Hear more about how to help low-skilled jobseekers train for future employment.

1. Boosting Human
Capital in the 21st
Century
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
13:00-15:00
Food for Thought lunchtime talk series:
Presented by

2. Agenda
30 mins
20 mins
30 mins
20 mins
20 mins
Welcome & the talk
Small groups: Sharing your experience
Plenary
Small groups: Ideas for change
Closing plenary

3. Academic/research
institutions
Vocational training centres
Public employment
services
Local government agencies
Project partners
Observer partners
Our partners

4. The talk
BHC21: Origin
Kulak: The research
Tavistock Institute: Contribution to BHC21
Interpersonal skills training/psychosocial support
Techniques used
Feedback of the experience
Lessons learned
Concluding thoughts
Questions

5. BHC21: Origin

6. Why the BHC21 project is
needed?
51.5 million (ca 22% or 1 in 5) of all adults lack the basic
literacy, numeracy & digital skills that many of today’s jobs require
Yet, by 2025, 48.7% of all job openings will require high
qualifications, 39.8% for medium-skilled qualifications, and only 11.5 %
will require low or no qualifications
Growing mismatch between the skills people acquire and
what the labor market requires →likely to result in limited
growth, higher unemployment, and social exclusion

7. 1 in 4 low-skilled adults are caught in a ‘low skills-poor jobs trap’ and
are less likely to participate in training
Limited training opportunities for and lack of motivation and
engagement of the low-skilled in training
Participation in lifelong learning (LLL) by low-qualified adults is 4 times
lower than that by those with tertiary qualifications
Limited outreach, guidance, and support, including placement
support
Why the BHC21 project is
needed? (cont.)

8. Limited opportunities for skills audit and validation, especially of skills
acquired in non-formal and informal settings
Limited flexibility of adult education and training provision
Distinct lack of coordination between policy areas relevant
to adult upskilling
Why the BHC21 project is
needed? (cont.)

9. New Skills Agenda for Europe (2016), e.g.,
Skills Guarantee Proposal (June 2016) →Council Recommendation of 19
December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults
Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on Key Competencies for Lifelong
Learning
European Pillar of Social Rights (ESPR, Nov 2017) & ESPR Action Plan (March
2021)
Commission Communication ‘Youth Employment Support: a Bridge to Jobs
for the Next Generation’, 1/7/2020
Council Recommendation of 30 October 2020 on A Bridge to Jobs -
Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee
EU Policy Framework (2016-2022)

10. European Skills Agenda (2020), e.g.,
A Pact for Skills
EU support for strategic national upskilling action
Council Recommendation of 24 November 2020 on VET
Skills to support the green and digital transitions
Skills for life
EU funding: RRF, REACT-EU, ESF+, ERDF, EaSI, JTF, InvestEU, Erasmus+
EU Policy Framework (2016-2022)

11. Training is not learner-
centred nor adjusted for
low-skilled people
Industry
In need of employees;
job requirements do not fit
competencies of job seekers
Low-skilled people (LSP)
Unemployed; don't have the
necessary skills for the available
jobs in industry
Similar situation across the 2 seas
region (France, Belgium, & UK)
The problem
Mismatch

12. Match
Innovative learning
technologies (ILTs)
+
Instructional design tailored for
easy adoption
+
New recruitment and training
approaches
=
Increased success rate of training
Industry
Stimulating culture
change regarding investment
in training LSP
Low-skilled people (LSP)
Boost; learning motivation, skills,
& career competencies
Our solution

13. Innovative learning
technologies (ILTs)

14. Guidance and information towards
the best possible technology for
efficient and fast learning
Support to implement the ILTs
and to deal with the specific
group of trainees
Decision tool
Train-the-trainer
By evaluating training programmes
and their redesign with feedback
from trainees and trainers
Optimized training programmes
Outcomes

15. Kulak: The research

16. Countries (re)design their
training programme
Evaluate the training
programme based on
good practices,
challenges, and
opportunities
Trainees follow the
programme and
quantitative/qualitative
data is collected
Research cycle

17. Model to map the training programme for each region
Questionnaires & observation form to collect quantitative and
qualitative data from trainees & trainers
Questionnaires & informal form to collect quantitative and qualitative
data from trainers
Evaluation tools by Kulak

18. Training programme
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
...
Social design
Intended outcomes
Epistemic design
Set design
Where are we learning?
What tools and/or machinery do we use?
Who is involved? Trainer, mentor, trainee(s)
Social behaviour: Individual/group learning
Hard skills
Soft skills
Social competencies
Self-competencies
Knowledge
What are the learning goals?
EMERGENT ACTIVITY (TRAINING)
Goodyear, P., Carvalho, L., & Yeoman, P. (2021). Activity-Centred Analysis and Design (ACAD):
core purposes, distinctive qualities and current developments. Educational Technology Research
and Development, 69(2), 445-464.
ACAD Model description

19. Before/after the training (by trainees)
After the training (by trainers)
Questionnaires
Understanding of the
engineering/manufacturing sector
Interest in training
Goals for the future
Confidence and general motivation
Overcoming obstacles
Feelings about the training
Thinking about the ILTs
Feelings about workplace readiness
Trainees
User-friendliness of the ILTs
The effect of the ILTs on the training and
trainees
The effect of the ILTs on their role as a
trainer
Trainers
Quantitative data collection

20. Questionnaires and informal feedback
Method
Open questions on the questionnaire
Informal feedback from trainers
Trainees
Open questions on the questionnaires
Informal feedback via Google forms
Informal interviews
Trainers
To get better insights
Goal
Qualitative data collection

21. Training programme: 10 days
First cycle
In need of more practice - "Training programme is too short"
Need more time to train - "Working with ILTs is beneficial but
time consuming"
Trainees
Trainers
Data analysis
Broader curriculum
More time to practice
More space for the trainer to experiment
Training programme: 6 weeks
Second cycle
Evaluation
Training programme redesign

22. TIHR:
Contribution to BHC21
Interpersonal skills
Psychosocial support

23. Win the cooperation of the trainees, individually and in groups, in
the learning process
Alongside the acquisition of engineering skills, to take up responsible
membership of work teams, to accept the authority and guidance
of mentors, and team leaders
To subdue desires that do not support the task of learning and
work​
The aim of the interpersonal skills
training/psychosocial support

24. Group dynamics: boundaries, authority, role, & task; intergroup
dynamics; individual and team role analysis
Understanding one's role: developing communication skills (eg,
give/receive feedback), learning how to balance home/work life
Understanding one's position in the organisation/system: how
to build relationships with mentors/supervisors and peers
Staying motivated: working through conflict, identifying/achieving
goals, and working through change
What we covered

25. For trainees For mentors
Step 1
Training
(4 weeks)
Step 2
Psychosocial
support
(8 weeks)
Team/group skills training
4 sessions (weekly)
3 hours/session
1-on-1 and group coaching
4 sessions (fortnightly)
1.5 hours/session
Briefing
1 session
2 hours/session
Supervision
8 sessions (weekly)
30 mins/session
Our training contribution

26. Low-skilled unemployed people, predominantly in mid-Kent,
interested in re-training in an industry sector that has high demand.
Intended for younger adults (ages 18-30); however, the pool of
participants who actually enrolled included people in their early to
mid-30s, plus several in their late 30s, 40s, and even 50s.
Lack of access to nearby public transportation or high-speed internet
connection.
Trainee/cohort profile

27. Range of backgrounds and abilities:
By relying on the JobCentre Plus to recruit participants, the social
background of participants was inevitably disadvantaged: relative
poverty, low educational attainment, social dislocation, fragmented
families, learning disabilities, social anxiety, and conflict with the law.
Some are caring for their ill, elderly, unemployed, and/or young
family members, some are parents and some have learning
disabilities (ADHD, dyslexia, autism, etc.) or mental health
concerns (e.g., depression, social anxiety).
Trainee/cohort profile

28. Experiential/
less structured (here
& now)
Theory & application/ more
structured
Experiential/
less structured (here
& now)
Experiential/
less structured (here
& now)
Cohort 1
(Feb - Apr 2020)
Theory & application/ more
structured
Theory & application/ more
structured
Cohort 2
(Oct - Jan 2021)
Cohort 3
(Oct - Jan 2022)
Evolution of our approach

29. An overview
of Cohorts 1-3
Techniques used
Feedback of the experience
Lessons learned

30. Techniques used

31. Techniques used
Cohort 1
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
Review and
application groups
Small study groups
Large study groups
Social dreaming
matrices

32. Techniques used
Cohort 1 Cohort 2
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
(-) Review and
application groups
(-) Small study
groups
(-) Large study
groups
(-) Social dreaming
matrices
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
(+) Short talks &
small group
discussions on
individual
professional/
personal
development
(+) Theory lectures
on BART

33. Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
Review and application
groups
Small study groups
Large study groups
Social dreaming
matrices
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
Short talks & small
group discussions on
individual
professional/personal
development
Theory lectures on
BART
Action learning sets
Intergroup events
Short talks & small group
discussions on individual
professional/personal
development using scenarios
Theory lectures on BART
(+) Packtypes -
individual/group analysis
(+) DISC
(+) The impact of change
Techniques used

34. Joint
optimisation
Social
system
Technical
system
Sentient system =
Everyone's investment
in the feelings,
beliefs, stories, and
practices
Change = Diagnosis,
conceptualisation, planning,
implementation, review, and
implementation
Work
team
Work
team
Work
team
Work
team
Work
team
Tasks 1, 2, 3, ...
1 2 3
A social
system of
self-managing
works teams
Socio-technical systems theory

35. Feedback of the
experience

36. From trainees From TIHR From mentors
Viewed psychosocial as
irrelevant/less important
than engineering
Appreciated the learning
over time and when directly
applied to workplace
scenarios
Younger trainees preferred
working in smaller groups
Older trainees preferred
larger groups and to avoid
being 'talked at'
Preferred working in
smaller groups, easier to
keep trainees engaged and
be attentive to the group
Difficult to get them to
break destructive
cycles of victimhood, self-
sabotage, or being overly
pessimistic
Difficult for them to carve
out time to attend sessions
due to competing work
interests
Difficult for them to remain
in touch due to company
COVID-19 regulations
or limited online
connectivity
Feedback of the experience

37. Lessons learned

38. Some large group activities are not suitable (eg, social dreaming
matrices); run smaller groups
Build rapport and trust early on, preferably through mandatory 1-
on-1 time
Emphasize boundaries/containment through regularity and
availability - task, time, & space; avoid classroom settings but keep
procedures, protocols, and rules to a minimum
Acknowledge the skills/strengths they have already, then
encourage learning and change (establish a baseline)
Lessons learned

39. Always apply theory to real workplace scenarios
Get their input: consult with the LSPs on content and activities as much
as possible
Articulate clearly and simply the possible anxieties they are
experiencing, ie, putting difficult feelings into words so that they can
be spoken about rather than acted out
Lessons learned (cont.)

40. Concluding thoughts

41. The influence of previous life challenges (eg, disrupted education,
frequent house moves, absent or ill parents, financial worries, learning
difficulties, substance misuse)
Taken all together, these influences generate repeat feelings of
despair and disappointment in current attempts to help LSPs
engage in what the BHC21 programme has to offer; and some self-
sabotage
Because of repeated disappointments, they sometimes develop attitudes
of “if it is good, it must be bad.”
Complicating dynamics

42. Questions?

43. Small groups:
Sharing your experience
(20 mins)
What's worked for you?
What hasn't?

44. Small groups:
Ideas for change
(20 mins)
What needs to change?
What can be done differently?

45. Thank you for joining

46. For more information
Websites
https://bhc21.eu/
https://www.tavinstitute.org/
https://kulak.kuleuven.be/en
Elyce Cole
e.cole@tavinstitute.org
Kari Hadjivassiliou
k.hadjivassiliou@tavinstitute.org
Rachel Kelly
r.kelly@tavinstitute.org
Dr. Mannie Sher
m.sher@tavinstitute.org
Dr. Kamakshi Rajagopal
kamakshi.rajagopal@kuleuven.be
Kim Dekeyser
kim.dekeyser@kuleuven.be