Generic competences and vocational education and training in the social care sector

Prof. Dr. Koen Hermans

LUCAS Centre for Care research and Consultancy KU Leuven

Current societal and policy changes cause new social risks and new vulnerable groups. These changes demand new skills and competences of frontline workers in the social and health services. This study, which was commissioned by Cedefop, analyses the consequences of these changes in terms of needed skills and competences of frontline workers and management in the social care sector. Innovative VET programs which fill the gap between the current and needed competencies are described and analysed. The identification of generic competencies is an efficient way to draw relevant conclusions on the most pregnant training needs in the social care sector.

1 Generic competences of frontline staff and management

The first phase of the study consists of a literature review to gather scientific evidence on generic competences on the one hand and focus groups in five Member States on the other hand. The results of the focus groups and the literature review are compared and discussed with the project partners and during a hearing with relevant stakeholders. This results in a list of six generic competences which are needed to face the current societal and policy changes and to make social services more effective for the most vulnerable groups in society:

- Empowerment:

o Recognition of and respect for individual rights and human dignity

o To enhance and to stimulate self-realization, self-determination and personal mastery over one’s own life

o To ensure the equal enjoyment of all human rights without discrimination

o To involve service users in decision making

- Brokerage skills

o To assist service users to identify, access and benefit from relevant community services in different life domains

o To assist service users to develop a natural support system consisting of friends and family

o To work with the local community to create an inclusive and accepting environment in which everyone can participate

- Multicultural diversity :

o To respect different cultures and to be sensitive for cultural differences

o To adapt interventions to the different cultures and to search for ethno-sensitive interventions

- Transdisciplinary teamwork:

o The team members share roles systematically across discipline boundaries.

o Professionals from different disciplines teach, learn, and work together to accomplish a common set of intervention goals

- Knowledge management skills:

o To transfer theoretical knowledge into practice and to transfer knowledge to other social services and social care sectors

o To integrate new technological developments into social services

- Leadership:

o To create an organisational culture based on a central vision and key values

o Entrepreneurship

o change management

2 Innovative vocational education and training

In the five Member States, good VET programs on generic competencies are gathered. In this study, VET is broadly defined. As a consequence, we see large differences in terms of duration, learning outcomes, didactic approach, certification and accreditation. The level of development of the social care sector is an important explanation of the extent of coverage and content of VET programs.

Based on the good practices, this study highlights five drivers of change:

- The involvement of service users in VET. - VET programs organized at the European level - The cooperation with research institutions - European grants as drivers for change. - The combination of different learning methods

This study also analyses the quality assurance systems of these VET programs. To guarantee the quality of VET, at least five quality measures are necessary:

- Involvement of stakeholders in the different phases of the quality cycle

- Investment in flexible programs which make a more tailor-made approach possible

- Assessment of the effects of the VET on the trainees, the organisation and on the quality of care (goal attainment)

- Cooperation with the university or other knowledge centres to link the VET with research and development

- Assessment of the satisfaction, learning processes and the (objective) learning outcomes of the trainees

3 Policy recommendations

The seven main policy recommendations of this study are:

1. Invest in VET systems as a response to growing shortages of social care workers

2. Adapt VET systems in social care to the culture and character of the social care sector in each country

3. Stimulate partnerships with research institutions, employers, unions, service users and voluntary service providers

4. Stimulate research on the effects of VET on care and outcomes in services and society

5. Explore the possibility of creating more VET programs on the European level

6. Support the development of indicators and systems

7. Develop the links between the generic competencies and the European Qualification Framework