“High 5” School-work rotation

A school-work rotation is a way to acquire knowledge and skills by integrating the world of education with the world of work. It takes the form of a series of educational modules in the classroom at institutions of higher education, and work experience performed with the companies involved. 

A school-work rotation is also a way to overcome the traditional separation between school and work, allowing students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired at their desks in accordance with the principle of “learning by doing” which, up until two years ago, was limited to professional schools and institutes.  
School-work rotations include a series of activities aimed at developing transversal skills (general skills involving thought and cognition processes, how to conduct oneself in social and work settings, ability to consider and use strategies for learning and self-correcting behaviors), and technical skills from specialized training that takes place in the classroom under the guidance of a company tutor or within a company’s facility, such as a chemical or physical laboratory for example. 

For health and safety protection purposes, students who undertake a school-work rotation are treated as workers.
Companies must therefore comply with specific obligations, including health monitoring to ensure that the students are fit to work in specific professional and environmental settings; training on the overall and specific risks associated with the work activities, and provision of personal protective equipment, if necessary. 
A school-work rotation is an educational revolution that involves approximately 1.5 million students, their teachers and school administrators every year.

How are school-work rotations designed?
A school-work rotation should be designed through a process of meetings and sharing of information between the school administrators and companies involved. The first step is to identify the skills needed by the students in order for them to successfully enter the working environment. Ideally, the best design is a three-year program that is individually customized for each student. All rotation programs include a company and a scholastic tutor, who are tasked with defining the intent, methods and objectives of the rotation, as well as supporting the students throughout their experience.
Last but not least, maximum attention must be given to the conclusion of the rotation program, which is essential in order to correctly evaluate the skills acquired by the students during their experience within the company, based on the previously agreed indicators contained in the Training Project.
This also opens up the plants to the overall needs of training, innovation and culture.

For further information and candidate applications for school-work rotations, please send an email to scuola@buzziunicem.it.