"<< Background >>Micro and small companies need to start an innovation journey that will enable them to empower their business and organizational structure to overcome the challenges of the digital economy. If it is true that many businesses have survived without making use of digitization, the pandemic has revealed the unpreparedness of many other business to deal with a reality they were unaware of: digitization, which led to the closure of thousands of businesses that were not prepared to find alternative ways to provide services to local economies through digital tools.But the challenges of the digital economy for micro and small companies are not only overcomed with digital tools, but rather, it is necessary to prepare their human resources to know how to deal with digital tools and take advantage of their full potential.The Small.Com project aims precisely to develop a program that begins by diagnosing the needs of micro and small companies in the face of the latest developments that the digital economy can provide them, and at the same time it aims to empower its human resources through an individualized training program, so that the implementation of digital tools in micro and small companies can be done in a sustainable way.The activation of the digital presence will allow them to capture new customers, both in the physical and digital worlds, access new markets and optimize the organization's processes and procedures. But the digitalization of business is not limited to the possibility of having an online presence. Moreover, micro and small companies still have many other gaps in terms of digitizing their businesses, whether using computer tools that allow, for example, to speed up customer service, but also with regard to bureaucratic aspects and documentation, in addition to digitalization of processes capable of streamlining and optimizing business development.While digital skills are shaping the future of humanity and are increasingly having an impact on societies, organizations and people, education and learning systems need to be rethought to respond to the needs arising from this context in a constant change promoted by technological advance that is constantly redefining economies. For this reason, this project aims to mobilize entrepreneurs, employees and employers to learn how to implement digitalization in their businesses, through the adoption and incorporation of technology in business models and dematerialization of processes with customers and suppliers.The Small.Com project will be fundamental to overcome the training difficulties that managers and employees of micro and small companies have, with tailored contents, worked to adjust to the specific needs of each trainee and business, helping them to deepen their knowledge, understand concepts, follow the latest trends and implement various aspects of digitalization in your business.<< Objectives >>The digital transformation in companies is no longer a question ""if it will happen"", but a question of ""when it will happen"", and the answer is clear: those who do not adapt will hardly be able to survive in the market.In fact, digital technologies bring enormous benefits to businesses, whether to improve process performance, increase business reach or ensure more rigorous decision-making based on factual data. However, digital transformation is not just about technology: this change also involves people, who makes the company's culture. Therefore, employees need to be part of this transformation, acting as key elements for the company's success in the Digital Era. On the other hand, digital transformation does not happen if there is not a sufficient digital literacy knowledge from those who have the power to decide and implement structural changes in organizations, giving an essential role to technology.It is therefore essential to unlock the role of human potential to influence the adoption of digital technologies, particularly in micro and small companies that are characterized by being more resistant to change and adapting to new scenarios.The Small.Com Project aims to play an active and fundamental role in unlocking the human potential for acceptance and willingness towards the digital transformation process of micro and small companies.It is commonly accepted that lifelong learning, particularly in the context of work, is a good practice that must be taken care of so that organizations keep employees up to date and with high performance. However, classical training in the classroom, where the trainer debits generic and theoretical information, has lost more and more “adepts”, precisely because the trainees do not see themselves in the way the training is delivered and feel that the process of learning is not effective. For this reason, Small.Com starts with the premise of making a diagnosis of needs and subsequently adapting the training content to the trainee and company needs. Further, the fact of being online allows the trainee to decide the moments that are most convenient for him to learn, not overburdening the life of each employee and allowing him to decide on how and when he wants to take the training actions.In parallel, by instructing HR on the topic of digital transformation in a practical way and by teaching how to implement it in the day-to-day life of organizations, the Small.Com project will provide the willingness of employees to take action and implement technologies that can quickly impact the business.In short, when implementing this project, the consortium intends to overcome two fundamental gaps. On the one hand, to overcome the absence of training content associated with business transformation in Micro and Small Enterprises, which fits the reality of each trainee and which is not generic and superficial. On the other hand, it is intended to create framework conditions through informed and well-trained employees so that, in a next phase, micro and small companies can start the journey towards the digital transition.<< Implementation >>In technical terms, the project is structured to achieve 5 main results:O1: Report on “Digital transformation: trends and needs of micro and small companies”O2: ""Small.com"" digital transformation maturity assessment modelO3: Small.Com training modules (free online intensive courses)O4: Small.com e-learning platformO5: Expansion of the Small.Com project to other regions and sectorsThese results imply the pursuit of activities and tasks that culminate in the achievement of those same results.Thus, in summary, for O1, activities include conducting questionnaires, collecting primary data and statistical analysis to understand the latest trends in “Digital Transformation” in companies and based on these results, perceive / identify the technical profiles and the skills needed for workers to be an active and educated part in the process of moving micro and small businesses towards digital transformation.In parallel, to achieve O2 results, it will be necessary to investigate and define a diagnostic model to assess the digital maturity of micro and small companies, where companies will be able to identify and compare the degree of digital transformation they are in and what future measures to implement.Output/Result 3 concerns the creation of Small.Com's training content, and the activities planned for this result include analysing all the information collected in O1 and O2, in particular in O1 and subsequently introducing new content that will be developed by the partners. based on their prior knowledge but also based on research on what the market trends are in terms of digital transformation.In order to reach the target audience with a structured training tool, O4 proposes to create an e-learning space where Small.Com will have its learning platform. This result implies the execution of programming and computer development activities as well as the structuring of the training contents that will later be available to the target audience.Finally, in order to achieve O5, it will be necessary to carry out communication and dissemination of results in a targeted manner to reach the main national stakeholders and potential international partners. These activities associated with O5, will be based on a global dissemination plan that is foreseen in the project related to the “management and dissemination” activities.The partnership has the knowledge and experience necessary to carry out all activities subordinate to the project, as well as benefits from having close daily contact with the target audience of this project, knowing their needs very well and being able to involve them in the results of the project.<< Results >>Not so long ago companies used faxes to transfer documentation and digital processes. The shift from an analogue to digital world has taken place at an accelerated rate and is now a reality that has enabled companies to become more competent and global. However, digital technologies have grown at a faster rate when compared to the updating of skills of human resources who, not being educated and trained, cannot implement digital transformation in companies. That is why this process of change in companies is a process that is happening slowly and is not limited to the adoption of new IT tools or operational changes. The digital transformation goes much further and requires new business models and trained and prepared employees from micro and small companies to help implement the change.While it is certain that the skills and knowledge of employees are essential for the digital transformation of SMEs, with the implementation of this project the aim is to achieve the following results with micro and small companies:• Develop digital training tools tailored to the trainees;• Increase the level of knowledge of employees of micro and small companies to become more prepared for the implementation of digital technologies in companies;• Promote digital transformation in companies and thereby ensure greater business competitiveness, whether through more efficient processes, cost reduction, increased productivity, among others;• Possibility of creating new business models associated with traditional companies, providing them with a greater capacity to respond to new market dynamics;• Promotion of the economic fabric and digital skills of employees, in particular small businesses that find it difficult to find training courses tailored to their needs.In short, the results of the project aim to fill a gap related to the lack of training content that can help adult workers to acquire skills in the Digital area applied to their businesses."

The integration of many refugees is currently an urgent and outstanding task in many EU countries, and the accomplishment of this task requires the commitment of all social groups. Refugees who have sound professional experience and good entrepreneurial potential can be trained as entrepreneurs in the host country in a comparatively short period of time and integrated into working life as successors or founders of small businesses, thereby making valuable contributions to economic development. The project pursued this innovative and promising approach.Many SMEs experience a critical moment when the business has to be handed over to a new entrepreneur for age or other reasons. In fact, each year more jobs are lost due to failed business transfers than are created by start-ups. One of the main reasons for the failure of transfers and the associated high job losses in many EU countries is the large and growing shortage of qualified successor entrepreneurs under status quo conditions. By qualifying and integrating refugees as entrepreneurs, the project made important contributions to securing SME handovers and business start-ups. Against this background, the project pursued the outstanding goal of achieving the integration of refugees and securing SME handovers as far as possible by a) rapid integration of refugees into working life through training and promotion as entrepreneurs. b) attracting additional target groups and increasing the number of potential SME successors and founders. (c) improving entrepreneurial skills in order to attract qualified entrepreneurs, ensure innovative success and safeguard and increase the number of SMEs and jobs.The project was carried out by 5 partners from Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary. The internationally active lead partner is particularly experienced in training and promoting SMEs. Three partners are chambers of commerce and associated institutions, which have been dedicated to the training of entrepreneurs and the promotion of SME handovers and business start-ups for many years. One university is successfully involved in the training of entrepreneurs and is particularly experienced in the development of curricula and evaluation processes.The project comprised 7 work packages with the following main activities. 1. Project management and implementation of 6 workshops and 2 international consulting and transfer conferences. 2. Identification of individual competences and entrepreneurial potentials of refugees. 3. Specialized language training and training promoting motivation and creativity. 4. Training as an entrepreneur, which can be completed with an official further education degree. 5. Training in preparation for an SME takeover or business start-up. 6. Inclusion of the trained refugees in existing support programs as well as accompanying coaching and integration programs from the competence assessment until after a successful business takeover or start-up. 7. Transfer of the project results to 70 chambers and higher education institutions/universities from 13 countries, which were involved in the project implementation as associated partners and received sustainable implementation advice, and implementation of further dissemination measures. For these main activities, instruments, methods, curricula, examination regulations etc. have been developed, tested and evaluated which can be used in all countries. Individual instruments and curricula have been so successful that they are already being used in all Baltic Sea countries for domestic and foreigners, for the recruitment and qualification of entrepreneurs. For the five products of the project - Blueprints for the reliable identification of entrepreneurial skills and for advising individual career and educational planning, - Curricula for language training as well as training promoting motivation and creativity for activities as entrepreneurs, - Curricula and examination regulations for entrepreneurship training, - Curricula for preparatory training and blueprints for the implementation of SME takeovers and business start-ups and - Manual with distribution via bookstores high sustainable uses are ensured with a process-oriented expansion of the implementation regions including financing.The project pursued a bottom-up strategy: By means of a rapid, successful qualification and integration of refugees as entrepreneurs or specialists in SMEs, companies and their organizations were to gain their own experience with foreigners on a broad basis and thus bring about sociopolitical changes in behavior. This strategy has had its first effects, particularly in Hungary.

"Globalisation has made the world more complex and uncertain: crises in other countries can quickly have worldwide repercussions, as the financial crisis of 2008 shows. It is therefore necessary to equip Europe's citizens with entrepreneurial skills which enable them to react more flexibly to rapidly changing circumstances. A main focus is on the ability to put one's own ideas into practice and creating social value for our society. Given the global challenges the world is facing, it is essential to encourage the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe in order to develop sustainable solutions to global problems (e.g. climate change, etc.) without being left behind by non-member states. The EU Commission's strategy is formulated in the ""Small Business Act"" (2011) and ""Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2020"", which aimed at supporting businesses and proposed entrepreneurial education in schools, universities and VET (vocational education and training).Today, SMEs are considered the most important source of employment, creating millions of new jobs in Europe every year. After the EU Commission especially disadvantage groups like migrants shall be encouraged to start a business.According to an OECD study (2010), it is especially migrants who show a higher entrepreneurial spirit. This is not least because this target group is often faced with legal difficulties as well as limited job and career prospects. Self-employment is usually a good alternative on the path to finding work. Also, many migrants already have experience in self-employment or a high innovation potential and are good at developing ideas, as they had to adapt to what were sometimes the most adverse living conditions. However, the educational measures they participate in give little or no consideration to this topic. The focus is usually on taking up paid work with social insurance or starting vocational training.The MigrEntrepreneur project (MigrEnt) aims at presenting best-practice examples of entrepreneurial learning and start-ups of migrants or refugees, integrating successful approaches into educational measures. In cooperation with other European partners and local institutions, (Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development) are presented best practices from different sectors and fields of work. By exchanging ideas and methods the project aims to find common points how to make it possible to empower migrants, provide them with skills, which are recognised also in other states, if they plan to move.Integration through entrepreneurial learning is one approach followed by the partnership. Furthermore, the project combines different sectors and improves a sustainable cooperation between the youth sector, VET and the economic sector.Through organization of 5 transnational project meeting and one Teaching Activity, the project is delivering following benefits for partners and the wider network: * enrich and enlarge the competences of the (partnering) institutions and the staff members such as an enlargement of knowledge* improvement and professionalisation of established training programs* input and new ideas for designing new trainings flexible enough to adjust to national specific conditions* empower and acquire migrants (participants in training programs) with entrepreneurship competences* provide the target group with better (self) - employment opportunities* strengthening the entrepreneurial potential of the target group of migrants* through teaching entrepreneurship participants will be empowered also in their personal life, e.g. they are empowered in problem solution etc.The project will also deliver a sustainable documentation concluding a collection of best practices with an evaluation regarding their adaptability and implementation possibilities in other local/regional or national contexts and concrete ideas of implementation, which can be used by other institutions.In the long run the project can contribute to a better integration of migrants as it is strengthening their employability potential and their self-employability. This target groups faces a lot of challenges regarding job integration, but on the other hand they are bringing a lot of creativity and entrepreneurial potential in. Studies are proving a higher readiness to start a business. Starting new businesses will lead on the long term also to more vacancies, which will finally strengthen the economic conditions. Further, the project aims at improving the transfer of entrepreneurial skills into VET systems and/or special training programs, which can promote the innovativeness not just in the partnering regions and states but also in Europe."

The labour market is changing faster in the era of digitalisation and industry 4.0. It is necessary to look for the best ways to transfer the changing skills requirements to vocational education and training in order to get the best prepared adepts for employment. Given the interconnected economies, the common competitiveness of labour markets and VET systems is a common concern. Identifying best practices in other EU countries is an effective way to gain new impetus for initiating change both nationally and across Europe.The goal of the EDU4future project is to find and describe the answer to the question „how changing requirements of the labour market, with special regard to digitalisation and industry 4.0, are transferred into vocational education and training in each partner country“. From this point view, the partners will describe VET systems in individual partner countries, roles of social partners, state and regions in the process of transferring labour market requirements to education on national, regional, local and sectoral level, competencies of individual actors, examples of good practice and examples of relevant partnerships and initiatives.EDU4Future is a proposal made by a strong and multiplayer partnership of The Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Regional Chamber in Trenčín, Slovakia) that represents employers on regional level; experienced VET provider from Germany: Akademie für berufliche Bildung GmbH (Dresden); enterprise with strong track record in VET and cooperation with companies: TREXIMA, spol. r.o. (Czechia); CONPLUSULTRA GMBH (Austria): experienced consultancy company at theinterface of public institutions, innovation support actors and regional SMEs facing digital transformation challenges; t2i (Italy): technology, innovation training organization from one of the most innovation location Veneto region and G&P svetovanje Gregor Jagodič s.p (Slovenia): Erasmus+ newcomer, a small consultancy university spin off company.We want to describe in detail the procedures by which 6 EU Member States, represented by 6 project partners, foresight and choose to transfer the changing requirements of the labour market, with special attention to digitalisation and industry 4.0, into vocational education and training after COVID crisis. From this point project activities are based. AfBB leads International Methodology to be used by partners to describe the situation in each partner country or even in any other EU or not EU country. Each of the partners will prepare a detailed Country Report, where the procedures – in similar way set by methodology - are described.In addition, illustrative examples of good practice will be added. Supervision over the processing of Country Reports will be held by t2i. Individual Reports will be compared by TREXIMA. The comparison will result in a comparative analysis. CONPLUSULTRA will process output recommendations.Comparing systems to learn new methods and processes from the examples of others has also the long-term goal of preparing tomorrow's workers so that: 1) they are more aware of their choices and the possibilities offered by the new sectors; 2) promoting youth employment and reducing the gender gap; 3) promoting mobility and helping to build a sense of unity and belonging to the European Union as a community 4) favoring the permanence and resilience in difficult times of skilled labor force.