Newsletter 4 – March 2024

From theory to practice: designing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for career counsellors

Job 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), together with the University of Applied Labour Studies of the Federal Employment Agency (Germany), Esmovia (Spain) and iriv (France) 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 and test a first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) among career counsellors providing a general orientation counselling. The third part is dedicated to the designing of a second MOOC addressing career counsellors specialising in mobility/expatriation.

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 (2022- 2024) with the active participation of all the team. A study is  carried out – “WoMSA Scale -Work Mobility Skills and Attitude Scale”. It is meant 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. By joining the study, you will be aware of your motivations, skills and expected satisfaction useful for a successful mobility experience. The online self report questionnaire will take only 15 minutes to be completed and it will give you back your mobility profile. This approach is certainly the best added value of the EMoCC with updated and relevant information on mobility in Europe in 2024.

To join the study go to http://emocc.eu/womsa/

The second result is led by the German partner- University of Applied Labour Studies (HDBA) in Mannheim (2023-2024) with the active participation of all the team both on the technical part (the UCSC specializing in MOOC) and on the content (the content designed by partners).

This first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed is a 25-hour-self training providing a relevant and inspiring basis for upskilling career counsellors.  They are professionals who, within their broader professional role, provide formal and/or informal support 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.

Topic 1 – Building trust and cooperation (between the job counsellors and the job seekers).

Topic 2- The career counselling process (milestones & main steps)

Topic 3 – The client features (motivations, skills, reward)

Topic 4 – the client career management (the right choice, employability, )

Topic 5 – Maintain and develop employability (burnout, emotional adjustment)

The testers were sent the link to the platform – https://app.emocc.eu/  together with instructions to understand the modus operandi.  After registering, the testers are within the platform and can consume the information that is part of the course. There are different types of media: an abstract (text) explaining the learning outcomes, videos (subtitled in the 4 national languages, a huge collective work provided by the European team and coordinated by the UCSC), a more detailed document as theoretical part of the learning unit (in English), and PDF documents (summaries or articles). There is a quiz at the end of each learning unit about the content of the module with a threshold to be reached for the tester to go on. Each module lasts at least 40 minutes (compulsory time). After registering on the platform, the tester is closely monitored (accompanied) to be able to obtain a personalised attendance certification with the topics achieved and the time dedicated to them.

Start learning and get your Certificate on https://app.emocc.eu/ !

The third result is led by the Spanish partner – Esmovia in Valencia (2023- 2024) with the active participation of all the team. 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 migrants to successfully resettle in their destination countries, European networks, and services to move abroad. It focuses on both the client and counsellor perspectives, to be able to give insights and resources for both.

This MOOC has a specific ACT NOW section, which encourages users to take direct action about what they have learned, to integrate it into their daily life. The content is being designed among the European team.

The course includes six topics.

Topic 1- Why Job Mobility (understanding the focus of this project and WHY it is so important and influential)

Topic 2- Diversity Awareness Part 1- Client Perspective (understanding how the client can learn about and mobilize their diversity components)

Topic 3- Diversity Awareness Part 2- Counsellor Perspective (understanding how the counsellor can learn about and mobilize diversity components of their own and with their clients)

Topic 4- Mobility Competences Part 1- Client Perspective (necessary international job mobility skills & capacities the client needs to have)

Topic 5- Mobility Competences Part 2- Counsellor Perspective (learning how to help guide the client with their own self-awareness process)

Topic 6- Feeling At Home (the objective and subjective measurement of someone feeling comfortable in their new situation)

Contributions: Testing  MOOC1 & feedback 

Some overall feedback – If we consider the people who have completed at least one of the 5 topics of which the MOOC1 is composed, now 25 people are participating in the testing, distributed among the four countries involved in the project. Of these, most are between 26 and 40 years old (12), followed by those who are 41 or older (11). Only 2 are 25 to 18 years old. 16 participants are employees in public and private services or associations, 8 are freelancers and only one person is in training.

The monitoring shows that it is potentially possible to complete the entire course in less than two months, although several participants are proceeding with a longer time frame as they must reconcile this activity with their work and personal lives. In general, learning levels, as reflected in the scores obtained on the individual unit and topic tests, are good. About 2/3 of those who completed the course obtained a total score of 90% or more of the maximum score that can be obtained by answering all the questions correctly. The remaining 1/3, however, exceeded 80% of the maximum score. On a scale of 1 (Fully disagree) to 5 (Fully agree) almost all participants agreed or very much agreed that the content in general and the video lessons specifically were adequate for the learning objectives.

Some feedback gathered in France – A series of networks have been involved to find relevant profiles of career counsellors. In the first place, a network in Britany – World Trade centre working with schools and universities sending national students abroad and receiving international students and with a network of young professionals sent by French firms abroad thanks to a special status designed by Business France (since the 1960s). In a second place, counsellors in Ile de France working for various NGOs (an NGO supporting a migrant public, an NGO supporting families with disabled children…) and providing counselling on labour market and professional insertion. In a third place, the national network of Center for Information and Orientation (CIO) with counsellors working in universities and supporting students or adults in the choice of their studies to build a relevant career. Finally, the departments of psychology (master’s degree) as this are the most pertinent discipline and level of education to be interested by the MOOCs designed by the EMoCC. The most numerous barriers or obstacles faced to involve people are the time to be dedicated (25 to 30. Hours is really demanding), and the level of the content (requiring a master’s degree). The most positive feedback were the relevance and interest of the content, very pertinent for the career counsellors; the opportunity to benefit from the work of a European team; the certificate delivered at the end of the self-training. A suggestion made by one participant was to offer the possibility to meet online a member of the European team to have a direct exchange as the MOOC is a lonely practice; human feedback would be most appreciated.

Some feedback from Germany – the testing by German testers produced three main results:

1. a) It was quite difficult to find testers. Their strained time economy can also be seen from the fact that most of them did not get any further than the second or third MOOC strand.
2. b) Several testers had problems with security settings on their work computers, which did not allow videos to be downloaded, so that the testers had to dial in from home computers. 
3. c) Particularly valuable were tips on inappropriate synchronizations – in two cases, the wrong text tracks had even been stored. Small change requests, such as hyphens and other details, can unfortunately no longer be changed due to the effort involved.

It is also important to ask whether testing can continue after the first deadline at the end of February. For MOOC 2, it is recommended that a larger time corridor is specified from the outset, or that it is pointed out that testing will continue until the target number of testers has been reached. Negotiations are going on with the BA head office to ease access for the colleagues who are testing. Many German colleagues have provided a precious support for the technical part.

Some feedback from Spain – Testers were interested to get started, however it was hard to keep people on board to continue and finish through with it. Two super tester individuals have stayed the part, and gave great feedback, saying it was relevant, interesting to learn about, and that the level of English was not too challenging overall, and it was nice to be able to listen to English. The time commitment is something that played a negative role in getting people to continue to test. 

Direct feedback was given about the dynamic videos, that are engaging and interesting to listen to, and it was warned to give information that was too focused on one specific country. The insights have been listened to and are being taken directly into account for the next one.

Spreading the word on the EMoCC: a dissemination event was held in Mannheim (Germany) by HdBA

It was held on Friday, March 01, it took place at the premises of HdBA in Mannheim. The event was attended by people from different institutions and areas of European mobility and career guidance: EURES advisers, labour market equal opportunities officers, migration officers, advisers from the Job Centre, Chamber of Crafts and Crafts (professional qualifications and skilled immigration , vocational training), self-employed counsellors who work with people with a migration and/or mobility background, and interested students of the HdBA. During the multiplier event, the German EMoCC team presented the participants with the project status so far as well as the project and also provided deep insights into the challenging, multifaceted project work. The highlight was the presentation of Mr. Martin Claus (ZAV), who provided with extensive and valuable information about the work areas of the ZAV as well as especially about the EURES services. The presentations led to a lively, effective and fruitful exchange. The event ended with very good feedback from the participants. Some participants showed immediate interest in participating in the test phase of the two MOOCs envisaged in the project. Among other things, they also acknowledged the challenges that the different types of end-users can present in consulting processes. The work in the EMoCC project will continue…

A fourth transnational meeting was held in Valencia (Spain) by Esmovia

The last week of January 2024, a meaningful European seminar was held in Valencia by the Spanish partner, Esmovia, together with the Italian leader University Catholic of Milan (Ucsc) , the German partner University of Mannheim (HDBA), and a French partner (iriv) – this was a telling  example of a fruitful collaboration in Europe, combining a demanding content, a robust team spirit, and the common will to achieve the best results for defending European values.

The social event was suggested in unique place, outside Valencia dedicated to the story of paella- not just a restaurant but the explanation of all the chain in a farm from the vegetables and animals, to the preparation with expert cookers  and finally the degustation in a genuine location, decorated with the many rewards received by the Valencian team.

An illustration of the European approach of sustainability from the farm to the fork…

The dissemination of the EMoCC project at international level

Anne Güller-Frey (other German partner) oversees the European and International networking to support the exploitation strategy. She will associate the International Metropolis Project, the largest cross sectoral international network of researchers, policy makers and community groups engaged in migration, integration/inclusion and diversity. It  includes partners from across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific and is growing in Africa and the Middle East. It is an international platform for critical and constructive dialogue and dissemination of knowledge. For further information visit https://www.metropolis-international.org.

© This fourth issue was edited by dr Bénédicte Halba, iriv, Paris, March 2024 together with the contributions of  Prof dr Diego Boerchi & Teresa Rinaldi for USCS, Prof dr Peter Guggemos for  HDBA and Kelsie Kerwin for Esmovia.