Quality by Units: Developing VET Quality by using ECVET-Units

The aim of the project `Quality by Units´ is to show how (units of) learning outcomes used as an organizational principle in vocational education and training can be used in order to achieve a higher quality in the process and effects of VET. The project applies two elements of ECVET technical specifications:

• the development of units of learning outcomes and
• the appropriate competence assessment procedures for the units of learning outcomes

In the focus of the project lies the apprenticeship mechatronics which was already analyzed within several ECVET-projects. It turned out that the practice of VET could benefit from using units of learning outcomes and competence assessment procedures. Therefore, the logic of ECVET will be anchored in different countries by testing on how a learning outcomes approach can nationally lead to quality assurance in VET. Different VET systems will be taken into account: dual systems (DE, AT), training on the job (UK), alternating (PL) and school based vocational systems (FR).

Products and methods will be transferred from Germany and Austria to France, UK and Poland, the transfer projects include the "VQTS model" and "EDGE" (part of the German DECVET initiative). The approaches and products will be transferred to different national contexts in order to have an added value both for quality assurance processes on the national level and for transnational comparisons of qualifications by what mobility will benefit.

One of the main objectives of the project to transfer good practice from the two projects to different VET systems in order to come to a common understanding on how ECVET could work in the different contexts and thereby come to a better understanding across Europe. The project is coordinated by f-bb (DE).