Case study

Staff Training – Collaboration in Wales

Barcelona, Spain

PARTNER: Colegau Cymru / Colleges Wales

DATE: 13/02/2023 – 17/03/2023

Taith Funding (Welsh Government)

Who is the client?

Colegau Cymru / Colleges Wales is a Welsh organization that represents all 13 further education (FE) colleges in Wales. The organization’s mission is to provide leadership, support, and representation to further education institutions across Wales. Colegau Cymru works to ensure that the further education sector in Wales is strong and sustainable, and that all learners have access to high-quality education and training opportunities.

Overview

The Staff Mobility programme was developed in partnership with ColegauCymru to create a framework for integrating international mobility opportunities into the new Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales qualification. This Level 3 qualification equips students with the skills needed to become effective, responsible, and active citizens, preparing them for future studies or entry into the job market.

Held in Barcelona from February 13th to February 17th, 2023, the programme provided a collaborative platform for staff members from various Welsh colleges to co-create international mobility learning experiences. The programme included experiential learning workshops and visits to innovative learning centres in Barcelona. This programme was funded by Taith, a Welsh Government public funding stream that enables education staff and learners to spend time abroad as part of their training and studies. Nexgen co-designed this programme with the WJEC

The programme’s learning objectives focused on facilitating knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and networking among participants. By fostering collaboration and co-creation, the programme aimed to enhance the quality of international mobility opportunities provided by Welsh colleges. Ultimately, this would benefit students, staff, and communities alike.

Questions

The challenge presented by the client was to provide international work experience to their sports students. With that challenge in mind, the project sought to answer these questions:

How can Welsh colleges integrate international mobility projects into the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales qualification?

How can collaboration and co-creation among staff members from different Welsh colleges enhance the quality of international mobility opportunities provided to students?

How can Nexgen Careers’ programmes help Welsh colleges develop students’ enterprise, employability, global citizenship skills and future destinations skills?

The Program

The programme was structured as a collaborative platform for Welsh colleges to co-create international mobility learning experiences that incorporated the new qualification’s enterprise and employability requirements, as well as its global community and future destinations requirements. 

“I can see how the internationalisation of FE strategy and these targets can be met with what I have learnt here”

Sophie Williams, The College Merthyr Tydfil

Throughout the week-long programme, educators and staff members from 11 colleges in Wales engaged in a mix of experiential learning workshops and learning visits to innovative learning centres in Barcelona. They had the opportunity to visit academic institutions and organizations that lead the way in innovation and entrepreneurship, technology and new ways of working, as well as social and environmental responsibility, to get an overall understanding of what the future of learning looks like.

The organisations we visited were LearnLife, Teamlabs and 42.

One of the key challenges that participants worked on was creating meaningful and impactful international mobility experiences for students that align with the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales qualification requirements. Through collaboration and co-creation, participants shared best practices and ideas, ultimately leading to the development of several new project proposals.

“It was great to network and collaborate with other professionals in a similar field- it was helpful to share ideas in the different spaces and get inspiration for developing new materials and curriculum.”

– Hayley Stieber, St David’s Sixth Form College

The programme’s activities included team-building exercises, networking events, and cultural activities that allowed participants to experience the local culture and customs of Barcelona. The skills acquired during the programme included project management, intercultural communication, and creative problem-solving. Overall, the programme aimed to foster collaboration and co-creation among staff members from different Welsh colleges and enhance the quality of international mobility opportunities provided to students.

“My goal for this trip was to be inspired, in order to be able to further inspire my learners. This goal was certainly achieved. The time in Barcelona, with Nexgen and with the other participants, was such a positive experience. I have always enjoyed teaching the old qualification, and now feel more ready and prepared to enjoy teaching the new qualification, hopefully maintaining partnerships between Welsh colleges and Nexgen.”

– Sharon Jones,  Grŵp Llandrillo Menai

Outcomes

The Colleges Wales 2023 Staff Mobility Project successfully achieved its objectives of developing a framework for integrating international mobility projects into the Welsh Baccalaureate programme. Participants gained valuable insights into the changing nature of work and different strategies for implementing the Welsh Baccalaureate programme.

“I am truly set on looking at embedding Internationalisation projects to my curriculum across Coleg Cambria.”

– Lisa Radcliffe, Coleg Cambria

Through the programme’s co-creation sessions, participants developed international mobility learning experiences that incorporate the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales requirements, which they can now implement in their respective colleges. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to visit innovative learning centres that are shaping the new wave of education.

Overall, the project provided a valuable learning experience for participants and helped foster collaboration and co-creation among staff members from different Welsh colleges. The programme’s outcomes are expected to enhance the quality of international mobility opportunities provided to students, ultimately benefiting the students, staff, and communities alike.

The impact of the Colleges Wales 2023 Staff Mobility Project was felt immediately, as evidenced by the impressive number of 2023 Taith funding applications submitted by participating colleges. A total of 8 applications were submitted, paving the way for 207 learners and 4 staff members to receive training in the future world of work and become part of the next generation workforce with Nexgen Careers. We are proud to have played a part in empowering these individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in an ever-changing job market.

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