Finnish WorldSkills Achievers’ Vocational Talent Development and School-to-Work Pathways

Abstract

This paper examines the perceptions of vocational expertise and school-towork pathways among WorldSkills Competition (WSC) achievers and their co-workers and employers within the Finnish context. At the biennial international WSC, young people (aged 18-to-23 years) from over 60 countries demonstrate their skills in more than 40 trades. Individualized training for this competition is provided through the cooperation of vocational institutions (e.g., expert coaches, team leaders and competition panellists) and industry (e.g., mentors, sponsors, materials, equipment). Semi-structured thematic interviews (N =51) were conducted in 2013 and 2014 with former Finnish WSC medal or diploma winners (n=18) who had since begun their working lives (1-to-15 years of work experience). Their employers (n=16) and colleagues (n=17) were also interviewed. Results showed that in addition to vocation-specific knowledge and skills, problem-solving skills, creativity, social skills and self-regulatory skills were acknowledged as the most significant elements of vocational expertise. The findings also indicated that formal vocational education combined with deliberate practice and training based on expert mentoring improved the long-term career progress and vocational expertise of the WSC achievers.

Effects of Augmented Reality on Student Achievement and Self-Efficacy in Vocational Education and Training

“…It is thought that simultaneous 1 Introduction AR is described as a technology that integrates real images with virtual objects simultaneously (Azuma, 1997;Caudell & Mizell, 1992). In more extensive definitions, AR is defined as enhanced visualization of real images by adding virtual objects such as texts, photos, audio, animations, videos and 3-dimensional models (Delello, 2014;Perez-Lopez & Contero, 2013;Pylväs & Nokelainen, 2017). In this sense, AR provides a real and live environment.…”

The Use Of Worldskills Russia Methods During Interim Assessment Of Future Teachers

“…Based on the above, as well as literature data (Pylväs & Nokelainen, 2017;Naumkina, 2018), we believe that the introduction of the WS methods and standards into interim assessment will contribute to development of professional competencies of future teachers.…”

A alternância como modelo educacional internacionalizado

“…É desse período a criação (2011) do programa federal Ciências sem Fronteiras (CsF), encerrado em 2016, destinado a promover o intercâmbio e a mobilidade internacional de estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação e a atrair pesquisadores do exterior com fins de fomentar a internacionalização da ciência, tecnologia e inovação e a competitividade brasileira (Manços & Coelho, 2017 A perspectiva da construção de uma plataforma global no campo da educação profissional também originou o WorldSkills, movimento nascido em 1946 nos pós 2ª Guerra Mundial com vistas a recompor a força de trabalho qualificada e enfrentar a devastação das economias europeias. Atualmente, esse movimento congrega 84 organizações e visa influenciar a indústria, governos e educadores por meio da cooperação e da pesquisa; desenvolver padrões globais de formação e sistemas de benchmarking; mobilizar jovens à busca da excelência por meio de competições e promoções (Pylväs & Nokelainen, 2017…”