HELIOS: Horizontal ELearning Integrated Observation System Is eLearning improving employability of E

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HELIOS Horizontal E-Learning Integrated
Observation System Is e-Learning improving
employability of European citizens? Claudio
Delrio - SCIENTER
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The HELIOS definition of employability

• Employability is a set of achievements -
  skills, understandings and personal attributes -
  that make citizens more likely to gain, maintain,
  change willingly or return to a fulfilling
  employment which benefits themselves, the
  workforce, the community and the economy.

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The definition of e-Learning

• e-learning is The use of new multimedia
  technologies and the Internet to improve the
  quality of learning by facilitating access to
  resources and services as well as remote
  exchanges and collaboration.
• (European Commission)

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e-Learning and employabilityEU action

• Action Plan for skills and mobility
• European employment strategy
• Integrated guidelines for job and growth
• e-Learning Programme ?'digital literacy'
• Socrates 2000-2006
• Leonardo 2000-2006
• European Regional Development Fund
• European Social Fund
• European Social Fund-EQUAL

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The HELIOS Research Questions

• How effective is e-Learning in responding to
  changing conditions in the labour market (get a
  new job, keep one's job, change job)?
• Which skills are developed via e-Learning?
• To what extent does e-Learning offer
  opportunities to acquire rare skills thereby
  supporting effective job placements and
  employability?

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The HELIOS Research Questions

• What is the relationship between e-learning and
  flexible working?
• To what extent are the skills developed through
  e-Learning recognized in the working world?
• Does e-portfolio (e.g. support in the
  presentation of learning achievements) enhance
  employability?

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e-Learning and changing labour market

• Look at the overall economic cycle
• Studies on Learning and employability, not
  e-Learning
• Employability gains are difficult to monitor
• and dependent upon several factors (quality of
  e-learning relevance of it, context, sustainable
  skills development )
• Focus should be on e-learners motivation
• e-Learning for maintaining a job is a completely
  different issue than e-learning for finding a new
  job.

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Which skills are developed via e-Learning?

• According to EU wide studies, e-learning helps to
  acquire basic skills (ICT, languages), soft
  skills (management) and technical skills
• Cumulative effect. e-Learning contributes to
  skills developments and it requires certain
  skills
• E-learningelite learning?
• Not just which skills are acquired, but also how
  they are acquired, maintained, updated and
  replaced via e-learning.

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To what extent does e-Learning offer
opportunities to acquire rare skills?

• Rare skills are the more difficult to get to
  trainers and learners
• This issue has become important due to
  globalisation, diversification of society,
  competition
• relationship between rare skills and
  international jobs or rare jobs, virtual and
  physical mobility of workers
• e-learning is more frequently used for the
  acquisition of common skills
• is e-learning cost effective solution for niche
  demand which is very disperse?

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Relationship between e-learning and flexible
working

• Flexible work ? home based, mobile, atypical and
  self- employment. Many facets
• technology, any time-any place revolution of
  networking technologies
• economy of scale, productivity, cost savings
• telework and e-learning are two complementary
  trends of a 24 h society
• pedagogy, autonomous learning and working style
  are more suitable to both e-learning and
  telework.
• policy what about opportunities to learn? Could
  e-learning be a suitable solution for
  teleworkers?

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Is e-Learning recognized in the working world?

• Increasing demand for recognised e-learning, due
  to concerns for quality and heterogeneity of
  experiences
• Difficulties? e-learning any pace any time
  paradigm, how to monitor e-Learning
• Nevertheless, recognition of competences and
  skills acquired through e-learning is becoming a
  common practice, especially in learning
  organisations

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Does e-portfolio enhance employability?

• e-portfolio as a form of e-learning
• e-portfolio can be useful as a learning tool for
  the user a monitoring tool for institutions and
  a mechanism for employment opportunities.
• move from potential benefits to real assessment
  of impact is required...
• e.g. looking at employment figures of e-portfolio
  users but also at qualitative elements such as
  how skills are acquired through e-portfolio
  systems.

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Implications for policy and practice

• Concentrating research and practice on quality
  e-learning
• Improve the ways to measure ROI
• integrate strategically e-learning in the HR
  policies
• Making e-learning visible
• Promote dialogue between those who are in charge
  of employment policies and those dealing with
  e-Learning
• market the benefit of e-learning
• extending e-learning towards different categories
  of users