Leonardo - Identifying and Meeting Needs
There are several important aspects to delivering a Leonardo programme. However the process can be summarised collectively as “Valorisation” (a French term meaning "adding value”). Any project must be seen to be giving “Added Value”. There are many ways in which it can do this, and include identifying and meeting needs, development of the product or method, testing and evaluation, and dissemination. This series of articles will look at each of these elements, and this article will focus on “identifying and meeting needs”.
In many ways meeting the need is the most important aspect of any Leonardo project. Without a need there is no reason to “add value”. Identifying the need and the linking of it through a methodology to a delivery programme satisfactory to partners and beneficiaries is perhaps the most challenging part of the programme. To add to the complexity of the process, the need may change during the life of the project.
Needs can be identified at three different levels. An example of segmentation of needs might be as follows:
- Local level or primary level of delivery. As Leonardo gives priority to projects which provide benefits for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) or projects which provide local benefits, this is most frequently the area where the need is focused. As well as technical skills, these needs might be general business skills. Information and Communication skills, interpersonal skills development and, increasingly, some knowledge of practice in other Member States.
- National level. This might include Trade Associations or Ministerial or NGO level, where action needs to be coordinated to ensure effective primary delivery. It is at this level, for example, where an e-learning strategy can be coordinated.
- Transnational level. This could relate to the need for international cooperation. This is the level where the need can be most obvious, and cooperation can be the most productive, since there may have been previously little effective cooperation at a trans-European level.
How does this relate to the training needs of Loss Adjusters? It is recognised that users of services have higher expectations. Staff therefore need a wider range of skills and experience relevant to the 21st Century, from customer service to enhanced technical knowledge about the detailed criteria for assessing claims and that these needs are not necessarily being fully met by present training provisions. When the options are considered, it becomes clear that the training gap, such as it exists, can be segmented into the areas described above. Loss Adjusters work at a local level to deliver local solutions, and may therefore not have the opportunity to benefit from wider experience to help them to improve the efficiency and delivery of their work. E-learning is becoming an important aspect of training, as material can be delivered more cheaply to a wider audience which then has more flexibility to study at a time to suit them – the development of this type of medium is best coordinated at a national level. Transnational cooperation provides a unique opportunity for training because it offers the chance to exchange ideas and develop genuine best practice.
In conclusion, the Leonardo project will assist in meeting the needs of training for Loss Adjusters in the 21st Century. Training will also be enriched by the trans-European cooperation involved in this project.
