Competence Framework

The objective of this partnership is to develop a substantial framework of Vocational and Educational Training (VET) for youth workers that addresses the significance of smartphones and social media. The development focuses on the competences that youth workers need due to the changing behaviour of their target groups. The framework includes the following components:

  1. Description of competences required from youth workers facing the growing significance of smartphones and social media. The framework takes the definition of competence to be a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitude. The competence profile will include the three areas of youth work: working with young clients, working in an organization and working as a professional.
  2. An online tool to measure theses competences.
  3. Based on the bodies of knowledge, skills and attitude different professional products will be described that serve as an evidence of competence. Our approach to learning is “output oriented”: objective of the learning process is that the learner can fulfill certain tasks, showing his/her capability. To define this output, the practical work of professionals  will be screened to evaluate if and how the methodologies they use can be enriched and supported by mobile devices and social media. The framework will suggest methods to enhance the competences of youth workers by introducing the use of mobile devices and social media into their products:
    1. In the work with clients: analysis of problems or resources, treatment or prevention plans, documentation of methods used, and evaluations.
    2. In organisations: concepts, project plans, calculations, quality management.
    3. In the area of professional development: reflections, feedbacks, certificates, and research etc.
  4. Criteria for the assessment of the professional products.
  5. Training scenarios that support informal and output oriented learning in  different fields of youth work.

The VET will address the subjects and problems of youth workers facing the growing significance of smartphones and social media in the life of their clients. Our approach is a transectorial multi-perspective way of improving VET. Therefore the partnership includes different types of organisations that address similar foci: youth work organisations, VET organisations, and research and development organisations. The partners share similar awareness of the situation but approach the problem from different fields.