The VM2 Project Presented during the International Spring Fair

From 12th to 17th May in the fair town of Plovdiv the Spring International Plovdiv Fair is being held. Marie Curie Association presents its projects in Pavilion 6. In the Zone for Business Consultations visitors can see and receive promotional materials describing the international projects of Marie Curie Association in the field of the vocational training and human resources development. Validating Mentoring 2 is also shown through its leaflets and other dissemination materials. Great interest was risen by Social Employers Network and Mentoring programmes in support of people with disabilities and disadvantaged people.
Some of the first visitors of the stand were the Minister of Economics - Mr. Petar Dimitrov and the Director of the Fair – Mr. Georgi Gergov. If you are interested come and visit Pavilion 6, Stand 6A7.
We are waiting for you!

The Mentoring Programme in Bulgaria Ended Successfully

The Mentoring Programme in Bulgaria started on 1st October 2008 and ended on 31st March 2009. 12 mentoring couples who worked together on the preliminary defined tasks in their action plans took part in it. The fields in which the participants were mentored were preliminary defined by themselves. One of the couples worked on acquiring of woodcarving skills and others were mentored in the field of public administration. Some of them preferred to be trained in working with children and people with disabilities. There were also mentees who were trained in working with specialized programmes in the field of accountancy and staff management.
At the end of March 2009 the mentoring programme in Bulgaria ended successfully for 11 from 12 couples. Unfortunately, three months before the end of the programme one of the mentees stopped attending the mentoring meetings due to severe health problems. Although the team working on the project hoped that she would recover soon, she couldn’t finish her participation in the programme. However, the other 11 couples implemented the preliminarily defined tasks and at the end of March they carried out their final meetings. There mentors and mentees shared their impressions and summarized what they have learned during the process. In their opinion the mentoring helped and enriched both parties. During these 6 months they mutually taught each other. Mentees developed their professional skills and improved some of their attributes. According to the participants’ opinion the period of 6 months is only enough for setting the effective beginning of a vocational training. After the end of projects like this one it is necessary the state or NGOs to find ways to continue implementing the mentoring schemes in order to support more disadvantaged people.
The positive effect of the mentoring in Bulgaria was heard not only in mentors and mentees’ words but in concrete facts – before the end of the programme three of the mentees started working in their preferred field. They say that the mentoring became the main reason for them to feel more confident and to look for opportunities for professional realization.
You will find concrete examples for mentoring couples’ work and for their thorough opinion in specially prepared materials called Case Studies. Soon they will be published on the project website. Soon you will also find news and pictures from the certification event for the mentors and the mentees in Bulgaria.

VM2 project progress (University of Worcester)

As we approach the closure of the seven mentoring partnerships, we will be reflecting with participants on the effectiveness of the process. Early indications suggest that the six-month mentoring arrangements have been highly valued by both mentees and mentors.

Mentees were at varying levels of ‘job readiness’ at the start of the mentoring process and one mentee has recently secured employment with a local supermarket. Some mentees have engaged in voluntary work as an interim measure and have grown in self-confidence due to the sensitive and supportive involvement of their respective mentors. Two mentees have re-engaged with their further education studies and one mentee plans to return to university in September 2009 after a year out.

The range of experience and expertise of the volunteer mentors is considerable and sufficiently varied so that the matching with mentees’ needs and interests was a relatively straightforward process. Weekly or fortnightly sessions have been the norm and their duration has varied between 30 minutes and two hours.

In the early stages, as customers of Remploy, the mentees used the company’s local office facilities for meeting with their mentors. With growing independence, some mentees are meeting with their mentors on ‘neutral ground’ or at a convenient workplace.

The project is scheduled to finish at the end of September 2009 and there is interest within the local community for a mentoring process based on the current project design to be maintained for a similar client group. The project team is engaged in preliminary discussions with managers of Remploy and this is an encouraging initiative to further develop and extend local mentoring opportunities at a time of economic recession.

Independent of the project and at a national level, the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation and Remploy have established links that focus on extending mentoring arrangements across a number of work-related settings for people with learning difficulties and disabilities.

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce has shown keen interest in and support for the project, as expressed through its active engagement in the National Advisory Group and its provision of free publicity through its business newsletter. Sustainability is clearly demonstrated through the meetings conducted between Remploy and the Chamber of Commerce to discuss how they might continue the mentoring once the VM2 project has finished; the Chamber will seek funding for the continuation of the mentoring model in order to work in collaboration with Remploy.

The Worcester News also provided a positive publicity boost to the project during February 2009.

The active encouragement and sustained engagement of the VM2 National Advisory Group has proved to be a significant feature in the successful implementation of this prestigious transnational project. As well as through their participation in regular project meetings, group members have served as a rich source for the identification of mentors through their links with local employer networks.

Motivation and basic skills for work training in Bulgaria

The training “Motivation and basic skills for work” that was planned to be realized as a part of the European project “Validating Mentoring 2” took place on the 09th and 10th of February 2009 in the Complex for Social Services in Sliven, Bulgaria.
This is one of the trainings that support the mentoring programme and its aim is to help the mentees in their search of a job.
The majority of the mentees in the programme took part in the training. The trainers that conducted it were Dora Bratanova (a career counsellor) and Petya Grudeva (PR). Both of them are representatives of Marie Curie Association, Plovdiv.
During their first day the participants got to know the nature of the motivation process and the so called self-assertive behaviour. They learned different strategies for the improvement of their self-assertive skills and composed their own “Bill of Rights”
There was a session, dedicated to the documents, needed when applying for a job. It helped the mentees learn how to prepare a good CV, Covering letter and an individual portfolio.
In the second day of the training the participants learned something more about the specifics of business communication and the rules and principles of business etiquette. They were also provided with some tips how to behave during a job interview. The methods used during the training included theoretical information, discussions, activities in small groups and role plays.
In the end, all of the participants stated their satisfaction with the training. They shared that they learned many new things and as a result they felt more confident and ready to face their future employers.
You can see some photos from the event in the gallery section. You will also be able to see a short film about the training. It was taken by one of the participants.

Prestigious European mentoring project takes off

The Centre for Inclusive Learning Support (CILS) at the University of Worcester is playing a key role in a prestigious European project.
The major focus of the project is upon enhancing the employability skills of young people with disabilities (aged 18-25) through mentoring so that they are better placed to secure employment appropriate to their needs and interests. The project also aims to ensure that young people develop realistic and relevant insights into the world of work, and to enhance the mentees’ abilities to meet a variety of challenges associated with every day life and work.
This two-year transnational mentoring project, also involving participants in Bulgaria, Belgium, Turkey and Scotland, is funded under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Commission and is a successor to three successful previous projects.

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IT course for mentees starting on 8th January

The New 2009 Year starts with the next challenge for the participants in the mentoring programme implemented within the frame of VM2 project. Since 8th January up to 6th February there will be a specialized training called “Development of basic skills for work with computer and Internet”. It will be carried out by an IT teacher who is specially employed by the team in the project to train the mentees in work with the modern technologies. The training will be done within the framework of 30 hours, two times a week in ten training sessions. Among the included subjects in the programme are: “Work with Word, EXCEL, PowerPoint, Outlook”, “Work with Internet” and so on. A computer room with access to Internet is specially provided for the course so mentees can practice what are being taught.
Mentees declared their need and willingness to be included in such specialized training at the very beginning of this mentoring programme. Most of them shared that the work with computer is a basic employers’ requirement and this is a serious drawback in finding a job. Although there is a great offering of computer courses mentees cannot make use of them because they are carried out either in inaccessible buildings, or they are too expensive.
Mentors also supported their mentees in their willingness to acquire computer skills and so the team working in the VM2 project decided to organize this course in mentees’ support. More information for its progress can be provided by the end of January.

Recommendations for Policy makers and other interested organisations

The project Adults mentoring - MENTORING AND GUIDANCE FOR ADULTS is a 24 months pilot project partially funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Commission that aims at developing a system for workplace mentoring for unemployed older people (50+).

The project is focused on the needs of older unemployed people and long term unemployed older people – who wish to update their professional skills and gain new practical knowledge. This result can be achieved by their participation in non-formal type of learning - Mentoring.

Download the Recommendations for Policy makers and other interested organisations.

Contact seminar, Varna, Bulgaria, 07-10.10.2008

The Bulgarian Human Resources Development Centre held a contact seminar on “Leonardo da Vinci” and “Grundvig” sectoral programmes in the period 07-10.10.2008г. in Varna, Bulgaria.

30 participants, representatives of organisations from various European countries – Germany, Spain, Poland, The Great Britain and Lithuania, expressed their wishes to partner Bulgarian organisations and institutions. In the frame of the event all participants gained valuable advice in quality project management and establishment of effective partnerships, given by proved in practice coordinators of European training projects:
- Ludmil Manev, European Centre for Quality
- Andrean Lazarov, Zgura-M and
- Petya Grudeva, "Marie Curie" Association.

The event was a good opportunity for the team of MCA to present the running project “Validating mentoring 2”. The participants heard more about the organised mentoring programmes in Bulgaria, Turkey and UK, saw the working version of the “Code of Practice in mentoring” and received dissemination materials, developed within the project. A special leaflet was designed to encounter the participants with the main principles of the Social Employers Network. The VM2 project was also in the focus of the non-formal discussions outside the working sessions.

The contact seminar included also a rich cultural programme, where the foreign guests had the opportunity to meet the historical and cultural heritage of Bulgaria.

Pictures from the event can be found on “Gallery” menu or at http://hrdc.bg/page.php?61.

Start of the mentoring programme in Bulgaria

As you were informed earlier, the preparation of the mentoring programme for people with disabilities, disadvantaged people and young people at risk was very intensive in the summer of 2008. Thus at the end of September our team managed to identify the 12 most eligible people, who needed mentoring support most of all. In accordance with their professional aims and wishes, the future mentors were selected. Soon the practical implementation of the mentoring programme in Bulgaria started. On 6th of October 2008 the initial training for mentors and mentees was held. It was facilitated by Diana Tsvetanova and Svetla Dimitrova – coordinators of the mentoring process in Sliven and Petya Grudeva, PR of Marie Curie Association. The training sessions included presentation of “Validation of mentoring 2” project - the initiative that provides the mentoring programme in Bulgaria. Other successfully held mentoring programmes were also presented (in Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Poland and the United Kingdom).
Another important moment during the initial training was the demonstration of the training packs for mentors and mentees, which were given to the participants also in a hard copy. In this training session they had the opportunity to see the main principles and rules in the implementation of a mentoring programme of that kind. The facilitators explained them what documentation is needed and gave them tips for success. All participants had the opportunity to ask a variety of questions.
In the morning session Diana Tsvetanova explained that mentoring programmes are a flexible instrument, enabling the participants to define their tasks and goals themselves as well as to set individually the form, the period and the time of the meetings. The mentors-to-be were very pleased by the advice and guidance they received and once again re-assured our team in their strong motivation for participation.
The afternoon session on 6th of October was dedicated to the mentees. After each of the presentations they asked many questions and were satisfied to participate in and informal training of that kind. According to their own words: “It will be the first crucial step towards the successful start of a new career”.
In the future we will keep you informed about the development of the mentoring process in Sliven. In order to get fuller idea of the atmosphere during the initial training, please see the pictures from the event, published in “Gallery” menu.

VM2 presented at Istanbul event

On 24th Sept. 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey an international conference dedicated to European projects was held. The projects are in the sphere of support for people with disabilities and professionals working with them. The event was organised by Business Consultancy Development centre “BCD” Turkey in cooperation with several organisations – partners in different European initiatives implemented under the Life-long learning programme of the EC.

The main goal of the conference was to share experience and good practice within four European projects: “Validation of mentoring2”, “Empowerment Through Study, Training Enabling Education and Mentoring” (ESTEEM), “Quality and Accessible Training 2” (QATRAIN 2) and ETTAD. In this relation, panel sessions dedicated to different themes were organised:
- support for people with disabilities through mentoring programmes;
- accessible training for people with disabilities;
- training for low-qualified professionals in social work;
- networking.
Lecturers on the themes were the coordinators of the four European projects. They shared experience and demonstrated the products of the four initiatives. The focus of Petya Grudeva’s presentation from Marie Curie Association was put on the European Social Employers Network uniting organisations form Poland, Bulgaria, UK, Belgium, Greece and Slovenia. She gave additional information on the development of the mentoring programmes and the impact that they have on the work-readiness of the mentees.
Kostas Kotsis from the University of Ioanina demonstrated the resources and the innovative methods developed within QATRAIN 2 project. They are designed for teachers and trainers aiming accessible training for their students with disabilities. The theme of the presentation of Dr. Val Chapman form the University of Worcester, UK was similar. She presented the experience of her educational institution in the development of accessible educational programmes and adapted teaching for people with learning difficulties. Another lecturer was Dr. Charles Pace form the University in Malta. He pointed out the results of ESTEEM project, emphasizing on the need of quality in the preparation of professionals working in the social sphere.

In the following discussion the idea of creation of Thematic Network linking together the four projects emerged. It will facilitate the successful mainstreaming of the results and increase of the impact amongst target groups.

Guests at the conference were representatives of NGOs from Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria, teachers and trainers in higher education, consultancy companies and people with disabilities. The event was visited also by a representative of the Turkish National agency “Leonardo da Vinci”, running the Lifelong learning programme in Turkey. He warmly greeted the participants and gave some advice in good and effective partnerships establishment.

The conference was closed with a traditional Turkish dinner, where the participants had the chance to continue the conversations in an informal atmosphere.