<< Objectives >>The future of the EU is dependent on all its citizens and to assure a common dimension, young people of all backgrounds must be reached and become aware of how the EU benefits their daily life. The EU365 project aims to enhance the active citizenship as well as shared European values and identities of the hard-to-reach target group of VET learners and their mentors in companies and at school by highlighting ways to get actively involved and support a green and more inclusive Europe of tomorrow.<< Implementation >>The partnership plans development and implementation phases of three main activities:1) Development of printable calendars (wall, desk) feat. key messages on EU participation/values, eco-consciousness & green skills in VET, inclusion & diversity relevant in VET2) Development of a toolkit for VET mentors for reflective exercises3) 365 days of promoting key messages of the EU that directly affect VET learners on social media campaign, including a participative challenge with prices for winners<< Results >>The main impact envisaged is to provide two sustainable, transferable project results (toolkit & calendars) that can be utilised easily by VET and WBL mentors to activate their learners and foster their European identity and shared values in three key areas (participation, environment, diversity). In a the broad social media campaign and by promoting the project and its results out to huge national and international networks of partners, more than 10.000 VET learners and mentors will be reached.

<< Objectives >>Path2EU4AE empowers access to EU programmes relevant for adult education institutions with low/little prior experience by providing an information path as an online tool for professionalization. Project managers in AE institutions can use it to assess the benefits and requirements of central EU programmes for projects, funding and international collaboration. It will enable them to decide in which cases a specific programme is appropriate and promising for their respective institution.<< Implementation >>Major activities:1.Run a process of Knowledge Creation, during which the content for the information path is researched, collected and selected; using an online survey, a development workshop and conceptual work2.Designing and implementing a conclusive online information path on basis of the results of the Knowledge Creation process; the information path will be available online3.Project Management, including planning, controlling, meetings, reporting and dissemination, e.g. on EPALE<< Results >>The main result of the project is a well-designed and conclusive information path as an online tool for professionalization of adult educators. It is supposed to help adult education institutions to find adequate (centralized) EU programmes and to estimate, which programmes fit to the needs and requirements of the institution. Based on this, the path should lead to a reflective decision for suitable EU programmes and provide underlying information about the programmes.

"The project follows the core objectives of the ""Riga Conclusion on VET"" (2015): to promote job-related learning in partnership and make it more attractive; and to improve access to vocational education and training through efficient guidance and occupational orientation. The biggest challenge facing VET is the public perception that it is the final resort for dropouts. But in reality employment prospects and vocational careers for learners, who have completed a vocational training programme, are very good. For example in Germany around two thirds of all trainees get a permanent job with their companies after completing vocational training. Professionals with a vocational qualification are in high demand on the labour market. In some fields, candidates with a vocational qualification are even more sought after than university graduates. In view of the shortage of skilled labour and the trend towards academization and VET as 2nd choice, there is a need in all partner countries to inform young people even better about the very good career opportunities offered by work-based learning (WBL) as an alternative to university studies. Improving the image of Vocational Education and Training is our priority in this project. Here the consortium will test and establish an innovative challenge-based approach that starts with the learner and arouses curiosity for VET and work-based learning (WBL). This includes, among other things, Escape games which can provide vocational orientation in an appealingly way. Educational Escape rooms have drawn the interest of educators due to their ability to foster valuable skills such as teamwork, leadership, creative thinking, and communication. As a consequence, educational Escape rooms are emerging as a new type of learning activity under the promise of enhancing students learning through highly engaging experiences. The partnership will be composed of chambers, companies, schools and innovative VET providers. So a good balance between VET and business is guaranteed. Together they will answer the question of how to unlock the potential of Educational Escape games to improve the image of VET. This new type of ""learning activity"" has decisive advantages: it is playful (arousing curiosity), it simulates ""problems"" from the real working world and makes young people aware of their strengths. It is an effective intervention that can be applied by lots of different actors in VET to attract additional target groups as potential VET students and later on skilled workers: school leavers with an educationally distant background, girls, university drop-outs, etc. Partners will create flexible Escape room settings including methodological and didactical recommendations, that can be used or adapted afterwards to the end-users' needs. Those will be piloted with at least 80 students and their respective educators/vocational counsellors of the target group. By providing appealing and playful opportunities to get to know specific occupations, students will become aware about ""challenges"" and ""benefits"" of the attractive world of work. In summary the partnership seeks to reduce misconceptions about certain VET profiles, arousing an interest in those profiles and considerations to choose a VET learning path among students, teachers and parents. We will enhance graduate employability through attractive work-based learning and vocational training and support companies in the daily ""war of talents"" to attract future skilled workers."

The current SARS-CoV-19 crisis together with its implications on practically all societies and economic systems worldwide has shown impressively, in fact how fragile economic systems work and which (negative) impact a necessary lock down of systems may have also on education and training level. While in school-based education the European member states have tried to maintain and provide services via distance and online learning; on the level of companies, on the level of work-based learning, apprenticeship training, internship programmes etc. the consequences are indeed massive and problems are still practically unsolved. Once companies need to close (or at least reduce) their production and service offers, practically no work-based learning and training will take place since it would require functioning work/services for work-based learning. No one has ever thought about such a situation before and possible strategies to tackle these challenges to work based learning in front of a lock down on company and work based-learning level we are not only lacking infrastructure for virtualisation and distance work-based learning, we are also massively lacking competences on the level of trainers, instructors, foremen, all staff involved in work based learning offers in competences.In front of the described situation it is crucially important to develop digital-pedagogical competences as well as digital infrastructure to virtualise WBL content and especially apprenticeship training programmes / contents in companies to be better prepared for any force majeure events hindering face to face and presence learning in WBL in companies and businesses in future. For this reason, the project is going to envisage the following main aims: 1)Development of a modular and compact training programme for this target group (WBL trainers, professionals, mentors in companies) to be able to develop virtual learning content, employ modern learning and communication technology (e.g. web 2.0 tools but also virtual and augmented reality hardware (holo lenses, VR glasses etc.), develop storyboards for video tutorials, online learning chunks, select and use learning management and authoring tools etc. The training course shall be developed and implemented in blended learning format to offer a concrete learning by doing possibility for the target group. 2)Development of a toolkit for companies about adapting work-based learning in a virtual format. The toolkit will contain a selection of suitable learning software, hardware recommendations, concrete step-by-step guidelines for companies to prepare the own WBL system for any future disruptions caused by force majeure.In front of these two sub-aims, the results expected for the WBL_GOES_VIRTUAL project are:IO 1: modular training programme for WBL staff: on the basis of feedback talks and research of the project partners prior to the project start, the partnership is going to develop a tailored and compact, modular training programme for WBL staff (trainers, instructors, teachers, foremen, mentors, professionals etc.) about how to virtualise their learning content. The training will develop didactical and technological competences, include topics such as learning technology (including VR and AR based learning), development of tutorials, storyboard development in training, communication technology and a step-by-step approach for virtualisation of learning content also by using learning management and authoring software. IO 2: Toolkit for companies – virtualisation of work-based learning, challenges and solutions for businesses: Besides the training programme for WBL trainers / professionals and staff in companies, a concrete and practical toolkit for companies will be developed supporting them with virtualisation of their WBL content. The toolkit contains a selection of software available, tutorials, hardware and infrastructure recommendations and practical advice. It will allow the companies to select between suitable offers in relation to their needs, business sector, learning content, WBL offers and programmes. Moreover the toolkit will provide advice to companies during a process of development of digital infrastructure in the own company to foster virtual work-based learning and especially apprenticeship training. The target group of the project are trainers and professionals in companies for WBL programmes, HR staff, company managers/owners, line managers, foremen and shop stewards in companies with responsibility for work-based learning. The partnership of the project consists of 5 organisations (chambers of commerce, VET institutions, NGOs) from AT, DE, ES and SI which all have a high degree of work-based learning in their VET systems and therefore a huge urgency in supporting companies and trainers / professionals with this digitalisation and virtualisation need.

We are facing very important and long-term changes that go further than the crisis we are undergoing and that have impact in all economic and social changes. These geo-political, economic and social changes are forcing our companies to change their “ways of doing”, to make things better or differently, transforming their value proposals, their international presence and their organisation and management model. They make us innovate permanently in the products and services we offer and question the validity of the business models permanently. We need more and better investment and innovation to back our competitiveness and strengthen economic recovery. Innovation and creativity have to be increased in all levels of Education and Training (ET2020).In this context, the EU has decided to establish for 2020 the objective of achieving a 75% employment rate for woman and men aged between 20 and 64 (Europe Strategy 2020). It is basic to have qualified workers with professional profiles adapted to the new labour market demands and needs in order to reach this objective. The education and training systems should offer the suitable mixture of qualifications and competences to achieve a quick and suitable transition to employment. Talent and innovation are key factors in the equation as a guarantee of employability and competitiveness. In this complex and uncertain context, we use the concept of open innovation as an ally. “In a world that is featured by the disseminated knowledge, we can create more value by integrating external talent and knowledge. When all the talents do not work for the company, it is advisable to find them, get in contact with them and take profit of their capacities” (Henry Chesbrough U:C. Berkeley).Although actual VET Systems are changing the way of doing and starting to collaborate with the business world, it is true than nowadays VET System, in general, are based on a traditional way of doing where the VET student has a passive role and are placed far from the real business world. Our challenge is to address the VET Innovation Systems to generate new opportunities and favour employment creation. Therefore, we need to anticipate the industry/company needs, identify proactively the opportunities to generate new products or productive processes, which improve the competitiveness in the companies and the young people’s employability. We are planning to use all the possibilities and opportunities of the vocational training network, its closeness to companies (particularly the SMEs), to act as a booster for innovation in them, mobilizing the VET young people’s talent. We are willing to use the OPEN INNOVATION MODEL to develop applied innovation projects with companies mobilizing the VET young people’s capacities and talent and strengthening the connection VET–Company (Work Based Learning).Open Innovation is a new innovation strategy under which companies go beyond the internal limits of their organisations and where cooperation with external professionals has a main role. Open Innovation Models combine internal knowledge with external knowledge to develop new and innovative projects and products. Using Open innovation Models, on the one hand, the innovation process is accelerated and the associated costs and risks are reduced and, on the other hand, new possibilities for commercial exploitation of knowledge are opened.The objective of SPACE 4 COCREATE - OPEN AND INNOVATIVE SPACES FOR COLLABORATIVE WORKING BETWEEN VET PROVIDERS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS project is to create an open model, methodology and tools based on the innovation models, addressed to the VET centre professionals (teachers, mentors, guiders…) to develop innovation projects with companies through young VET teams, stimulating VET young innovation and supporting synergies between education and business world.The main outputs will be:1) SPACE 4 COCREATE MODEL (Open Innovation Model) to develop applied innovation projects with companies and young VET teams. It will define the better way to collaborate between VET Systems and Employment, how to improve synergies between Education, Research and Innovation fields.2) SPACE 4 COCREATE TOOL BOX: methodologies, tools and resources to favour the conceptualisation, design, implementation and validation of applied innovation projects addressed to VET Centres, involving both parts: VET and Business Sector.