Vocational Education & Training – Updates from the GSS–VET Project
Last month our Bulgarian partners under the Project “GSS – VET – Geothermal & Solar Skills – Vocational Education & Training” organized the first pilot training of building specialists and electrical engineers from all over the country. The training in photovoltaic systems was conducted at the TU Sofia and the training in Solar-thermal systems was conducted in Plovdiv. A pilot training for Geothermal will be held in Germany soon.
The curriculum was developed on the bases of surveys and mapping of the existing vocational training syllabuses, and discussions with representatives of companies working in the field of RES on the needed skills and competences of the specialists referred to above. The newly developed syllabuses have been uploaded on the platform of the VTC at CISB in the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training /NAVET/, which enables VTC at CISB to award legitimate certificates for part of the profession “Technician of energy facilities and installations”, specialized in Renewable Energy Sources.
Innovative training methods of ubiquitous learning were used – 3 different forms of teaching and learning, namely:
- Flipped classroom;
- Self-training using the specially developed platform of the project, with personalized access to training content, quizzes, tests and games;
- Practical training in a real-life working environment.
The training ended with a self-assessment test and final tests, in accordance with the certification requirements. The trainees who have passed the tests successfully will be awarded ‘Certificate of Vocational Training & Qualification’ for part of the profession, which will be valid and recognized not only in the country but also in the whole EU.
The trainees showed a keen interest in the subject of the training, and its innovative teaching methodology, as well as a responsible attitude to the self-training part. During the training, the so called ‘green skills’ were emphasized in view of the growing need for “green jobs”. It was pointed out that ‘the green economy’ is vital for conserving the existing natural resources, protecting the environment and the well-being of humanity.
The GSS-VET project combines and promotes Geothermal and Solar Skills in Vocational Education and Training. The training content is focused on technical skills, but also on transversal ones, including entrepreneurship, ICT, interdisciplinary skills and ability to work effectively with people from other disciplines. 40 trainers and 200 workers will directly be trained during the project’s lifetime and 2,500 workers will be trained by 2025. Read more about GSS-VET at http://gss-vet.eu.
