AUSTRIA BFI STEIERMARK   Organization Profile The BFI Steiermark (vocational promotion institute, Styria) is amongst the leading training institutions in Austria. It is founded by the Austrian Trade Unions Organisation and the "Arbeiterkammer" (an organisation representing the legal interests of employees in Austria). The BFI Steiermark is classified as an association, whose activities are non-profit orientated. At the moment the BFI Steiermark has a permanent staff of about 270 regular employees and about 1000 freelance trainers in 16 locations and 9 training centres. The annual turnover of the BFI Steiermark in 1997 was Euro 17, 28 Mio. In 1996 the BFI Steiermark was certified to ISO-9001, making one of the few training organisations in Austria, which are able to reach the quality requirements of this international standard. The BFI Steiermark offers training and qualification in the field of metal, electro, EDP, construction and wood, transport, office/administration, languages, sales/marketing, personality training, management/organisation, health/social, tourism/gastronomy and social pedagogical measures. Experience PROJECT EUROCOMP The aim of this project, which is financed by the EU community initiative ADAPT, is to develop a telelearning system for SMEs. The BFI Steiermark has created its own telelearninig-system, called Pegasys, which provides telelearning-courses via Internet for the consumers. In this system, the learner works active with the computer and he /she has also the possibility to communicate with other learners in a chat room and to get in direct contact with the trainer . The communication with the trainer is based on a video-system, which allows to work directly on the specific problems of the individual learners. PROJECT TELETUTOR In this project, which is financed under the EU-community initiative Employment NOW, we develop and test a tele-trainer course to qualify women to work in this field. TRANS-NATIONAL EXPERIENCE The BFI Steiermark Steiermark is active in the following EU-projects: Together NOW: employment NOW-project DevelopNet: ADAPT-project Job steward as educational consultant: ADAPT-project Eurocomp: ADPT-bis project BiQ : Employment Horizon Urban: Urban.project Go to europe: Leonardo-project Small business centre Maribor: Phare CBC-project Cold transformation techniques: Resider project The BFI Steiermark is also taking part in the network of Cedefop, EREN and Efvet.  Key Project Personnel Thomas Putz: coordinator for telelearning on the BFI Steiermark Study at University Leoben 1995 change to adult education Microsoft Certified Product Specialist (MCPS) Computer trainer in the sectors (Windows, MS-Office, network, internet) 1997 telelearning, main part: content development, conceptual work on telelearning systems and evaluation of telelearning systems Project leader for the development of the telelearning system of the BFI Steiermark PegaSys Robert Scharf: head of telelearning department on the BFI Steiermark Study Universities Graz and Leoben 1994 change to adult education Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) since 1996 Computer trainer for UNIX, MS-Dos, databases and programming (basics, C, C++, HTML, Java, ASP; ...) Since 1996 web page designing for BFI Steiermark Since 1998 telelearning: main focus: programming and conceptional work, development and programming of PegaSys Mag. Wolfgang Schabereiter: EU project management at BFI Steiermark Study at University Vienna Political Sciences Master of Science 1996 start at BFI Steiermark Work in EU project management (Adapt, Employment, Leonardo, Sokrates, Phare, ...) Mag. Georg Müllner: EU project management and Innovation management Study at University Graz Educational Science with focus adult education Master of Science 1998 work start at the BFI Steiermark Inovolved into EU project management (Adapt, Employment, Leonardo, Phare, ...) Head of the department Innovation management for product innovation in vocational adult education.