Bike event management – Promoting “Cultural Tourism”

The city of Rethymno, many years now, has turned its gaze on the exploitation of its rich cultural heritage. Investing in cultural tourism, is a policy tool that can bring benefits to all citizens, creating new tourist flows, new jobs, new cultural and creative businesses and opportunities for regional development. In addition, new developments lead to diversification and specialization of tourism products, the focus on the use of the bicycle and the development of new forms of differentiated cultural tourist activities. Nevertheless, the acquisition of know-how and experience, as well as upgrading existing vocational skills of people working in public or private institutions engaged in the development and management and promote events, bike tourism is more than necessary.

A Group of 12 employees, coming from both the public and the private sector, engaged in the development and management of cultural tourism products, aiming at integrating cycling into development of specific cultural tourism packages, will travel to Berlin in early June this year. Participants of the group, will attend specialised training seminars in the subject of “Bike entrepreneurship” and “Bike events” management and development. During their stay in Berlin, participants will have the opportunity to gain experience and know how visiting companies exert in the field and departmnts of the public sector authorised to design and follow up city cycling activivities and regulations. Thus, the general scope of the programme include:

  • adaptation & the continuous upgrading of knowledge & skills of human resources in the requirements of a modern and competitive economy & society
  • enhanced employability for all, with emphasis on enhancing women’s employment
  • the implementation of actions based on early detection of needs & construction industry trends,
  • highlight the importance of transnational placement in continuing vocational training & employee contact with European working environments, in order to maximize their employability.

The programme is coordinating by the European Center in Training for Employment – ECTE, and leaded by the Municipality of Rethymno city. Its specific objectives include:

  • meeting & contact participants with the German culture
  • contacting participants with innovations applied in organizing biking tourism activities as a major connective tissue other activities, museums, monuments, etc.
  • creating a favourable framework for the promotion of exchanges of views and knowledge around biking tourism issues but & creating future collaborations
  • improving knowledge of the English language for the participants in the plan
  • promoting mobility, lifelong learning, employability, & competition of participants in the labour market.

PATiE Project – Psychodrama Training modules in adult Education

The use of psychodrama techniques appears to be capable of providing a valid answer to the majority of problems arised through a research implemented by PATiE project partners in Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain.

The results of the research were presented in a meeting held in Florence in 24th of February. At the meeting specific training modules on the psychodrama tools used in adult education, were derived connected to existing problems and difficulties in training process.

From the reports drafted by the adult educators, it was found that 90% of them use experiential methods in their courses. However, only 33% of educators know about the applications of psychodrama in education. The most highly valued quality of experiential techniques, are that of motivating and involving students and promoting independence in learning. Within this context, psychodrama tools and techniques, which are valid for improving collaboration among students, and motivating and developing their creativity, seem to be used with considerable benefits in teaching process.

Training modules in psychodrama that can help trainers towards managing effectively major difficulties and problems in training process will include:

  1. Experiential methods of psychodrama Theoretical module discuss the basics of psychodrama – Knowledge
  2. The power of the group Group theory/dynamics (psychodrama is mostly about group) ex: how to motivating group, there is need of a sort of background – Understanding
  3. Sociometric group mapping Application
  4. Warm up How to warm a group up – concrete technique
  5. The power of playing psychodrama action
  6. Working with symbols In psychodrama many symbols are used (ex: working with masks)
  7. Sharing and processing section sharing the experience with group/learners
  8. Conflict management

GSSkills Project – First partner meeting in Paris

GSSkills project partners met in Paris in 9th and 10th of January, for the first (kickoff) meeting of the project. The meeting hosted by Le Compagnons devoir.

Partners analysed in details all work packages of the project assigned tasks and deadlines. First work packages, special skills, needed for low skilled workers engaged in the sectors of geothermal energy (plumbers) and solar energy (electricians), will be identified. Innovative training approaches, engaged by companies in each partner country, will be listed as good practices and presented in a success story book.

Finally, it was decided a workshop to be implemented in Berlin, in May.

Co-funded by the European Commission. Mutual learning in the field of skills and employment / EU Sector Skills Councils Restructuring

GSSkills – Geothermal and Solar Skills: VP/2012/009/0065

IDA Mobility Program transnational meeting in Darmstadt

The European Center in Training for Employment participated in the Transnational meeting which took place in Darmstadt in Germany on 23th and 25th of November 2013 under the subject of IDA mobility program.

The meeting was organized by the German job agencies, and local authorities which are responsible for the organization and the implementation of the European Mobility program IDA. Invited in this meeting were the European partners from Greece, Italy and Denmark which act as host partners in the implementation of IDA project, as well as representatives from the national job agency of each country and employers who receive IDA participants for practice in their companies.

IDA program concerns the mobility of people from special social classes, disadvantage people or with special skills, long term unemployed, ex- addicted etc. The point of this mobility project is to give the chance to the people belong in the above categories to travel abroad in order to develop their professional and social skills.

In the frame of this meeting participated partners had the chance to present their experience in IDA project, to participate in interesting workshops in order to get the feedback from the program and to discuss the economical situation and unemployment rates in Europe as well as ways of dealing of each country.

In conclusion, all partners agreed that the European Mobility program IDA must continue due to the fact that the positive effects in participants personal and professional life are obvious as their biggest percentage is leaded on vocational rehabilitation.

Erasmus+ / One step closer

From 1 January 2014, Erasmus+ will become the new EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport. Erasmus+ will have a new, streamlined structure that combines current funding programmes in the sector including the Lifelong Learning Programme (Comenius, Leonardo, Erasmus, Grundtvig and Transversal Programmes), Youth in Action, Jean Monnet, Tempus and Erasmus Mundus

ECTE’s international department team, has already started networking and brainstorming, drafting new opportunities and challenges. As we move into November, a number of significant dates in the European level process to approve the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport are scheduled to take place.

Starting on 5 November, members of the European Parliament’s (MEPs) CULT Committee in Brussels will vote on the approval of Erasmus+. This will be followed by a vote of MEPs on Erasmus+ during the Plenary sitting in Strasbourg on 19 November. If MEPs vote to adopt the programme, this will indicate the final stages of the European Union’s legislative process for Erasmus+ to enter into force in January 2014.

The European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014 – 2020 is also scheduled to be debated on 18 November in the first of the three day Plenary sitting. The MFF, which will establish the EU’s budget for the next seven years, is still to be confirmed and this includes the overall budget for the Erasmus+ programme.

You can keep up-to-date with Erasmus+ developments by following the hashtag #erasmusplusUK