Institute for Holistic Learning Based on Montessori Education

traditional route of being placed in a partnership school and working with a full-time teacher <strong>for</strong> their studentteaching
experience. The authors would welcome discussion by participants who have developed or have an
interest in alternative teaching training programs.
79 Toelle, Michael - Austria - michael.toelle@akwien.at
A new tool <strong>for</strong> co-financing lifelong learning in Austria: The learning voucher of the Chamber of
Labour
The Chamber of Labour is the legal representation of all Austrian workers and employees. Membership is
compulsory. The nine provincial Chambers of Labour and the Chamber of Labour Austria as the national head organisation
are legally obliged to represent the social, economic, educational and cultural interests of their members.
In 2002 the Chamber of Labour launched a new initiative, the „AK Bildungsgutschein“ („<strong>Learning</strong> voucher of the
Chamber of Labour“) in all nine Austrian states. Every member can order a learning voucher worth 100 euros (in
some states members on parental leave receive 150 euros) every year. The voucher can be used up in specially
defined courses – including those leading to <strong>for</strong>mal higher qualification - at selected training providers.
The presentation will deal with the following questions:
• What has been the reason <strong>for</strong> the shift from the supply to the demand side, and there<strong>for</strong>e <strong>for</strong> the implementation
of the learning voucher?
• How and what <strong>for</strong> can the voucher be used up?
• What have been the results of the first evaluation?
• How can the learning voucher be combined with other mechanisms <strong>for</strong> co-financing lifelong learning in Austria?
What is the outlook <strong>for</strong> the future?
80 Vishwakarma, Mahesh - India - maheshvishwakarma@hotmail.com
Training Need Assessment of Vocational Education in a Deregulated Environment: A Case Study
Training of vocational students in the deregulated environment of future is a critical issue especially in developing
countries. The <strong>for</strong>mulation of strategies and finding effective solutions <strong>for</strong> this small but important group of society is
a challenge be<strong>for</strong>e the trainers and managers since these students needs to be exposed to this changed environment.
The changing deregulated environment is promising and demands many other attributes in the vocational
students apart from their improved technical and application skills. These vocational students are the foundation
stones of industries of next generation. To implement new time oriented schemes requires coherent ef<strong>for</strong>ts from
trainers, trainees and industrial managers since all these groups are accustomed to the traditional pattern of
teaching and training <strong>for</strong> past many years. Compatibility of the present vocational students and future manpower
requirement of industries in the changed deregulated environment demands <strong>for</strong> continuous planning, ef<strong>for</strong>ts and
effective strategies. This case study proposes a model <strong>for</strong> making a <strong>for</strong>mal need assessment of vocational students’
training at different schools, training institutions and colleges, which could generate some effective ideas <strong>for</strong>
efficient implementation. A brief scenario of the changed deregulated environment in industrial sector has been described
highlighting its expectations from various associated groups and its future trend. The assessment is carried
out on several factors including inherent attributes, generic attributes, technical skills and students’ basic need of
training. A comparative study has been carried out between the training needs prevailing during last 2 decades and
those required during <strong>for</strong>thcoming decades. The role of strategy <strong>for</strong>mulators, Government and implementing agencies
has been described. A sample interview of vocational students, trainers and industrial managers was organized
and the observations / reactions on the training needs in deregulated scenario were recorded. Finally, the evaluation
of the reaction of different groups and their relevance to future job prospects in industrial sector are presented.
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