Projekt: VETAS

Today's automotive sector is characterized by continual work-process innovation, by the development of global delivery networks, and by increasing competition. This results in increased requirements for the employees in terms of flexibility to cover the needs of this ever-changing world of work, or, in other words, the ability to cope with complex work requirements which can only be properly determined on the basis of a collaboration of all players in the field, such as enterprises and employees, social partners, providers of training and education, and public authorities.

This situation provides a sound basis for setting up a framework of VET stakeholders in the automotive sector. There is no doubt that, at the very end, success in this field is only possible if the various stakeholders collaborate on the basis of a shared conviction that competition in the sector must not prevent benefits which can be gained by mutual exploitation of resources which are not considered critical for achieving competitive advantage. But this idea will only have an impact on behaviour if it can be shown practically, at work level, that cooperation in training, education, and human resources development enhances one's opportunities in a globally competitive environment.

Therefore the project aims to set up a network of practitioners and researchers which will enhance the quality of training in such a way that work-processrequirements  are optimally matched by the abilities of employees to carry out their work.

The project is being carried out between December 2009 and May 2011. Please visit the project website for further information: www.project-vetas.eu.

Initiators

The VETAS consortium which initiated this platform consists of 10 partners, representing 6 countries from all over Europe. These are:

• DEKRA Akademie GmbH, Germany (www.dekra-akademie.de)
• 3s research laboratory, Austria (www.3s.co.at)
• Institut für Technik und Bildung, Universität Bremen, Germany (www.itb.uni-bremen.de)
• Lux Personal und Kommunikation, Germany (www.lux-pk.de)
• Volkswagen Service Deutschland, Germany (www.vw-service.org)
• Fundacion Laboral del Metal, Spain (www.fundacionlaboraldelmetal.com)
• Credij, France (www.credij.fr)
• Politecnico di Torino, Italy (www.polito.it)
• CPV, Italy (www.cpv.org)
• Univerza Ljubljana, Slovenia (www.uni-lj.si)

FAQs

What are the aims of the VETAS portal?
The VETAS portal aims to provide the virtual environment for the VETAS network. Its services and facilities seek to support VET/HRD professionals in and related to the automotive sector to share, discuss and cooperate with each other beyond institutional and national borders.

What are the aims of the VETAS network?
The VETAS network aims to connect VET/HRD professionals and other stakeholders in and around the automotive sector with each other. It intends to facilitate sharing, exchange of experiences, collaboration and cooperation beyond institutional and national borders in order to allow its members to benefit from mutual exploitation of resources related to VET and HRD. It provides support enhancing the quality of training in a way that workplace requirements are optimally matched to the abilities of employees carrying out the work. The goal is to enhance its members'/users' opportunities in a globally competitive environment.

How do I become a member of the VETAS network?
The VETAS network so far does not have a formal structure as it has evolved from the European VETAS project, "VET Stakeholders in the Automotive Sector". Sould at some time a formal structure be established all users/members of the community will be contacted as to whether they want to join.

What is the membership fee of the VETAS network?
So far the VETAS network does not require a membership fee and this is not envisaged in the future.

What other activities are being carried out in the VETAS network beside the platform and the community?
In May 2011 the VETAS network conference (the final VETAS project conference ) will take place. All community users/members are invited to participate and further information on the conference will be posted on the portal and in the community. Further activities are in planning but no concrete information is available at this time.

How is the quality and topicality of the VETAS-portal databases ensured?
The entries to the databases on "innovative approaches", "VET providers/companies" and "European resources" need approval by the portal editor. Anonymous entries are not permitted. Everybody proposing a database entry has the full personal responsibility for his/her entry. Each author has to agree that no third party has rights to the whole or parts of the entry before publication. The editors reserve the right to delete entries or to refuse publication.

How is quality and topicality within the VETAS community ensured?
Entries in the community are only randomly checked in terms of content and format. The community itself is charged with the quality assurance of all entries. All members/users are asked to give notice of inappropriate entries. Anonymous entries are not permitted. Everybody posting an entry has the full personal responsibility for his/her entry. Each author has to agree that no third party has rights to the whole or parts of the entry before publication. The editors reserve the right to delete entries or to bar a user/member from the community.

What do you mean by "expert point of view"?
Experts - such as HRD managers, VET and HRD researchers or other stakeholders related to the automotive sector - are regularly invited by the VETAS initiators to share their points of view on HRD and VET in the automotive sector and related industries with the VETAS portal users/members. All VETAS members/users are invited to propose contributions for this part of the portal, please send your proposal to editor@vetas.eu.

How can I post an "innovative approach", a "VET provider/company" or a "European resource"?
Please use the entry forms to prepare your entries (innovative approaches, VET providers/ companies, European resources). Once you have submitted your entry, it will be reviewed by the national contact persons or the editor and will be approved for posting. In case the entry cannot be posted at once you will be contacted by the national contact person or the editor directly.

May I also post an article/project based in an exclusively national context in the "European resources" database?
Yes, the term European refers to the European origin of the overall VETAS network/portal and does not exclude material developed in a national context. On the contrary, material developed in one national context can be very valuable for VETAS users/members in another country as well.

May I also post entries in the databases and in the forum that are not in English?
Yes, for the databases please make sure that at least the summary is written in English. Special sub-forums for discussions in languages other than English are available in the community.

How can I delete an entry in the databases "innovative approaches", "VET providers/companies" or "European resources"?
Please get in touch with the portal editor or your national contact and ask a certain entry to be deleted from the databases. If the entry was not posted by you, please specify why you want the entry to be deleted.