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Monday, December 12, 2011

Multilateral project_England

Теодора Гюрова, Лъч
 Life Long Learning Partner Search 
A pilot project optimising social media and mobile to enhance ‘Labour Mobility’ out of higher and further education
A project idea from: Aspect Resourcing Partners

Main Aim & Objectives
The focus of this project is to provide a testing ground in which further and higher education establishments can trial, measure and evaluate the use of Social Media and Mobile technologies as means of engagement, attraction and interaction when promoting employability skills. The project will be developed and delivered alongside European partners. The overall aim is to develop best practice methods that can be adopted and applied on a wider scale.
 


Background and motivation

Our project is essentially two-fold:

1.      To complement and enhance existing efforts in this area by providing a powerful yet cost effective way of attracting and engaging students to education providers’ existing  services.
2.      Once engaged, we will help further enhance employability skills through the provision of information, training and guidance that relate to practical work-based skills and support for individuals looking to enter into the labour market for the first time.

By working in partnership, we aim to complement the existing careers and employability services by providing them with innovative and custom made social media and mobile technology platforms through which they can effectively engage, attract and communicate with their intended audience and the broader community. 
The project will address the need for these institutions to embrace new technologies whilst also addressing an area of current need and growing importance within their ever-diversifying remit. 

Background

Employability, is a key issue across Europe at the moment given the ongoing economic downturn and the well-documented issues with youth and graduate unemployment.  There is a strong market need for EDUCATION BODIES TO FIND INNOVATIVE LOW COST WAYS TO LINK CURRENT STUDENTS TO FUTURE CAREERS a service which combines effective employability training with a method of delivery which allows these services to reach a greater number of people at less cost than ever before.

Through the project  we will address the market need by utilising current and widely accessible technological platforms, namely Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc…) and Mobile technologies (mobile websites, application, SMS marketing, etc…) as a means of attraction and engagement. This will require embedding the tools within education bodies  with a focus on local and international labour demands.  Through this project we will  increase the attractiveness of students to potnetial employer through engaging education and business sectors whilst also providing training to allow all partners to use the tools effectively.

At the core of the project will be a platform to deliver customised Facebook pages which help leverage the power of the world’s largest social network to attract and engage our client’s customers.  

Social and mobile media are two huge growth areas both over the last 3-4 years and are projected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.

The mobile web is growing 8 times faster than the desktop web ever did and by 2013-14 mobile web access is set to overtake desktop access as the primary means of internet usage.

The technology is being widely adopted across the business community as a means of engagement and attraction. 89% of businesses are using either social or mobile platforms for employer branding or as part of their broader recrutiment strategies.

Clearly, organisations that are slow to adapt to this change stand to be left behind by their competitors who respond more quickly.


The rise in social media sites and usage, coupled with the increase in individual access to the internet via mobile devices means digital marketing has become an essential channel in which individuals and organisations engage with one another. 

Additionally, in the UK, as of the academic year 2012-13 it will become mandatory for higher education institutions and directly-funded further education colleges to publish an employability statement stipulating the number of leavers and graduates entering into the work place upon the completion of their education. The legislation recognizes the on-going role that colleges and universities need to play in supporting students and graduates into employment and identifies the current lack of provision available presently in this area.  Such criteria can be shared across Europe to offer a benchmark to other education provider of their effectiveness in overcoming youth unemployment.

The project will address the need for these institutions to embrace new technologies whilst also addressing an area of current need and growing importance within their ever-diversifying remit. 

Proposed activities

Work Package 1. Project Management
Project Manager/Coordinator sought

WP 2. Implementation
1.      Existing effort in the area? Mapping - how it is working for both education and business sectors? Can the technology compliment existing and future needs? How are the tools matching students to businesses?
2.      How can it modified to meet the criteria?  What’s the most effective platform for them?
WP 3. Quality Assurance 
Testing of the ICT solution developed on educational institutes, students and businesses
For WP2 and WP3 we’re looking for further education and higher education institutions, and business networks.

WP 4. Dissemination – Social media networks across Europe.
Looking for particular network partners to support Europe-wide dissemination.

WP 5. Exploitation of results
 
Practical information, funding instrument etc.
European Social Funding Life Long Learning Transversal Programme Key activity 3 – ICT
Deadline 01/03/12


езар Африканов, Петя Аспарухова, Митко Шалев, Виктория Юнакова