Vocational Greencard Foundation

Preface

To manage social, economic and technical tasks, people worldwide should have access to vocational training. Wikipedia or the OLPC project provide school knowledge. But there is no comprehensive offer for vocational training. This project could close the existing gap. I am looking for people who help with their feedback and their own possibilities to realize this idea.

I believe, this project is a door opener for many people around the world to learn the right profession, to make a career, to employ themselves or to study after their education. In addition, the project is suitable to standardize the vocational training worldwide, because it prefers no particular country or educational concept. People at any place in the world, who would like to start an apprenticeship will be able to start by on their own - to complete it successfully after 3 to 6 months in a company at another place in the world.

The Vocational Greencard Foundation

The Foundation collects training materials, organizes translations and publications, support the trainees during the self-learning phase, develop and supervise contractual agreements. It organizes the invitation in companies established in third countries. The Foundation is engaged in public relations and organizes sector-related educational conferences.

1. The ESCO database of the European Commission describes all professions, learnable in Europe, based on their names and skills. From this semantic database, the related contents and skills can already be read out for these professions. For example, it could be practicable to use the importance (number of calls) of these skills to draw conclusions about their importance for the respective profession. Otherwise, the training frameworks can be used, that exist in many countries.
    
2. Companies provide their own teaching materials for required professions and provide the financing required This ensures that the training content is relevant. In addition, they provide mentors who are available via the Internet for questions from the participants. Educational publishers can also participate, they agree with an open-data license for provided materials.
    
3. It makes more sense to invest money in an educational project than to spend it on advertising and job ads. Therefore, all commercial members can advertise on a certain scale. Companies receive another distribution channel and reach their future workforce earlier and more targeted than before.
    
4. For example, in Germany is the cost of a vocational training mostly between 10 and 20k dollars. The benefits are: to have better trained staff, no induction times, fewer staff to be sought, Companies that train have a better reputation. Trainees who are taught by this project have mastered the language of their target country and have already theoretical knowledge. It is expected that they will successfully complete their training and that the costs, including relocation costs, are not higher than today.

Members of the foundation are NGO’s, government agencies and companies. Authorities create the national legal framework. Interim and final examinations will be carried out on site via the Internet, authorities or NGOs. Schools can integrate the materials into their teaching.

As a result, companies can cover their needs for skilled workers much easier than before. In addition, the formation of a highly skilled, multilingual manpower pool in target markets will be encouraged. The risks of investments abroad are lowered. The project helps people to get a vocational training which they cannot obtain in their own country and thus helps to avoid economic migration.

The most powerful graduates of the 3 to 6-month self-study are qualified for the "Vocational Green Card". This green card includes a scholarship to finish the training successfully within a member company. The training company may be in any other country where this vocational education is possible.

The "Pre-Qualification" reduces the costs per trainee and significantly increases the chances of success at the same time. Because only particularly talented participants are trained, a higher benefit is achieved, which should overcompensate the mobility expenses.

Companies can actively influence the number of applicants in certain professions or regions e.g. to meet their planned manpower needs. It is to be expected that the foundation will become established as a worldwide programme for particularly gifted individuals in the vocational training sector.

A common legal framework should be established for transnational cooperation. In my view, this should be based on voluntary desire (like ICC with „incoterms“). For example, insurance law issues and liability issues are to be regulated. The content of the training, the training times and the test criteria are to be determined. As a result, this statutory framework enables the more rapid and successful initiative of bilateral projects in vocational training.

The concept can be tested with manageable financial resources. At least one profession should be tested. In parallel, regulations should be drawn up. The financing of this first project should have assisted with research funds, because it is sufficiently innovative. In addition, the Foundation could help continually develop a worldwide standardized training system for the future.