INTERNATIONAL WORK BASED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In the last few years, there has been an important change in the traditional educational model, going from teaching to learning-based education. Due to these changes in education and as they happen so fast, we need to adapt, we have to act rapidly as new skills and competences are being demanded. This new skills requirement implies experience based competences, high level knowledge and transversal skills. Work Based Learning (WBL) appears as a recent model of professionalization in higher education. The different realities and variables associated with educational policies and the changing socio-economic context we are living in, has brought to light this kind of education. The need to create a specific training adapted to the requirements of the environment and also the problem of youth unemployment, has placed this option as a new model to be developed. The conventional education focused on teaching has given way to an education focused on learning and in this new paradigm the student has a more active component. In order to make their incorporation to the labour market easier, the students have to acquire multiple transversal skills and these abilities will be learnt and developed through work based learning. Nowadays the WBL concept is one of the most popular ones related to higher education, it links the socioeconomic fabric with the academic offer, and it should not be an exclusive area of Vocational Education and Training, this is why we are going to develop a WBL model with the participation and collaboration of Universities and VET Centres.