Developing employability skills (public-private partnerships)

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Gain Creators / Outcomes

  • Student-centered—learning-by-doing activities where students discover and deduce key concepts; experimentation, research, teamwork, problem-solving
  • Curricula available for young people from age of 5 to 25
  • Teacher support and training for such activities
  • In-school activities as well as on-site activities at industry locations, where people from industry interact directly with students and teachers.
  • Industry partners collaborating together to scale up activities with schools

  • Student-centered—learning-by-doing activities where students discover and deduce key concepts; experimentation, research, teamwork, problem-solving
  • Curricula available for young people from age of 5 to 25
  • Teacher support and training for such activities
  • In-school activities as well as on-site activities at industry locations, where people from industry interact directly with students and teachers.
  • Industry partners collaborating together to scale up activities with schools

Gains / Needs

Education institutions need:

  • To have more engaging programmes to tackle student drop out
  • To equip young people with the skills they need on the job market to avoid unemployment
  • To have access to more expertise in particular sectors
  • To catch up with the latest industry trends and modernize their curricula and teacher training programmes
  • To bring role models from different sectors to give young people an ‘inside view’ into different careers available
  • To help reduce the barriers between themselves and industry.

Education institutions need:

  • To have more engaging programmes to tackle student drop out
  • To equip young people with the skills they need on the job market to avoid unemployment
  • To have access to more expertise in particular sectors
  • To catch up with the latest industry trends and modernize their curricula and teacher training programmes
  • To bring role models from different sectors to give young people an ‘inside view’ into different careers available
  • To help reduce the barriers between themselves and industry.

Target Group

Education institutions

Education institutions

Implementation Method

Some initiatives have been started by the private sector, while others by governmental agencies. The most widespread seem to be through intermediaries like the JA network that establish partnerships between local businesses and schools. Such partnerships also tend to leverage other networks such as employers organizations like NHO in Norway or IWK in Germany.

Some initiatives have been started by the private sector, while others by governmental agencies. The most widespread seem to be through intermediaries like the JA network that establish partnerships between local businesses and schools. Such partnerships also tend to leverage other networks such as employers organizations like NHO in Norway or IWK in Germany.

Public private partnerships for developing work readiness

Young people around the world are struggling to enter the labour market. In some OECD countries, one in four 16-29 year-olds is neither employed nor in education or training. The OECD Skills Outlook 2015 shows how improving the employability of youth requires a comprehensive approach. While education, social, and labour market policies have key roles to play, co-ordination between public policies and the private sector is also crucial.

Skills drive economic growth and can boost social cohesion. Through a portfolio of age-appropriate curriculum programs equip youth with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in an ever complex and changing global economy. Programs have a focus on teaching youth skills that will be required of them in the 21st century, including critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and teamwork.

See additional information for several examples of activities.   

Young people around the world are struggling to enter the labour market. In some OECD countries, one in four 16-29 year-olds is neither employed nor in education or training. The OECD Skills Outlook 2015 shows how improving the employability of youth requires a comprehensive approach. While education, social, and labour market policies have key roles to play, co-ordination between public policies and the private sector is also crucial.

Skills drive economic growth and can boost social cohesion. Through a portfolio of age-appropriate curriculum programs equip youth with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in an ever complex and changing global economy. Programs have a focus on teaching youth skills that will be required of them in the 21st century, including critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and teamwork.

See additional information for several examples of activities.   

Activities

  • coordination between the school and local industry to establish contact
  • in school and out of school curriculum, Job Shadow Days, Leaders for a Days, Masterclasses between teachers and volunteers, students and volunteers, innovation camps. There is a range from early stage awareness all the way to apprenticeships.
  • training/orientation of teachers and participating people from industry
  • awareness-raising and recognition actions inside participating companies

  • coordination between the school and local industry to establish contact
  • in school and out of school curriculum, Job Shadow Days, Leaders for a Days, Masterclasses between teachers and volunteers, students and volunteers, innovation camps. There is a range from early stage awareness all the way to apprenticeships.
  • training/orientation of teachers and participating people from industry
  • awareness-raising and recognition actions inside participating companies

Resources

  • allocation of work time to support employee volunteering in schools
  • allocation of budget by industry and government to support the promotion of skills for employability in schools and teacher training either directly or through practitioner networks.
  • allocation of support people to support recognition and awareness raising actions; quality assurance (follow up and media/social media/special events)

  • allocation of work time to support employee volunteering in schools
  • allocation of budget by industry and government to support the promotion of skills for employability in schools and teacher training either directly or through practitioner networks.
  • allocation of support people to support recognition and awareness raising actions; quality assurance (follow up and media/social media/special events)

Pain Relievers / Solutions

  • Member States to support the close involvement of labour market stakeholders, including employers’ and employees’ organisations, at local, regional and national level, in order to foster closer links between education and the workplace and to anticipate future skills needs;
  • The European Commission and the Member States to provide financial and economic structures that support participation in continuous education and training in order to secure a high skilled future workforce;
  • Open source education resources and blended learning approaches that combine online/digital content with face-to-face; or which offer low-tech and high tech solutions
  • Teacher training in how to use these programmes in schools; schemes that promote experienced teachers working with less experienced ones
  • ‘broker’ networks can facilitate the establishment of contacts between schools/businesses-organizations through the implementation of tried and tested programmes

  • Member States to support the close involvement of labour market stakeholders, including employers’ and employees’ organisations, at local, regional and national level, in order to foster closer links between education and the workplace and to anticipate future skills needs;
  • The European Commission and the Member States to provide financial and economic structures that support participation in continuous education and training in order to secure a high skilled future workforce;
  • Open source education resources and blended learning approaches that combine online/digital content with face-to-face; or which offer low-tech and high tech solutions
  • Teacher training in how to use these programmes in schools; schemes that promote experienced teachers working with less experienced ones
  • ‘broker’ networks can facilitate the establishment of contacts between schools/businesses-organizations through the implementation of tried and tested programmes

Pains / Challenges

  • Lack of coordinated efforts to establish sustainable public-private partnerships;
  • Lack of financial and economic structures to scale up best practices;
  • Lack of support at primary and middle grades level, more focus going into secondary and post-secondary level.
  • Teachers are not necessarily experts in how kills are applied in industry; Industry may lack knowledge of school conditions.
  • Educators may be sceptical working with industry or feel uncertain about working with non-teachers in the classroom
  • Schools do not have the resources to manage these partnerships over time
  • Schools may not have a good technical standard

  • Lack of coordinated efforts to establish sustainable public-private partnerships;
  • Lack of financial and economic structures to scale up best practices;
  • Lack of support at primary and middle grades level, more focus going into secondary and post-secondary level.
  • Teachers are not necessarily experts in how kills are applied in industry; Industry may lack knowledge of school conditions.
  • Educators may be sceptical working with industry or feel uncertain about working with non-teachers in the classroom
  • Schools do not have the resources to manage these partnerships over time
  • Schools may not have a good technical standard

Aditional information:

1. JA Skills for Employability programmes

a) Innovation Camps - more information here.

b) Success Skills/Career Success (JA Romania)

Success Skills together with project event Job Shadow Day/StartInternship helps students (16-25) develop their interpersonal skills and prepare for future careers by gaining a clearer vision and evaluating their own activities and career goals. The program includes two additional projects: Job Shadow Day (high school students) and Start Internship (for college students) which help them to better prepare for a future job by getting familiar to real work responsibilities and connecting them with companies.

Success Skills program aims to:

  • Help students to understand and correctly identify the skills they need to succeed in a career;
  • Provide students with information and training regarding career skills and help them better prepare for a future job interview;
  • Help students understand the role and importance of developing interpersonal and communication skills;
  • Create a connection between what students learn in school and the world of work and employer’s expectations;
  • Decrease the gap in between School education and Business community requests for Junior Jobs

c) Global Enterprise Project

The Global Enterprise Project (GEP) is a unique campaign under the JA Company Programme umbrella that involved since 2011 hundreds of business people from diverse global companies to raise young people's awareness on globalisation, foster entrepreneurship and reinforce the skills they need for the modern workforce.

d) Job Shadow Days - more information here.

2. Work based learning including traineeships, apprenticeships and dual learning models, vocational.

With the initiative Europeans@Siemens, Siemens aims to train young Europeans in Berlin. The trainees get complete vocational training as an electrician or mechatronics specialist and they study theory at the Werner von Siemens Vocational School in Berlin. Currently, nearly 2000 young people in 11 European countries are receiving vocational training at Siemens; in Germany, the company has approximately 7000 trainees and students in its cooperative training program.

Siemens focuses on three objectives here:

  • Reducing youth unemployment: Vocational training is seen in a positive light and can also be a driver of employee commitment and satisfaction (Siemens as a good corporate citizen).
  • Shortage of skilled workers: Securing young talent in the context of demographic change and increasing competition for the best minds.
  • Business success: Placement of our technology and products in training workshops, VET schools, and universities.

3. Other examples:

Developing creativity and innovative spirit - Creative Wallonia (http://www.creative-wallonia.be/)

Creative Wallonia is a framework program that promotes creativity and innovation, by bringing together a number of measures for an innovation policy based on a creative society. The initiative is articulated in three axis: (i) Promotion of the creative society; (ii) The fertilization of innovative practices; (iii) Supporting innovating production. The initiative targets students and teachers, entrepreneurs and public actors. Part of the programme is dedicated to innovate the education of students, through new competences linked to creativity and transdisciplinary, and by the completion of real, tangible projects. In parallel, the «Creative School Lab» project aims at supporting the integration of training in creative thinking into the initial training of future teachers who will work in preschool, primary and lower secondary education. As an example, in 2013, “La Semaine de la Créativité” attracted 10.000 participants in workshops, trainings and creative training.

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