Social Networks, Web and Mentoring Approaches ...

Continuing vocational education and training (CVET) strategies of many companies, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), fail to adequately support many life-long-learners i.e. learners with special needs. eLearning based on Web 2.0 and 3.0 applications and techniques, social networking and mentoring, which are proved useful in many academic context, could enhance knowledge sharing and the efficiency of CVET in SMEs and also to gather people with special needs willing to work. However, there is evidence in neither continuous learning of the application of (formal) eLearning, or use of ICT adopted by individuals in (informal) learning in most SMEs, nor mentoring for social integration. The main goal of the work described in this paper is to present approaches, such as mentoring and networking which contribute to the improvement of CVET, support and motivate the integration of disadvantaged groups. Some characteristics of CVET and the vocational training scene in SMEs are summarized at first, and then the features of Web 2.0 and 3.0 are outlined that could improve this situation. Thirdly, the advantages of the development of social networks and mentoring approaches are presented, and last but not least, examples are listed.