The project ‘Creating VET Business Partnerships for WBL’ is a partnership with Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Turkey, The Netherlands and North Macedonia. One of the aims is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives on Work based learning education, to support young people, schools and companies out there. Our project starts with making overviews of the VET Systems in each partnership country. On January 24th-25th 2022 we have our transnational project meeting in Skopje. That’s why we publish our sixth project article in the VET-WBL Series, which covers the Macedonian vocational education and training system.

‘Creating VET Business Partnerships for WBL’ Introduces

Work-Based Learning (WBL) is an effective teaching approach used to engage students in real-life occupational experiences. It incorporates structured, work-based learning activities into the curriculum, allowing a student to apply knowledge and skills learned in class and connect these learning experiences in the workplace. Work-based learning provides students with the opportunity to engage and interact with employers, while learning to demonstrate essential employability and technical skills necessary for today’s workforce. The Validation Committee of the European Partnership Digtal Tourism approved all Work Package documents during the Final Meeting in San Sebastian.

Final Meeting San Sebastian

On 20th, 21st and 22nd the Final Meeting of the KA3 project Digital Tourism took place in San Sebastian, Spain. During the meeting the DT Qualification Validation Committee approved all Work Package 4 documents. The 20 Work Based Learning documents are the basis for the internships and apprenticeships. Further the WBL Manual and Cesure and Rating Report were discussed. Soon more news on our Digital Tourism products developed

A Video Snap Shot DT Manual / Cesure and Rating Report

The project ‘Creating VET Business Partnerships for WBL’ is a partnership with Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Turkey, The Netherlands and North Macedonia. One of the aims is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives on Work based learning education, to support young people, schools and companies out there. Our project starts with making overviews of the VET Systems in each partnership country. Our fourth project article in the VET-WBL Series covers the Bulgarian vocational education and training system.

Last Friday, July 9th the project Digital Tourism showcased a special Tourism Talks edition on the topic Work Based Learning. The show can still be viewed OnLine in the ‘Digital Tourism Qualification Forum’ Facebook group by clicking this link. During the show we discussed more than 20 Work Based Learning documents, which must be used during the work based learning period for the interns and apprentices, as part of getting their Digital Tourism Qualification. These documents are produced by the Digital Tourism Partnership. After the discussion on the Forum we were able to validate and formalize all the documents. The Digital Tourism Validation Committee formally agreed upon finalization, with minor improvements. The very valuable feedback from our DTQ Forum stakeholders was priceless and is included in several documents. In September 2021 we will start up a series of DT Work Based Learning blogs to show you all the work we have we validated and formalised. A WBL Cesure and Rating Digital Tourism Report will conclude our findings aroound the Work Based Learning pilot we have run and documents used. The DT documents are free to download and available for everyone to use, copy and paste (mentioning the authors and DT partnership will still be appreciated though).

Validation and Formalization Work Based Learning Documents during Digital Tourism Event

The Work Based Learning docments which were dicussed during the Tourism Talks ‘Work Based Learning’edition are covering three phases:

Phase 1: Recruitment and Selection Phase:

Documents DT 0.0, DT 0.1 and DT 0.2 are preperation documents which are about the anouncement of the recruitment and what ‘Steps from recruitment to selection’ needs to ticked to do it successfully. The Document DT 1.0. ‘ On which criteria should sending organizations assess and select students prior to assure a successful WBL?’ is a very important document in phase I, the Recruitment and Selection phase. DT 1.0 is for assessing the students prior to their WBL-period on certain skills (technical and knowledge), attitudes and behaviour. In this way the schools will be able to select the right students for a successful WBL-period (internship / apprenticeship). Documents DT. 1.1 and DT 1.2 are approval and rejection formats and were also discussed and approved. Some suggestions made to upgrade the phase 1 WBL documents (six in total) were:

• Add a module for the articulation between the Marketing Plan and Revenue Management techniques, to the 30-hour course that the student will have prior to the internship;

• Add a document that helps to select the Host Company (that is, to verify if this company already has and applies digital marketing techniques), and simultaneously to serve as the basis (or Checklist) for each student’s training plan that will be placed in that company.

The DT Qualification Forum Validation Committee will discuss the above mentioned points in order to improve the quality.

Phase 2: Work Based Learning Assessment

During the Tourism Talks Event we have discussed Phase 2. The most important Document is DT 2.0 ‘Skills & Methodology WBL Assessment – Which skills should students be assessed during their work based learning period (internship/apprenticeship) ?’ and is the core of phase 2, the work based learning assessment. Under the supervision of tutors (company tutor and project tutor) students will be assessed during the work based learning period on:

• Digital Tourism Soft Skills and Hard Skills
• Definition of Digital Tourism Skills
• Digital Tourism Methodology of Assessment
  The ‘’Soft Skills’’ and “Hard Skills’’ of a student should comply to a minimum basic level: At least level 3 on a scale from 1 to 5. It’s allowed to have 2 negatives overall…, except when the categories ticked lower then 3 are Attendance and good work attitude. We are using a point-scale from 1 to 5

All the five documents (DT 2.0, DT. 2.1, DT 2.2, DT 2.3 and DT 2.4) of phase 2 were validated and formalized. Suggestions made were:

• General Feedback on DT2: Strengthen how internship and traineeship are defined as they are NOT only based on duration. 

• Specific Feedback on DT 2.0: Add a section on revenue management a function to be aware of and develop competencies for, because the highly volatile and competitive environment we found ourselves in due to the ongoing waves of COVID-19. Some topics on revenue management may be:
  – current revenue management  software and systems
  – new data sources local and global
  – continuous analysis
  – short-term forecasts

Phase 3: Learning Agreement and Monitoring Tools

The ten documents relating to the actual WBL period assessment and monitoring of the intern / apprentice are:
• Document 3.1 WBL Quality Commitment
• Document 3.2 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Interim Questionnaire Intern / Apprentice
• Document 3.3 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Final Questionnaire Intern / Apprentice
• Document 3.4 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Interim QuestionairreTutor
• Document 3.5 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Final QuestionairreTutor
• Document 3.6 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Interim Questionnaire Company Tutor
• Document 3.7 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Final Questionnaire Company Tutor
• Document 3.8 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Interim Feedback Questionnaire Intern /Apprentice
• Document 3.9 Monitoring and Assessment Tool Transcript of Work
All these documents are ofcourse related to DT 3.0 WBL Training Agreement

Suggestions made to phase 3 were:

• Is document DT 3.3 necessary ? The final questionnaire 3.8 could be sufficent for feedback
• Probably document DT 3.7 is not extremely necessary . According to some stakeholders the DT 3.9 is enough: This final transcript of work is enough to evaluate the internship
• General Feedback on DT3 package: To be aware  that feedback must be ongoing and throughout the WBL process; Creating Q&A session(s) as a space to facilitate conversation with interns and give access to information throughout the WBL process; Creating a cluster for peer-to-peer feedback; Distinguish clearly between learning goals and  “career” development goals

Above suggestions will also be discussed in the DT Qualification Forum Validation Committee to add value to validated documents produced.

The final WBL Concept Documents have all been posted in the Digital Tourism Qualification Forum. It’s still allowed ofcourse to give comments and/or remarks on each DT WBL Document in the Facebook group. Even more so, it will be appreciated. After a week or so, we will take all input and finalize and formalize the DT work based learning documents as a qualified end product (for work package 4). Do you want to watch the WBL Tourism Talks event and give your point of view now, click here.