How can we ensure youths get well prepared for entering a company? How to reduce the risk of skill gaps? How to optimise a training path in order to make students immediately ready for the job market?
What if the solution was having companies directly training students? This is exactly the logic behind Higher Technical Institutes (or Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutes – TVETs). In TVETs, companies are actively involved both in the design of courses and in their delivery, as well as in the implementation of student’s internships.
Having such a cooperation in the design and delivery of training between a training institution and a company has advantages for both parties.
Companies can participate in the training of young, future workers, preparing them for taking part in the company’s work-life. Based on their specific needs, the companies can train groups of students, who are ready and eager to absorbe knowledge. In addition, no need for the company to deal with the logistics and bureaucracy: the training institution will manage it. So, companies will have a nursery available: a safe place where they can shape and raise youths, and eventually pick the ones who best fit their needs. The other students will be prepared and available for other companies.
On the other hand, training institutions can offer a quality service granting that experts in different sectors provide training to their students. This way, they avoid the risk of an education which could be too academic and theoric. Also, having companies participating in the design phases ensure courses to be constantly updated with the novelties of the market. Teachers arriving from companies do not need to receive training on technical topics, as they experience them and keep learning them in their daily life.
Another occasion for cooperating is the internship. In this part of the training, students experience the life in the company, using the competences they have learned in class and developing their skills on-the-job. During their work they are assisted by a tutor from the company, who is at the same time a trainer and a mentor. In parallel, a tutor from the training institution is always available for support and for ensuring a coordination with the company.
So, many advantages for both training institutions and companies. And, at the end, what is the most important point? There is a third party who will benefit the most from a good cooperation: the youth. His/her benefits of doing an internship have been well described on the EURES portal (the European Job Mobility Portal).
The ITHEN network has the collaboration between tertiary VET institutions and universities and companies among its main goals. Do you want to be involved? Discover more on our website and get in contact with us!
