WP2: Developing re-training skills for blue professionals [NTUA]
Deliverables
- D2.1 Career Guidance Framework: Mapping the needs of the selected MEAs and specifications for the construction of the personalized profile for blue professionals [NTUA, All, M6]
- D2.2 – Introducing a network connecting training centres and schools, to promote blue career paths [NTUA, All, M12]
- D2.3.1 E-learning courses framework: Learning objectives, teaching/training methods, assessment, and development of training materials – Shipping [NTUA, All, M23]
- D2.3.2 E-learning courses framework: Learning objectives, teaching/training methods, assessment, and development of training materials – Aquaculture [NTUA, All, M23]
- D2.3.3 E-learning courses framework: Learning objectives, teaching/training methods, assessment, and development of training materials – Cruise and Fish Tourism [NTUA, All, M23]
- D2.3.4 E-learning courses framework: Learning objectives, teaching/training methods, assessment, and development of training materials – Offshore Oil & Gas [NTUA, All, M23]
- D2.4.1 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the first Blue Career Fair – Greece [NTUA, M12]
- D2.4.2 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the first Blue Career Fair – Cyprus [Mar.In.E.M., M12]
- D2.4.3 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the first Blue Career Fair – Bulgaria [MCB, M12]
- D2.4.4 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the first Blue Career Fair – Romania [ANMB, M12]
- D2.4.5 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the second Blue Career Fair – Greece [NTUA, M23]
- D2.4.6 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the second Blue Career Fair – Cyprus [Mar.In.E.M., M23]
- D2.4.7 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the second Blue Career Fair – Bulgaria [MCB, M23]
- D2.4.8 Report and assessment of the effectiveness of the second Blue Career Fair – Romania [CMU, M23]
- D2.5 Catalogue of the training/educational centres of the MEA of Shipping, Aquaculture, Cruise Tourism, Offshore Oil and Gas [Mar.In.E.M., All, M12], [Annex 1], [Annex 2]
Objectives
- To advise and mentor blue professionals regarding the expansion and advancement of their career skills, expertise and experience.
- To improve/upgrade the skills of blue professionals based on new and innovative technologies as well as on various academic and research activities.
- To develop new and more efficient forms of training for blue professionals involved in the selected MEAs, including e-training modules, webinars and smart games.
- To bridge the gap between the existing training schemes and the needs of the industry by implementing an innovative training roadmap with adaptive features.
- To map the existing training capacity for blue professionals in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions targeting the strengthening of the educational and training offer according to the continuously evolving needs of the industry.
Description of work
T2.1 Career guidance to experienced workers in the blue sectors (Start: M1, End: M23)
Leader: NTUA Contributors: All Partners
Career guidance to experienced professionals in the blue sectors will be developed and delivered to ensure that the contemporary needs of the industry are appropriately met and that the proposed training will be personalized for each particular worker. The needs of the industry, with regard to the selected MEAs, will be thoroughly mapped and continuously monitored by implementing a structured methodology (including market analysis, horizon scanning etc.) in order to ensure the relevance of the proposed training to actual and useful career skills. For each professional, a detailed personal profile will be constructed, including information such as experience, expertise and current occupational status. The constructed personal profile will be subsequently used for matching the needs of the professional to the needs of the industry, which will result in a tailored made and personalized training roadmap for each professional in order to improve/upgrade his/her skills and ensure his/her place in the market. The personal profile will be a dynamic entity, which will be continuously updated following the professional development of each individual. Therefore, a career guidance thread will be established for each blue professional that will be used for constant professional development and expansion of career skills.
T2.2 Mentoring and career guidance for students (ages 15-18) (Start: M1, End: M23)
Leader: NTUA Contributors: All Partners
According to recently published reports, one of the main obstacles regarding Blue Economy is the shortage of highly skilled personnel. The lack of high quality career guidance regarding the Blue Sectors, i.e. the shipbuilding and repair industry, the offshore oil & gas industry, and sea related tourism, significantly affects the ways that students choose to follow a relevant career path. Therefore, students, especially those between the ages 15 and 18, need to be properly mentored and guided on the broad field of job opportunities offered in the Blue Economy in order to make an informed and sound decision on the career path they will follow.
This Task will create a framework for guiding and mentoring students (ages 15-18) on becoming part of an international network of professionals working in the Blue Sectors. The main objective will be to increase their awareness and properly inform them on job opportunities and relevant prospects. Special emphasis will be given on mobility between different sectors of the Blue Economy. An additional objective of this Task will be to deconstruct the obstacles for the employment, on equal terms, of various groups of people, for example by promoting female representation on traditionally male dominated sectors. Additionally, Task 2.1 will provide significant input to this Task in the form of the identification of the key skills needed for pursuing a career in the Blue Economy. With the ultimate goal of attracting the next generation of highly skilled students, scientists, professionals and workers in the Blue Economy, this Task will promote and facilitate the collaboration between key players of the industry and the providers of training and education.
Each representation of the Blue Career Centre (established in the context of WP4) will hold events and organize a variety of projects in schools in their respective geographic area. Events may include seminars, speeches and presenting real-world success stories in schools, as well as giving students the opportunity to observe real professionals in their job routines. In addition, each representation of the Blue Career Centre will organize and supervise the execution of semester projects in participating schools. These projects will aim at giving students the opportunity to come into contact with the opportunities and developments of the Blue Sectors by exploiting methodologies such as experiential learning. Additionally, the various representations of the Blue Career Centre may organize joint projects for promoting international collaboration among the students of the participating schools
T2.3 Development of e-learning courses (Start: M1, End: M23)
Leader: NTUA Contributors: Mar.In.E.M., NTUA, AUA, MCB, CMU
The objective of this Task is to design and develop the necessary educational tools for the implementation of the personalized training roadmap for blue professionals. E-learning courses are the best tool for addressing the educational and training needs of tech-savvy professionals by incorporating a wide array of digital technologies and innovative and effective teaching strategies such as gamification. E-learning courses provide fast, 24/7 accessibility of the materials not limited to a specific geographic location, providing instant access to students worldwide. Additionally, the development of the e-learning courses will facilitate the compilation of flexible training schemes tailored to the needs of the industry by using the best possible educational and training resources available.
This Task will create 5 different e-learning courses that will focus on the specific needs of the selected MEAs, i.e. maritime sector, cruise tourism, aquaculture, fish tourism and offshore oil & gas. For each of the course packages the following tasks/approaches have to be considered:
⦁ Definition of learning objectives and outcomes;
⦁ Determination of teaching/training methods;
⦁ Development of a course framework;
⦁ Identification of suitable assessment methods to demonstrate the necessary competence;
⦁ Development of training material based on the steps outlined above.
The developed framework for the e-learning courses will incorporate innovative teaching methods, with the aim to maximize the efficiency for the delivery of the training material. These methods will include interactive webinars and smart games, which will enhance training effectiveness by active student participation (e.g. problem solving sessions etc.). The development of the e-learning courses will take full advantage of the experience and expertise (i.e. already established e-learning platforms and educational and training background) of the Project Partners.
The entry level of students (trainees) to be targeted for the introductory e-learning courses will be for both teenagers and adults.
For teenagers (15-18 years old), a special e-learning course will be designed. This course will be oriented to fit in youngsters needs following examples of other initiatives focusing on young people (with strong linkages to social media). The goal of this course is to present a variety of different future opportunities of employment within blue economy and career paths to achieve it.
For adults, e-learning will focus to people either (i) currently working on sectors among shipping (including ship repair and ports development), cruise tourism, fish tourism, aquaculture and offshore oil and gas, or (ii) would like to enter a career path in these sectors. Moreover people shifting from a related field to another blue economy sector (e.g. fishermen could shift to fish tourism or aquaculture etc) are also targeted by this task.
A certificate of attendance to those trainees who completed the training/mentoring will be given.
T2.4 Organising Blue Career Fairs (Start: M1, End: M23)
Leader: NTUA Contributors: All Partners
The objective of this Task is the organization of Blue Career Fairs in order to bring together professionals and employers in a way that will be mutually beneficial for both parties. The professionals will benefit by coming in direct contact with potential future employers that will expose them to actual professional opportunities (e.g. internships, job offers etc.). The benefit of the employers will be twofold: 1) direct relay of their needs to the available workforce, and 2) direct assessment of the skill level of a sample of the available workforce. The Blue Career Fairs that will be organized will aim to promote professional networking, to promote professional mobility between the selected MEAs by expanding professional exposure and also to provide valuable feedback for the Blue Career Centre Secretariat that will be used to improve on the career guidance (Task 2.1), e-learning courses (Task 2.2), and mobility (WP3) frameworks.
The Blue Career Fairs will be organized annually in every representation of the Blue Career Centre Secretariat and the duration of each fair will be one day. In particular, this Task will organize 8 Blue Career Fairs (Days) in the Eastern Mediterranean (2 in Greece and 2 in Cyprus) and Black Sea (2 in Bulgaria and 2 in Romania).
In order to facilitate information flow between professionals and employers and maximize the mutual benefit of the organized Blue Career Fairs, this Task will focus on developing the frameworks for the following tools:
⦁ Setting up workshops dedicated to developing specific career skills for professionals, such as interview and resume skills, for providing hands-on training;
⦁ Delivering informational speeches on the latest developments of the selected MEAs from key players of the industry;
⦁ Taking advantage of social media to maximize participation before the event and disseminating useful information (e.g. key statistics etc.) after the event;
⦁ Directly collecting contact information of professionals to facilitate the continued communication with the prospective employers;
⦁ Implementing a Speed Career Maker concept, where each participating professional will use a limited time window (e.g. 5 minutes) to talk to a prospective employer. After the time window has closed, each participant will move on to the next employer and so on. This concept will be applied as a form of smart game, where the participating professionals will be assigned a specific goal, such as pitching an important personal skill to the employers. At the end of the game, individual performance will be assessed with the aim to provide informative feedback, which will promote both professional and personal improvement