Newsletter 3 – October 2023
From theory to practice: designing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for career counsellors
Mobility is a key issue in Europe and a main asset in a professional career
The EMoCC project, led by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC)
from February 2022, is meant to upskill career counsellors and professionals involved in guiding people regarding job mobility choices to be better equipped to support candidates (youngsters or adults in the framework of the many opportunities suggested by the Erasmus + programme, professionals sent by their companies) or people who were forced to leave their country (refugees, asylum seekers).
The first part of the EMoCC project was dedicated to a data collection by a research study, while the second part is meant to design a first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) addressing career counsellors with a general profile.
Read more below and keep up to date by subscribing to the EMoCC newsletter on our website www.emocc.eu!
An overview on the work achieved so far by the EMoCC team
The first result is led by the Italian leader – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) in Milan (started in July 2022 – still going on).
In the first place, a qualitative study “AToM -Attitude Toward Moving” was meant to explore personal attitude and motivation to work mobility by means of individual interviews and focus groups. 80 interviews were conducted in Italy, France, Germany and Spain to identify the qualities & competences to have to succeed a mobility/expatriation but also the main barriers and obstacles to be overcome (September- November 2022). Moreover, two focus groups were carried out gathering 6 to 10 people in each country to elaborate on the first feedback gathered.
In the second place, a quantitative study is still carried out – “WoMSA Scale -Work Mobility Skills and Attitude Scale”. This is also a two-step approach with a pilot questionnaire meant to develop and test a definitive questionnaire to provide individuals and career counsellors with a better knowledge of the starting “suitability to move” of their public, considering skills, motivation and satisfaction traits for people who intend to go or went abroad for a professional mobility experience.
This research part combining a qualitative and quantitative approach is certainly the best added value of the EMoCC, as it gathers many updated and relevant information on mobility in Europe in 2023. Uncertainty is one element even for Europeans who must include mobility in their professional careers as Europe is faced to a social and economic crisis. An expatriation may become an option for many professionals who mean to have a new start in their career.
The second result is led by the German partner – University of applied labour studies (HDBA) in Mannheim (started in January 2023- work in progress)
The first of two planned Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) designed is a 30-hour-training on basic career counselling skills for those professionals who, within their broader professional role, provide formal and/or informal career counselling and guidance services. The MOOC addresses professionals working with individuals with migratory or mobility background or aiming to move abroad for work. The course includes five topics of 6 hours each (around sub-themes of 1 hour each):
Topic 1 – Building trust and cooperation
Topic 2 – The career counselling process
Topic 3 – The client features
Topic 4 – the client career management
Topic 5 – Maintain and develop employability
The third result is led by the Spanish partner – Esmovia in Valencia (started in February 2023- to be achieved in 2024). The second Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed is also a 30-hour-training, meant to equip expert career counsellors with skills and attitudes functional to support people who are considering or could benefit by work mobility at European level. This second course tackles several topics such as social and cross-cultural sensitiveness, biased attitudes that stereotype others by race and culture, understanding the role of educational and vocational guidance in assisting European citizens and migrants to successfully resettle in their destination countries, European networks and services to move abroad.
Partners’ Contributions: “Designing the first MOOC”
One of the 2 German partners in the EMoCC project and leader of the first MOOC addressing job counsellors, the University of Applied Labour Studies (HdBA) from Mannheim/Germany) has designed and implemented a whole series of MOOC learning units. These include topics as diverse as disorders in counselling, mindfulness and burnout prevention, collegial forms of counselling, ethics in counselling, as well as ways to strengthen the employability of counsellors and employees and to create tailor-made and individualised work formats in inclusion companies for people with health restrictions and at the same time reduced performance. The hard work provided– and the passion it implies– has enriched the many lessons suggested by the German team. Their work has been most appreciated by all the European teams, impressed by such a knowledge in the field and convinced by the content supported by many references.
The German team gathers a numerous team composed of Pr. Dr. Peter Guggemos, teaching Labour Market Politics and Social Politics, his colleague Pr. Dr. Gwenn Hiller, teaching Career Guidance and Counselling, with a focus on intercultural competence and migration, Ms Veronica-Dana Sana, specialising in counselling, quality management, leadership, and legal matters in Germany – with an expertise in EU projects, and Pr. Dr Michael Scharpf, specialising in Professor of Public Management. This MOOC 1 has been a teamwork with the meaningful coordination provided by Peter Guggemos (HDBA) together with the many impulses of the EU team, especially the Italian team, led by Diego Boerchi (UCSC), scientific leader of the project and expert in career counselling. The design of the MOOC was enriched by several encounters (project meetings and learning and training activities) held in Milan, Mannheim, Paris, Valencia and Augsburg. This patient and collaborative work led to the design of an impressive work on the content, with a balanced dispatching of the learning units among the team.
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) was heavily involved in the preparation of MOOC 1, in light of its expertise on vocational guidance and the coordination of the PR1 research. Its approach is predominantly psychological, so it realised several units focused mainly on the counsellor-client relationship and the awareness of one’s motivations and competencies. Below are the topics dealt with by the units concerning three different subject areas. The first area concerns the importance of building a relationship to ensure counselling can work. It is critical that the expert, especially at the beginning of counselling, pay special attention to creating a relationship of trust in which there is an agreement regarding the goals to be achieved and how they will be achieved. Because for some people, participating in career counselling can be very challenging regarding their activities and emotional burdens, defensive reactions may occur despite the counsellor’s attempts to build trust. Career counsellors must be able to identify and manage Objections to content, Resistance to process, Safety measures, Defence mechanisms and Grieving the loss of job or professional identity. The second area refers to motivations related to interests in specific professions and the idea of going abroad for work. Fundamental is the contribution of Social Cognitive Career Theory that helps explain why particular interests and related career plans may not be suitable for specific people. Career counsellors’ role is fundamental in assisting clients to verify the soundness and realism of their interests and possibly develop new ones more consistent with that person’s abilities and expectations. This thematic area includes a unit on how to draw up a motivational portfolio and a description of the motivations behind the choice of going to work abroad, as revealed by the research. The third area refers to competencies, including aptitudes, technical skills and soft skills. A choice based on a good perception of one’s real aptitudes and competencies has a great chance of success. The career counsellor can play an essential role in helping people assess the competences the person thinks they possess, in a logic of valuing the aptitudes and competencies actually owned, which are often not adequately recognised. Here again, a unit is dedicated to drafting a skills portfolio and describing the transversal skills essential to turn a work experience abroad into a success.
Partners’ Contributions: “Spreading the word on the EMoCC”
The 1st multiplier event of the project was held on Friday the 24th of March 2023, in ESMOVIA in Valencia (Spain). The purpose of the Spanish conference was to present the EMoCC project to the local community. It was attended by 35 participants, reflected here below: 22 local participants coming from European Mobility and Career Counseling sectors in the city and region of Valencia: “Valencia Chamber of commerce”, “LABORA Employment services from Valencia City Council”, “University CEU Cardenal Herrera”, different VET centers, as well as associations working with migrants like “Valencia Acoge” and “Plataforma Intercultural” and employment like “Plena Inclusión Comunidad Valenciana”. Public institutions dealing with refugees like “CAR – Centro de Atención al Refugiado” were also present; 3 international guests from Italian VET institutions also participated in the meeting; 8 staff members from ESMOVIA, participated as organizers, speakers, and attendees; and 1 person from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Diego Boerchi, participated as a speaker. The first part of the conference was the presentation of the whole project, and a mention was made as to how the attendees could collaborate with the partners of the project. The second part was dedicated to share with the participants the first results of the project, in particular the scales and protocols produced after AToM (Attitude Towards Moving) research. Diego Boerchi, from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart, was in charge of presenting the results and leading a dynamic discussion with the participants. Lastly, different practical tools of career counseling were presented by Kelsie Ann Kerwin, from ESMOVIA, and put into practice by participants. A dynamic workshop on mutual empathy was carried out, which lead to a very interesting networking session. The conference concluded with very good feedback from the participants who wanted to be updated on the next phases of the project. It also resulted in the acknowledgment of the challenges that represent the different types of final users in counselling processes: people who decide autonomously to move abroad will not need the same counselling than those who were forced to do it. Having that in mind, the hard work in the EMoCC project continues.
The 2nd multiplier event was organised by iriv on June 27th 2023, together with the World Trade Center in Rennes (Brittany) and the Start up What a job. The purpose of the French conference was to explain the main objectives and results achieved so far (interviews, focus groups & survey carried out) ; to introduce the first MOOC addressing career councillors with a general profile and the profile of professionals to involve Britton professionals in the testing (content of the course and its duration) ; presenting the second MOOC addressing career councillors specializing in mobility. Brittany is a region gathering a lot of schools, universities, organisations open to mobility with a network “World Trade Center” most interested in the mobility approach, and a French start up “What a job” already involved in the survey (focus groups). The French team means to address services aimed at young people; the Britton youth information network is a Eurodesk relay; France has the highest number of ambassadors. In Rennes, in June, attended 14 local participants belonging to the World Trade Center (WTC), What a job, schools (business and engineer- ESUP, ESGV, RSB, University of Rennes 1), organisations tackling mobility ( Business France, the Chamber for apprenticeship, and Bretagne Mobilité conseil). The presentation consisted in an explanation of the survey – AToM (Attitude Towards Moving- conducted by the Italian team of the UCSC. A focus was made on the four groups of audience addressed (having been abroad freely, sent by a firm, forced to leave their country, failing to go abroad) with the main assets/qualities to succeed an expatriation and the main barriers/reasons for not being successful. The approach is based on skills and competences. The reception received in France was very positive with concrete feedbacks: WTC and What a job volunteered for the testing; Business France made a bridge with the Club of the VIE (gathering 38 000 members in France, former volunteers abroad); WTC introduced their colleague in Marseille who circulated the link for the survey (WoMSA). A new meeting was suggested by the WTC by the end of 2023 to support the testing as a face to face meeting is most fruitful.
On Friday, November 24th, 2023, the German team will also hold the 3rd multiplier event at the HdBA in Mannheim, hoping for a positive response to the presentation of the first completed training modules. The feedback from the participants should help to enrich the MOOC 2 training series.
Anne Güller-Frey, in charge of the European and International networking to support the exploitation strategy, will disseminate the project results among the International Metropolis Project, the largest cross sectoral international network of researchers, policy makers and community groups engaged in identifying, understanding and responding to development in migration, integration/inclusion and diversity. Through the efforts of Metropolis International, the production and effective communication of policy-relevant knowledge among decision-makers, thought leaders, and practitioners are encouraged. The network includes partners from across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific and is growing in Africa and the Middle East. Metropolis International provides an international platform for critical and constructive dialogue and dissemination of knowledge across the policy, research, civil society and private sectors on matters of migration, integration/inclusion and diversity in order to encourage cross-sectoral collaboration. The International Metropolis Project works to enhance cross-sectoral capacity by: providing a global network for policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and business leaders to connect, engage in an open dialogue, and learn from comparative perspectives and shared experiences on a wide range of migration, integration / inclusion, and diversity issues with local, national, regional and global impact; ensuring a positive, neutral, open environment for the mobilization of expertise and resources among different international stakeholders.
© This third issue was edited by dr Bénédicte Halba, iriv, Paris, September 2023 together with the contributions of Prof dr Peter Guggemos for HDBA, Prof dr Diego Boerchi for UCSC, Kelsie Ms Ann Kerwin for Esmovia and Mrs Anne Güller-Frey for Germany.