Wirral Metropolitan College

Year 2: Employmobility 2008/2009

The Employmobility project uses handheld technologies to facilitate the delivery of real work experience for learners with Learning Difficulties and/or disabilities so that learners can collect and record a wide range of evidence of learning and skills primarily in the work place. The multi media evidence of their skills and knowledge will enable the development of a multimedia professional portfolio and CV and thus assist them into part time or full time employment. The research outcomes will facilitate the continued development of people with Learning Difficulties and/or disabilities entering employment and support economic participation through sustainable employment opportunities.

Project Aim

Facilitate learner transition, support and progress into work placements and employment. The handheld technologies will assist the learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who are NEET in accessing and recording their training for employment and real work experience It will also link our current provision to supported employment opportunities with key partners.

Project Objectives

On the Wirral, people with a disability have a higher incidence (52.5%) of economic inactivity than the regional average (23%). In June 2006, 10.5% of 16-18 year olds in the North West were in the NEET group, compared to 8.6% nationally. This means that 19,900 young people in the region were outside education. The key objectives of the project are as follows:

• Use mobile learning technologies to engage, motivate and meet the needs of individuals and employers to enhance the delivery of high quality provision.
• Introduce the use of mobile learning technologies in employment training programmes including supported employment and Skills for Life. This will involve updating existing initial assessment processes to include identification of strengths, skills, ability to learn, access and dexterity in the potential use of mobile technologies. Mobile technologies will then be supplied to learners based on their learning styles, strengths and/or support needs. Use of mobile technologies will then be embedded into existing Schemes of Work, Lesson plans and work placement programmes.
• Use mobile learning technologies to assist learners in gathering personalised evidence of learning and skills developed on their employment training programme and in their work placements. This will involve the tutors and learners identifying appropriate media and technology to produce mobile learning materials, record evidence of learning and skills that meets performance or assessment criteria for accreditation of learning and skills.
• Enable learners to produce a multi media professional portfolio of learning and skills and a multi media CV. The mobile technologies could then be used not only to accredit learning and skills but to allow learners to demonstrate/present their skills at interview. This will allow employers to consider and use a range of reasonable adjustments not only when interviewing potential work placement participants or employees but to also anticipate any reasonable adjustments that will be required.
• Implement a staff development programme which includes the use of mobile technologies to support and record learning in the workplace and carrying out action research. The college has specialist staff (IT staff, academic staff, a Staff Development Manager, ILT Learning and Teaching Champions, E learning Manager) who will be able to deliver the majority of any identified professional development in house.
• Carry out practitioner led action research and evaluation activities to assess the effectiveness of mobile learning technologies in the workplace. This will enable the college to explore the impact of using mobile learning technologies in employment training programmes. Lessons learned and identified best practice will inform and influence future development and delivery.