REACH Pirkanmaa Westcome, Development and Adult Education Unit Results of interview

1. REACH Pirkanmaa Westcome, Development and Adult Education Unit Results of interview

2. Results of interview • Name of the interviewee: Rural Women´s Advisory Organisation, Association in Hämeenkyrö • One of the largest women´s organisation in Finland (60 000 members) • It´s aim is to give advice for households and customers, promote landscape management and small enterprises in rural areas • Own associations in villages and municipalities • Training cources • Field trips • Club meetings

3. Overall description of interviewees: • Age: the average age of respondents was 40 years • Gender: women • Social status: working • Family status: All had children, four married, one divorced • Living place: 4 in the countryside, one in urban area • Level of education: All had at least vocational degree, three had also academical degree

4. Positive and negative learning experiences /Content Positive points: • Tools for work • Tailored cources • Possibility to affect on the content of the training • Multiform teaching Negative points: • Expectations and the content of the training didn´t meet • Foreign languages • Positive and negative learning experiences/form of learning • Life situation and age affects on opinions what form of learning is most suitable • Positive and negative learning experiences/communication • Team spirit • Help in exercises • Support in staying in studies • Interactivity

5. Positive and negative learning experiences/teacher • Encouragement of the teacher has an important role in completion of the studies • Motivated teacher motivates also students • Tutor is important in multiformal studies • Positive and negative learning experiences • Environment: • life situation must be suitable for studying • support of the family • Level of satisfaction: • new knowledge • new friends • new meaning for life • new networks

6. Motivating things: • Interesting subject • Useful • Tools for work • Update know-how De-motivating things: • Hectic work and studying • Long break between studies What motivates/de-motivates adults to learn?

7. REACH Pirkanmaa Westcome, Development and Adult Education Unit Pilot course

8. Some difficulties: • Our target group; Rural Women´s Advisory Organisation, Association in Hämeenkyrö, took back their partipitation and we had to find fastly new target group. • Their course content was intresting. Fortunately we can use it later with another target group. • New target group: Long term unemployed who were involved in a project to employ them.

9. Rural Women´s Advisory Organisation (course content) • Idea of the training is to becomefamiliarwith the web-basedlearning The firstmeeting (evening at 18.30-20.30, face-to-face) • Gettingfamiliarwith Internet, social media and Connect Pro -web conferencing solution (for online meetings, eLearning, and webinars) The second meeting (evening at 18.30-19.30, web-meeting) • Lecture on Possibilities of the Social media It will be recorded and those who are not able to participate that evening, can listen and see it whenever they like. The third meeting (evening at 18.30-20.30, face-to-face) • Lecture on How to stay healthy The fourth meeting (evening at 18.30-20.30, face-to-face, in monthly member meeting of the association) - Discussion on How did we do? What can we do differently? How can we develop this way of learning?

10. Aim of the training: - to motivate aging, less educated long term unemployed Persons back into the work market through education. Partisipants: 11 aging long term unemployed persons took part in the training. Three of them were under 50 years of age and the rest were Between 50 and 60 years. Three of them were female and eight were male. Five of the participants had no vocational training and five had graduated from vocational school. One of the participants had completed a matriculation examination. They had, on average, 16 and a half years of experience working in various fields, e.g. cleaning, textile, catering, transportation, building or metalworking industries.

11. Content of the course First session Introduction of the training, building the teamspirit, presenting the educationpossibilities at the Pirkanmaa Westcome. Second session Educational and employmentseekingservices of the employment center. A representative of the employment management present. Third session Basic use of the Internet, opportunities of electroniceducation and employmentseeking. Excursion to an educationalinstitution and presentation of a movablemetalworkingrobot at the metalworkingdepartment. Fourth session Excursion to the Parkano department of Iisakki (vocationalschool) and theirweldingrobot as well as to a largelocalmetalworking business. Fifth session Excursion to the largestadulteducation center in the region, presentations of itseducationopportunities, facilities and methodology. Sixth session Services offeredby the Social Insurance Institution and the municipal social services, bothverbal and electronic feedback as possible.

12. Feedback questions: • Age • Gender • Previouseducation • Workexperience • Did you considered further education before this training? • Ifyouanswered ”no”, why? • Ifyouanswered ”yes”, whatkind of education? • Did this course give you new inspiration to start studing? • Did this course change your ideas about adult education? • If changed, how? • What was the best in our training?

13. Feedback In the feedback the participants were asked whether they had considered further education before this training. Only one of them answered they had considered it. The participants said the reason for not wishing to go into training was their age. Negative experiences during the elementary school were also cited as preventing the thoughts of further studying. Financial situation and long distances were also thought to prevent further education.

14. When asked whether they had received new enthusiasm for further education through this training, five persons answered they had. Up to seven students answered that the training had changed their preconceptions of adult education. When asked how their conceptions had changed, the first thing they mentioned was the observation that theoretical schooling had been replaced by learning by doing and that the educational institutions had very up to date learning equipment. The diversity of the education offered had also surprised them.

15. When asked what was the best thing about this training the participants cited the excursions and seeing new fields of education and business, and the wealth of new knowledge in general.

16. New content • The target group • The target group of the pilot training was a group of long term unemployed who were involved in a project to employ them. The target group of this second, modified training was mainly the same persons as in the first training. 10 persons answered the questionnaire, two of whom didn't participate in the first training.

17. Modifications to the content of the training: Based on the written and verbal feedback receivedfrom the firsttrainingwehavemodified the content of the training, thoughitremainsmainly the same as the pilottraining. The methodologyhasbeen made moreinterestingbyhaving the representatives of the employmentadministration, Social Insurance Institution and municipaladministrationpresent at the sametime and reducing the amount of classroomteaching. Wealsoemployed new trainingmethods, such as Learning Cafe. In thiswaywetried to dispensewithtraditional classroomteaching.

18. A visit from the Opinovi vehicle brought new opportunities to find educational possibilities and guidance for employment. Opinovi, Door for learning, is a camping van with a small office built into it with Internet access, brochures from various educational institutions and a couselor who can give personal advice for every visitor about their educational possibilities. The van may also take its visitors to an excursion to an educational institution of their choice.

19. New content of the cource First session Introduction of the training, building the teamspirit. Questions to the representatives of the employment management, Social Insurance Institution and municipal social servicesbyusing the Learning Cafe method. Learning Cafe mayalsobeused to chartwhicheducationalinstitutions and businesses the studentswouldprefer to makeexcursions to. Second session Education and employmentseekingservicesofferedby the Employment management. Services offeredby the Social Insurance Institution and the municipal social services. Visitby the Opinovi vehicle, possiblypersonalexcursions to educationalinstitutions in the Opinovi vehicle as needed. Third session Excursion to a business chosenby the students. bothverbal and electronic feedback. Fourth session Excursions to localeducationalinstitutions and to a business chosenby the students. Fifth session Excursion to the largestadulteducation center in the region, presentations of itseducationopportunities, facilities and methodology. Sixth session Internet and e-mail, the possibilities of electroniceducation and employmentseeking. Presentations of educationalinstitutions (parts of the localmunicipal federation of education) as well asbothverbal and electronic feedback.

20. Feedback questions: • Age • Gender • Did you participate in the previous training course? • Which one did you think was more interesting? • In the first training, all different funding possibilities were present at different times, in the second training, they were present at the same time. Which model is more interesting, in your opinion. • If your answer was “ all at the same time”, please explain why. • If your answer was “different times”, please explain why. • What did you think was best in the OpinOvi vehicle? • Did you get new information there on training courses and job search? • If you would like to visit some learning institutions or enterprises, which ones would you suggest? • Are there too many visits to learning institutions and enterprises in the new model? • If you replied “yes”, how many would you consider a good number? • If you started studying, do you think it would be of help in your chances to find employment? • If you could study something, do you know what it would be? • Did your thoughts on studying change after the first training course? • Did your thoughts on studying change after the second training course? • If you replied “yes”, please explain how.

21. Feedback • 10 students gave feedback on the contents of the trainings. 3 of them were female and 7 were male. Two of them hadn't taken part in the first training. • One of the participants was between 30 and 39 years of age, one was over 60 and the others were between 40 and 59 years of age.

22. Feedback When asked which of the trainings had the more interesting content, one person answered the first training they'd had, one answered neither, and all the rest considered the new model to be better. Having all three support providers present at the same time was the better alternative according to 7 persons, because then all the problems and the help needed to solve them may be dealt with at one time and in one place.

23. In comparing the different methodologies more than half of the participants considered the new methods to be better, although the Learning Cafe may have been slightly too difficult to understand the first time. A partial reason for that was probably that the participants are not accustomed to writing down their thoughts or were reluctant to share them in fear of "compulsory schooling".

24. The Opinovi vehicle was mainly considered a good solution for charting the educational and employment possibilities. The relaxed manner and professional capabilities of the counselor were particularly praised. Three persons (the eldest participants) disagreed.