TTPlus is an European funded research project which looks at the actual practice of trainers in companies. Have a look at the website http://ttplus.bazaar.org

2. Hypotheses

3. H1- Lifelong learning is leading to wider contexts and processes of learning including work based learning, informal learning and e-learning

4. H2 - There is a diffusion of the training process with increasing numbers of people responsible for some form of training

5. H3 Professional trainers have new roles and responsibilities

6. H4 Traditional structures and systems have failed to keep up with the changes

7. H5 - There is a need for opportunities for CPD - linked to practice

8. Professionalisation requires opportunities for CPD and recognition of competencies

9. Project aims

10. Examine the contexts in which training takes place in enterprises and who has responsibility for the training function

11. Examine the role of individuals in the workplace and in wider communities of practice in supporting learning

12. Examine present policies and provision for the training of trainers and consider their effectiveness

13. Develop and articulate a framework for the continuing professional development of trainers

14. Examine different measures and mechanisms for implementing the professional development framework

15. Explore articulation and linkages between the Framework for Continuing Professional Development and the European Qualification Framework

16. Propose policies and measures for implementing the Framework for Continuing Professional Development as a key component of the European Qualification Framework

17. What’s wrong with the present training of trainers

18. Limited in access

19. Lacks innovation

20. Fragmentary

21. Lacks links to practice

22. Theories and ideas

23. Communities of practice

24. Legitimate peripheral integration

25. Practice based learning

26. Personal Learning Environments and continuing competence development

27. Framework for Continuing Professional Development

28. “ The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of VET professionals needs to be reflective, forward-looking and dynamic. It needs to equip professionals with the ability to support the development of skills, knowledge and understanding of others as well as of themselves, in a commitment to lifelong learning, as well as seeking to accommodate requirements for complexity and flexibility.”

29. “ The Continuing Professional Development of professional communities of practice needs to incorporate current concerns, but also have the ability to look beyond these, and this is possible only if, as Ellström (1997) argues, practitioners develop a broad developmental and interactive view of occupational competence. This would complement a focus upon the significance of work-related knowledge and work process knowledge in the Continuing Professional Development of professional communities of practice.”

30. Developing practice, developing expertise, developing a research capacity

31. a commitment to personal development

32. exploration of, reflection upon and improvement of professional practice

33. development of skills, knowledge and understanding (of critical reflection) necessary to evaluate and review professional practice

34. need to understand processes of change (as practice increasingly takes place in complex and dynamic contexts).

35. ability to create new knowledge

36. development of theoretical knowledge to underpin and complement reflection upon practice

37. study of the interplay between theory and practice

38. need to be able to transfer skills, knowledge and understanding from one context to another

39. the generation of expertise through research

40. ability to handle complexity and inter-connectedness of issues (including through the formulation of mental models, schemas or networks).

41. development of contextualised understandings

42. translation of understanding into action, as appropriate

43. further development of communication skills

44. attempt to create a wider community of practice that embraces research as a guide to both policy and action

45. ability to design and carry out authoritative research into aspects of professional practice

46. ability to analyse, interpret, evaluate and, if appropriate, apply the research findings of others

47. How we do it

48. Analysis of contexts in which training takes place and identification of the profile of trainers

49. Examination of role of trainers / tutors / mentors in supporting learning

50. Analysis of existing policies and provision for training of trainers

51. Mainstreaming equal opportunities

52. Development of Framework for Continuing Professional Development of trainers

53. Exploration of articulation and linkages with European Qualifications Framework

54. Policies and measures for implementing the Framework for Continuing Professional Development

55. Development of roadmap for future policy development and enactment

56. To create structures to relate Framework for Continuing Professional Development to practices in Member States

57. To disseminate the project processes and outcomes in all EU countries.

58. Design and maintenance web portal