teach them how to cooperate with the parents whose children are facing the choice of their future career.

Competences of parents should get broader concerning their possibilities to support their children during the process of important decision making. Including parents to the guidance process enables a more efficient career orientation at schools. That fact should as a consequence raise the effectiveness choosing a vocational training by young people.

Results

  1. Development and implementation of a 30-hour training course “How to cooperate with parents in shaping the vocational career of their children” for school vocational counsellors including methodological materials for trainers and teaching materials for participants.
  2. Redaction of a handbook for the parents on “How to help my child in making a vocational career decision”. Sample chapters deal with the factors of occupational career, help in decision-making, offer orientation on the labour market and give advice for the motivation of and communication with children.

Project duration

October 2006 till October 2008

Project Partners

  • Hafelekar Unternehmensberatung – Innsbruck (Austria)
  • Academy of Management – Lodz (Poland)
  • R.C.I (Research and Consultancy Institute) – Limassol (Cyprus)
  • ANNUR-Formatión-Cultura – Badajoz (Spain)
  • Jaunimo karjeros centras – Kaunas (Lithuania)

INFORM

Measuring system for non-formal and informal learning

The INFORM project aims at designing, developing and testing a model which will measure non-formal and informal learning specifically developed for those accessing initial training / education / basic skills within the context of lifelong guidance. It proposes to design and develop a series of tools which will aim to measure in a transparent and credible manner non-formal and informal learning.

For many disadvantaged job seekers accessing labour market opportunities and /or initial training/education and guidance supports, it can be difficult to measure and document the competencies developed through life experience. Organisations working with this target group often have difficulties in identifying and measuring these competencies (developed informally and non-formally) and therefore are unable to build a clear picture of an individuals skills and abilities. These competencies are often transferable into the workplace, into further training and education and can influence guidance practice.

Results

  • Development of tools for self-assessment
  • INFORM competence-check, web-based measuring instrument for the determinaton and visualisation of daily abilities as learning fields
  • Guide for a competence interview that helps finding own competences
  • Successful pilot test with 150 participants

The products are available in English, German and Swedish.

Project duration

October 2006 till November 2008

Project Partners

COMMAMED

Spreading and communicating the idea of MAMED

The COMMAMED project is a Leonardo-Accompanied Measures-funded project in scope of MAMED – an international network dedicated to socially inserting vulnerable people like people with disabilities and long term unemployed persons by collecting and recycling medical devices and training concepts. COMMAMED´s aim is to communicate MAMED and spread MAMED information.

Therefore MAMED meetings were carried out in the European partner regions with institutions and/or organizations in order to exchange opinions and to elaborate possibilities to develop MAMED activities. The focus was on training concepts.

Hafelekar´s assignment is to identify local potential partners, to provide them with information and to actively dessiminate the idea of MAMED. For this purpose goodpractice experiences and materials concerning medical equipment were exchanged between the transnational partners. Publication and translation ofdocumentary material in all participating languages is planned.

Project duration

October 2009 till November 2011

Project Partners

Join In a Job! Handbook

Silvia Exenberger, Eva Fleischer, Martin Maier, Paul Schober (eds.)

Join In a Job! Instrumente zur beruflichen Beratung jugendlicher MigrantInnen
Join in a Job! Instruments for Job Orientation for young Migrants

Innsbruck, Wien, Bozen: Studienverlag 2007

ISBN: 3-7065-4393-4; 205 pages; incl. CD-ROM

Hafelekar Series Volume 3

Short description:
Young people with migrant backgrounds are much more affected from unemployment work than their peers “locals”. Youth centers, but also institutions of vocational and educational guidance have often not yet have the necessary knowledge and tools for this target group.

Against this background, the editors developed Join in a Job! as a competence-and resource-oriented guidance method that is tailored to young migrants.

The manual presents all blocks of this method using case studies: Basic and Intense clearing, 4 steps to the job, the Job box and the Tyrolean Migration compass.

The accompanying CD contains all the tools, forms and supporting documentation to Join In a job! Method that can be used in consultancy practice.

This book was developed as part of the Equal project Join In.

Evaluation SOS Children’s Villages

Evaluation of funding opportunities for facilities of SOS Children’s Villages Austria

The project focuses on 6 consulting and therapy facilities of the SOS children´s village Austria in different provinces. The offers of these facilities vary widely; they have partly grown historically and just a small part focuses on the typical SOS target group. The aim was to evaluate the funding worthiness of these facilities regarding their allowability of performed services in order to obtain additional financial resources. Therefore, funding authorities on local, regional, national and EU-level were taken into account. In order to use the varieties of possibilities to the full, the evaluation was taking place in the following way:

  • basic research for the conflation of existing concepts and their evaluation
  • creation of a grid for the segmentation of the facilities´ offers by particular criteria, by taking under consideration their independency and field of activities
  • research of potential funding authorities on local, national and EU-level, based on the range of services
  • selection and documentation of funding possibilities

The final report was completed with the estimation regarding the probabilities of success and concrete recommendations for actions were given. SOS children´s village Austria used the final report as basis for decision-making in order to ask for third party cost absorption.

Project duration

March till October 2007

Client

SOS Children’s Villages Austria, Department for quality management