COMINTER Project, ECVET Applied

1. COMINTER Project, ECVET Applied Results and perspectives- Pasqualino Mare KenniscentrumHandel - Netherlands Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

2. Kenniscentrum Handel • CENTRES OF EXPERTISE VET and LABOUR MARKET for: • RETAIL • WHOLESALE • INTERNATIONAL TRADE • 150 employees, governedbysectoralsocial partners and VET institutes • www.kchandel.nl Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

3. ECVET Applied… Based on experiment: CominterProject Basic principles of the Cominter project: • Improvement of VET in international trade; • Making VET in internationale trade more effective and attractive. … by using mobility and ECVET as a tool. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

4. COMmerce INTernational (COMINTER) Objectives: Common European diploma for international trade: • validated by social partners; • implemented at (inter)national level; Stimulating mobility in international trade by: • using ECVET • creating a European network of recognized training centres and companies; Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

5. Objectives and activities (1) • Defining a reference job profile, « import export sales assistant », and describing the profile in terms of activities and tasks; • Defining knowledge, skills and competence to master in order to obtain the certification; • Grouping together these learning outcomes into relevant units to enable a progressive achievement of the certification, taking into account the mobility experience; • Fixing flexible procedures enabling the adaptation, fully or partly, of these reference units for each system, taking into consideration its specificities; Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

6. Objectives and activities(2) Consulting each other to define training programmes, to enable mobility during the training period; Suggesting a method for the allocation of credit points to units, knowing that most of initial partners do not have credit points currently in their system ; Suggesting a methodology to update the qualification, in order to ensure the sustainability of cooperation between systems; Developing a network of training centres and companies for mobility. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

7. COMINTER context : common objectives Training centres Technical conditions Common profile, CU Companies involved In training Quality criteria, agreements Practical agreements mobility, assement Other competent bodies Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

8. ECVET Connexion study Considerations for the implementation of ECVET: The type of VET System is more relevant than the borders of a member state; Technical conditions(CU) are not sufficient, flexibility, autonomy and permeability is at least equal important www.ecvetconnexion.com Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

9. centred on knowledge 1 Employability 2 Adaptability 3 Portfolio of skills, competences 4 Typology identified > 4 kind of subsystems Training is a period before working life. The trainee acquires knowledge and skills in laboratory. He/she will discover work afterwards. The employer will adapt the trainee to real situation Training is based on the trade. At the end of training, trainee must be operational. The Company is a key player in the training process. Training is centred on the vocational adaptability: “trade conception is quite wide”. Trade will be attainable / accessible only after an adaptation period to work and after putting to test in a work situation, notably during fisrt job. Training is composed by competences units which can be combined in order to answer to a job requirements . The system is focused on a flexible management of the individual training pathways. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

10. The partnership • THE NETHERLANDS • Kenniscentrum Handel - knowledge centre for vocational training courses in the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors • International Business School Alliance – IBS • Nederlands Verbond van de Groothandel - NVG • PORTUGAL • Centro de Formacao Profissional para o Comercio e Afins, (CECOA) – Centre de formation professionnelle pour le commerce et les services • SILENT PARTNERS • SPAIN • Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia - Subdirección General de Formación Profesional • SWITZERLAND • IUFFP – Institut universitaire fédéral pour la formation professionnelle FRANCE • Ministère de l’Education nationale • Confédération générale des petites et moyennes entreprises (CGPME) • Confédération française du commerce interentreprises et du commerce international (CGI) • Conseillers du commerce extérieurs de la France (CCEF) GREECE • Organization for Vocational Education and Training (O.E.E.K.) ITALY • Ente BilateraleNazionaledelsettoreTerziario • MinisteroIstruzioneUniversità e Ricerca ROMANIA • National center for technical and vocational education and training development SLOVENIA • National center vocational education and training Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

11. Extended partnership • Other countries interested: Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Baltic States • Otherprojectsusing COMINTER Project’ results: Euroast (Management Secretary), Eurasment (European Assistant for SMEs), Intent… • Othersectoral perspectives: Transport, car maintenance, pharmaceuticals production Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

12. Common job profile Job Definition The import and export sales assistant contributes to the sustainable international development of the company through the marketing of goods and services in overseas markets and the optimising of purchases in the context of globalization. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

13. Professional activities and tasks Activity 1: Carrying out studies and business monitoring • Permanent market monitoring (desk research) • Collecting information abroad • Preparing decision making Activity 2: Export selling • Prospecting for elaborating adapted offers (pre-sales activities) • Selling • Following up sales Activity 3: Import buying • Preparing the import buying activities (supplier database) • Support the buying negotiations • Following up the import buying activities Activity 4: Coordinating services for successful import buying and export sales • Choosing service providers (insurance, logistics, financing etc) • Insuring management of documents for operations • Coordinating quality control / good business activities Activity 5: Managing relations and contacts in different contexts and cultures • Analysing information about practices in the business world • Producing messages integrating socio-cultural elements • Constituting and maintaining a pluricultural network of contacts Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

14. Common Reference Units UC1 International Marketing • UC11 Market research and market planning on foreign markets • UC12 Business information system UC2 Export Selling • UC 21 Prospecting and customer/partner follow up • UC 22 Negotiating UC3 Import Buying • UC31 Identifying potential suppliers and sourcing • UC32 Organizing the negotiation UC4 Managing International Trade Operations • UC41 Choosing and working with service providers • UC42 Managing the international business administration UC5 Working in a Multicultural Context • UC51 Business English language A • UC52 Business foreign language B • UC53 Intercultural management and communication Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

15. Example of L.O. description Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

16. Allocation of credit points to units Principles defined in common • Credit points have been allocated to common reference units, knowing that these units can be adapted in each national context and thus can not be found under exactly the same form in each national certification; • To maintain the coherence of the common work, the transcription of points allocated at a national level must not lead to a variation higher than 10% in comparison with the common definition. This constitutes a certain form of “currency snake” for the value of a unit; • This relative value of the unit is expressed under the form of a percentage, in comparison with the totality of units defined in common, because this whole can be meant for integrating itself in a wider whole or be subdivided in each system. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

17. Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

18. Cominter and implementation in NL Dutch programme COMINTER programme Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

19. Implementation: • School level (01-09-2007): • Free space in programmes • IBS • VET instutes • Govermental level (01-09-2008) • Integration in the formal qualification Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

20. COMINTER and EQF • The qualification design isbased on a job profile, not on the EQF descriptors • At national level, for thissame/commondesigned qualification there are different EQF levels (4-6) • Issues regarding the L.O. description: • Misunderstanding of the EQF descriptors for « competence » • Example of good practice for using the EQF descriptors (3 columns table - KSC) • Common design of qualification couldfacilitatecommonprinciples for establishing the EQF referencelevels • Involving the competent bodies for NQFs • The EQF descriptorsseems to betooambitious for the intermediatelevels (4,5,6) Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

21. COMINTER and EUROPASS Certificate Suplement • EUROPASS Certificate Suplement could be used also for promoting ECVET • To include the label ECVET friendly • To include references regarding the Memoranda of Understanding • Using units of L.O. approach instead of skills approach Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008

22. Thank you ECVET applied… in the “Cominter” project Pasqualino Mare KC Handel –Netherlands p.mare@kchandel.nl ; Mobile : +31 6 22 99 30 39 www.kchandel.nl Pasqualino Mare- Kenniscentrum Handel- Euroskills 2008