Employability Skills – EINC
Methodology:
For this module these session plans were implemented: Let’s get ready to next job interview; Writing a cover letter; Training and learning opportunities; Job technology search & techniques in relation to job demands; A suitable job.
The session plans for this module were implemented through few different meetings on different dates.
The methodology in general was based on merging theoretical presentations of the material through PowerPoint, encouraging discussions between participants and including online exercises from NAME e-platform. Also there were few specialists invited to join the training and present relevant information on labour, training opportunities and other. The specialists are included in the Jobcouncil.
- Session plan “Let’s get ready to next job interview”: This activity included a discussion where participants could share their experiences from job interviews and suggest what is correct and wrong to do during an interview. Main tips on how to prepare for an interview were also presented.
We included different free e-learning and digital tools for this activity to deepen the knowledge on job interviews, for example:
We also implemented an exercise from NAME e-platform (Module 6: Activity 7) and by sharing the screen on Zoom together with all participants we completed and discussed the quiz in the platform on the topic of preparing for a job interview.
For this module we also invited a lawyer to answer participants’ questions on labour rights. It was very useful as the lawyer provided information on migrant labour rights and what documents are needed to get employed, etc. Participants asked questions related to their personal situations therefore it was very useful.
2. Session plan “Writing a cover letter”: For this exercise we presented basic theoretical information about cover letter – how long should it be, what information is most important to include, what first, second and third paragraph should consist of. We included examples of cover letters from different professions (teacher, sales person) from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/cover-letter-samples and it was very helpful for participants as they could see a concrete example and build their own cover letter based on the examples (the website includes a wide variety of professions). We also suggested the online Europass cover letter writing tool for participants to use.
For this session we included exercises from NAME e-platform (Module 4: Activity 3 and 4) and by sharing the screen on Zoom together with all participants we completed and discussed the quiz in the platform on the topic of presenting yourself and preparing cover letter.
As a homework assignment participants were asked to prepare their own cover letter for a desired company and they presented it during the next sessions. Both trainers and participants could ask for clarifications and express their opinion on the colleagues work as well as ask for advise if needed when preparing the cover letter.
3. Session plan “Training and learning opportunities”: For this session we presented training and learning opportunities in Lithuania, mostly based on AIKOS system which includes plenty of training and learning programs (https://www.aikos.smm.lt/en/Pages/Default.aspx). We assisted participants to find the ones that they are interested in and find out whether they would be suitable for them. We also presented ICT4TCN project which aims to facilitate the access to the ICT labour market of third country nationals by developing further their existing skillset (http://ict4tcn.eu/) – the project also serves as a free digital tool for participants who wish to improve their ICT skills. It provides free online training on ICT skills – digital marketing, social media, job search, Microsoft Office tools, graphic design, SEO, coding fundamentals and programming languages (JavaScript, Python).
We invited a guest from Information Technology Training Center to also present trainings available in this center which are connected to ICT and include graphic design, marketing, Adobe programs and much more. The ICT skills are relevant for employability and are important for employees, therefore, we introduced opportunities to learn them as participants also mentioned this information as relevant for them.
For another meeting but on the same topic we also invited another visiting expert form Vytautas Magnus university to present validation and recognition of qualifications and competences system in Lithuania.
4. Session plan “Job technology search & techniques in relation to job demands”: We presented the most popular ways of searching for a job in Lithuania using digital skills – we introduced popular Facebook groups of job advertisements, how to look for a job on LinkedIn and what websites to use while looking for a job in Lithuania (this included about 10 popular websites in Lithuania that offer different job vacancies). Participants already had some experience with the presented tools but some of them were also new to them so they mentioned that they will definitely try them out as it is highly relevant for them. We also presented main demands on Lithuanian job market in 2021 according to the Employment Services (main employment organisation in Lithuania).
We ended this activity with an exercise from NAME e-platform (Module 6: Activity 6) and by sharing the screen on Zoom together with all participants we completed and discussed the quiz in the platform on the topic of preparing for a job search.
5. Session plan “A suitable job”: This exercise was given to participants as a homework assignment and during the following session they presented what job positions they would be able to get, what they would like to work as and what skills they already have for them and what skills they would need to improve.
Additionally for this module we facilitated a meeting for two participants with a representative from Red Cross to discuss their possibilities to get employed in Lithuania, needed documentation and opportunities. They met with the representative personally and discussed relevant questions about employment possibilities.
Examples of implementation:
One of the best practices for this module was to invite representatives from different institutions (Jobcouncil members) – lawyer specialized in labour rights, representative from ICT center, university professor specialized on qualifications validation and recognition, etc. This gave the participants an opportunity to ask questions that are relevant to their unique situation and find solutions to any problems they may have. It also helped to make the trainings more practical and to actually meet the needs of the participants.
It was also found that including NAME e-platform online exercises into the piloting process helped to make the training more diversified and the participants were highly engaged in completing the online exercises and discussing them all together. It added more engagement to the activities. The online exercises highly reflected the material from session plans and allowed to test knowledge as well as learn something new through actively participating and not just through theory.
The additional free e-learning and digital tools that we presented for participants were also very useful as they are up-to-date and include relevant information for improving skills on employability. Participants positively reflected on these tools as it was interesting and engaging to implement various different exercises.
Feedback from participant(s) or trainer:
The participants provided a positive feedback on the module as it was very practical and helped them to better understand job opportunities in Lithuania, how they may find a job, what are the requirements. All of the activities were highly valuable for participants in order to find a job and know how to look for it, how to prepare a CV and write a cover letter. Participants were very happy about the presented material and ensured that they learned a lot of new things. It was also very useful to invite specialists to cover certain topics of labour rights, training opportunities, qualifications validation and recognition.
