The project partners of WOODCircle organised focus group sessions during the summer months of 2023 to gain feedback about the proposed structure and content of the training materials. All project partners organised events in their own country, based on the guidelines created by ATU. The focus groups served to create a link between competences, learning units, and learning outcomes divided into knowledge, skills and responsibilities – based on the findings of the desk research and transnational workshop of the project.
30 participants from 5 countries were consulted about the methodology, training content, curriculum and overall quality of the project. The organisers ensured that the whole woodworking and furniture sector was represented during the sessions – entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs, representatives of local, regional, and national authorities, employer associations, entrepreneurial associations and hubs, researchers, lecturers, and technicians.
The overall feedback from all participants were very positive, including the proposed structure, content, methodology, assessment, delivery and length of the training materials.
The continuous process of collecting feedback from professionals through focus groups will help improve the project content, ensuring the training material in development contains up-to-date knowledge relevant to the furniture and woodworking industry.
Some of the recommendations from the participants of this focus group included:
The project needs to ensure that the focus is on quality over quantity when developing the learning materials
The delivery method should be suitable for the target group, i.e. use short videos, simple language, and mainly visual content
The project should focus on practical examples, making sure it covers real needs and shows case studies from existing companies
The training materials should be aligned with the EU green goals, but also include regional and national initiatives
Link the Learning units so there is a clear connection between them
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