"<< Background >>The aim of this partnership is to tackle the issue of adult training and more particularly that of seniors.The project partners wish to continue the work of inclusion and diversity in adult education and improvement of the training of seniors.To help seniors overcome the obstacles encountered in accessing opportunities and fighting the potential source of discrimination based on age.There is a lot of evidence that 50+ seniors who keep on working stay socially active and healthy. Also, seniors have plenty of experience, know-how and can contribute to the success of their employers. Other research referring to the evaluation of the roles of entrepreneurship suggests that seniors' self-employment builds their self-esteem and motivates them to take on new tasks and perform well at these tasks.The EU's population is aging rapidly. As a result, the number of workers leaving the labor market over the next few years will be significantly higher than the number of new workers. In many industries, securing the supply of skilled labor will therefore be a major challenge for companies. Studies and surveys have shown that those 65 and over or ""retirees"" are ready to work or consult part time, which could clearly fill the ""gap"" in the supply of skilled labor.In summary, there are many advantages to training seniors while facilitating entrepreneurship. Successful local concrete experiences should be used to reflect on the appropriate implementation tools implemented in EU countries. In this type of project, because the implementation must be immediate, locally applicable and scalable throughout Europe, the consortium will provide innovative but concrete actions, and will rely on their development to fuel intellectual productions.In addition, when it is time for the affected population to return to work, the unemployment rate could be so high that it will be difficult for older people to return to their previous jobs, thus promoting the (re) employment of older people and independent work for seniors is very important.Finally, we are currently learning, in a period of economic / social / political crisis such as that created by the rapid spread of Covid-19, that our dependence on classic macroeconomic rules where employment is the variable of economic health must be reassessed. , the values ​​of autonomy and entrepreneurship must also be revalued and encouraged.The proposed model for promoting the entrepreneurship of senior citizens of the SENEXIA project will be tested in 6 EU Member States. This cooperation strengthens the respective capacities of the consortium partners and allows the production of high quality deliverables with a potential for transferability to other countries.The Erasmus + 2021 plan on adult education and training supports actions that address digital transformation, through the development of digital readiness, resilience and capacities. SENEXIA aims to strengthen and improve digital skills for senior entrepreneurship and the use of European digital skills frameworks to support educators, citizens and organizations.<< Objectives >>Addressing this age discrimination by developing educational and innovative solutions to promote “access to training” for senior employment and entrepreneurship.To achieve this goal, the SENEXIA project offers four production results:- Training program for senior entrepreneurs to support the transformation from traditional entrepreneurship to digital entrepreneurship.- Developing interactive infographic to improve senior entrepreneurs digital skills- Empowerment and narratives: Case study -Storytelling - successful & inspirational narratives of senior workers, self-employed and senior workers' employees supported by their employers to become entrepreneurs.- Development of a Mooc platform to strengthen the digital skills of senior.<< Implementation >>The SENEXIA consortium propose a solution to improve the “access to training for seniors’ entrepreneurship to address the age discrimination by developing educational and innovative solutions. Partners will gather representatives of the relevant stakeholders in their local working groups to ensure that the opinions and perspectives of the target groups inform the development process. The consortium will implement the following activities PPR1: SENEXIA will present:- the mapping of existing barriers in access to training and learning requirements to foster seniors entrepreneurship.- a training program for senior entrepreneurs to support the transformation from traditional entrepreneurship to digital entrepreneurship.PPR2: SENEXIA will create:- interactive infographics to support seniors entrepreneurs in digital readiness and support in personal skills development to handle failure, success, and innovation- will create the content guidelines for the interactive Mooc online platform, to build key competences to support seniors in their needs in entrepreneurship and digital skills.PPR3 SENEXIA will present:An Empowerment and narratives: Case study -Storytelling - successful & inspirational narratives of senior workers, self-employed and senior workers' employees supported by their employers to become entrepreneurs.PPR4: SENEXIA will develop a Mooc platform to strengthen the digital skills of senior entrepreneurs and a learning platform to improve the training of seniors.The consortium will organize pilot workshops in each partner country during month15 and a seminar will be organized in the consortium during month16 and the final partners conference will be held to present all materials produced during the project.- Dissemination, quality management, impact assessment and risk management exercises will be undertaken by all partners at appropriate times during the whole project.<< Results >>The SENEXIA project will develop materials and tangible resources available to trainers.- Training program for senior entrepreneurs to support the transformation from traditional entrepreneurship to digital entrepreneurship.- Developing interactive infographic to improve senior entrepreneurs digital skills- Case study - Storytelling - successful & inspirational narratives of senior workers, self-employed and senior workers' employees supported by their employers to become entrepreneurs.- Development of a Mooc platform to strengthen the digital skills of senior.All results will be produced in all partner languages. All the resources developed will be available online and made available to all interested parties.Each partner will pilot the materials and training program with associated partners.Local networks will be formed in each country and these networks will be used as the main training environments for seniors.It is also estimated that 120 men and women in total (20 in each country) will attend the piloting events.By the end of the project, beneficiaries will have acquired the digital skills necessary to improve their entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activity and all parties will have tools to fully access the digital world."

#WISE has two objectives. The 1st objective is to support crafts&arts women in acquiring and developing basic skills and key competences in digital literacy, innovation and technological manufacturing solutions for better realization of their creative ideas and production, and the 2nd objective is to extend the supply of high-quality learning and networking opportunities for women in crafts&arts and contemporary creative industries market trends. Innovation is the process of turning a new concept into commercial success or widespread use. There is no creativity without innovative thinking. Due to COVID-19, we begun to face problems that are too difficult to solve in traditional ways. Sustainable energy, recycling, and the very idea of making more, but from as few raw materials as possible, are commonplace these days. Facing problems at this level requires a number of creative solutions. #WISE focuses on C&A women of different ages, mainly living in regions of all partnering countries. Women of older age usually lack innovative and technological approach, are not fluent in business lingua franca, i. e. English. It prevents them from using modern marketing technologies that open global possibilities (such as trading on Etsy, e-shops), networking (e. g. joining international artisanship networks, getting referrals, participation in group exhibitions), reduces their income and quite often leads to poverty. Women of younger age are more familiar with IT solutions, foreign languages and entrepreneurship, but lack skills in craftsmanship as well as deeper philosophical approach. The project will embrace abilities of both age categories, with project intellectual output being piloted with 50 women in all 5 countries. A practical training course in modern entrepreneurship, creative technologies & innovations will help participants to develop their basic skills and key competences needed in the modern creative industries. A high-quality learning in digital literacy, e-commerce, innovative manufacturing technologies (3D printing, laser-cutting, recycling, zero waste, etc.), international communication, marketing, contemporary art market trends, sustainability, etc. will serve as an opportunity to start their own commercial activity based on C&A skills they have already had. Encouragement of adult learners to listen to and explore their internal needs and desires will be translated into viable innovations with the help of couching techniques. Supporting C&A women with basic entrepreneurial and artisanship skills development will boost their self-esteem and contribute to their better social inclusion as well as financial independence. Last but not the least, flexibility and creativity are vital traits everyone needs in a rapidly changing labor market. Creativity helps to adapt to new working conditions and employers' expectations. Quite apart from individual commercial activity, participating women will develop digital & technological skills which strengthen their position in a labor market and therefore reduce their chances for the long-term unemployment and poverty. Activities will be easily accessible and encouraging to come. Non-formal education groups and meetings on social networks will be organized. Practical training will make women familiar with modern artistic techniques, social entrepreneurship, networking. For support and motivation, innovative approaches towards commercial activities, based rather of failure stories than on success ones, will be used. A one-week-long exhibition #Wise Women Week (#WWW) supposed to be a grand finale of the project. Showing the C&A innovations developed up, it will demonstrate the women inclusion and empowerment through creativity and the arts. The grand finale will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania. It will be open to public members.

In the era of Europe 2020 Strategy, for overcoming the socio-economic crisis affecting European countries, of boosting growth and jobs and of fostering social equity and inclusion, this project aims to use the potential of Europe’s human and social capital originating from higher education’s institutes and the industry, in order to exchange and transfer knowledge and know-how in food science and technology education, by the creation and development of a network that will provide opportunities for cooperation among stakeholders. This partnership consists of 4 higher education institutes, namely Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly (Greece), Catholic University of Portugal, Cyprus University of Technology, University of Leon (Spain) and Technological Educational Institute of Athens (Greece). All higher education partners have been previously successfully involved in European Education Projects and it is aimed to blend experience and good practices previously acquired in order to make steps forward for enhancing the quality and relevance of the learning offer in food science and technology education. Additionally this partnership includes an IT Specialist Partner originating from the industry (SystServ), a Dissemination Specialist (ANKA) and also has a series of collaborating partners from Food Industries from the participating countries for developing case studies material for training purposes. Universities, national and regional development and education agencies will also act as collaborating partners in order to facilitate the dissemination of the project’s outcome. The general objectives of this project are:1. enhancing the quality and relevance of the learning offer in education by developing new and innovative education approaches and supporting the dissemination of best practices in food science and technology education2. promoting innovative practices in education by supporting personalised learning approaches, collaborative learning and critical thinking, strategic use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), open educational resources (OER), open and flexible learning, virtual mobility and other new pedagogies 3. increasing labour market relevance of learning provision and qualifications and reinforcing links between education with the world of the food industry4. improving the capacities of the participating universities in the areas of strategic development, quality of learning provision and internationalizationThe project is based in the following key activities dealing with Research and Training needs Analysis to evaluate the training needs in Food Science and Technology Study Programmes in European Higher Education Organizations, in order to ensure that EU labor has the skills and knowledge to face the emerging food sector market related to non conventional foods (namely functional, nano, organic/eco) production, food safety and regulatory affairs, marketing and entrepreneurship. Relevant to the needs training material and case studies will be developed and uploaded on an on line learning platform to be constructed by the partnership, introducing innovative education training materials for EU Universities, by enhancing the potential of the agri-food sector for the production and promotion of functional foods in Europe (including all the ethical and safety aspects).In summary the expected results include:1. Intellectual outputs (training material and case studies) based on exchange of good practices (technology and pedagogical)2. Blended mobility for creating the material and pilot test the proposed teaching method 3. Intensive study/training programmes4. Dissemination of teaching methods/materialsThe impact of the project has to do mainly with the development of an innovative and quality training program in the emerging fields of food science and technology, using entrepreneurial and marketing opportunities simultaneously, as a mean for enhancing competitiveness, pro activeness and extroversion in the participating countries. Thus, the project will give the opportunity to develop the existing intellectual property of the stakeholders and create new knowledge in specific fields, leading to a knowledge intensive business. Furthermore, the project wishes to develop an innovative multimedia based training program that will act as a multipurpose tool for academic purposes, research, merging industry with academia, networking and synergies development from the participating countries and internationally, that will remain active beyond the course of this project.

The Eu Sustainable Development Strategy considers the creation of sustainable communities as the way to improve life quality and to pursue a low-carbon economy path. This entails a planning of sustainable local development able to integrate needs of peripheral areas, tackling the Eu polycentric tendency, in order to maintain their economic activity and attractiveness. The starting point is a sustainable local development able to intercept green economy sectors, through a multidisciplinary approach. An approach difficult to tackle especially in non-urban areas where local authorities lack enough resources to train or hire a professional ad hoc. The result is often a fragmented local planning, increasing territorial polarization. Thus, professionals able to design territorial development plans, interfacing with technical and policy level actors, are strongly needed. The professional figure of the EESLD, European Expert in Sustainable Local Development that the project intends to create reply to this demand, also considering that most partner countries show high/medium levels of unemployment both if we refer to young people <25 and age group 25-54. Besides tackling young VET needs related to the job market, the project will analyse, at transnational level, skills identification and validation systems, focusing in particular on the valorisation of non-formal and informal competences, in response to the EC Recommendation 2012/C 398/I asking member states to implement stable systems of validation. To reach project objectives, SKILLeD will implement:-a Curriculum for the European Expert in Sustainable Local Development, defining the transnational standardized profile and a training programme, articulated in modules and learning outcomes to be uploaded on an open E-learning platform.-a Transnational Skills Validation Methodology, including: a tool for identification and validation of non-formal and informal competences; the final exam structure, to be used for the selection of 25 participants that, at the end of the training course will participate to 7 cases studies (one per each partner country) in the form of a working groups activity, applying acquired competences to define innovative solutions in a problem solving approach.-a Toolbox for Sustainable Local Development Expert training path, including a handbook collecting project results, training material and case studies description and solution, then an operational guide for training operators explaining how to build and use a transnational curriculum and the skills validation tool.This means that the project will not end upon its closure, but is designed to become sustainable and continue on a long term through project outputs and results built to become transferable and high quality deliverables that can be easily and widely integrated in other contexts.Two main target groups will be addressed:- VET learners aged 24 to 35, currently unemployed or underemployed, university (human, economics and social science and hard sciences - engineering, architecture, etc.), or High School graduates, including post-school diplomas, and/or VET post-graduates also having sectorial competences or previous experiences on sustainable development subjects. They will be provided with crosscutting and transversal competences, ranging from technical topics to entrepreneurial and soft skills, through an online training course and a work-based learning experience in a working groups activity with the support of 7 experienced mentors.- over 35 persons, experienced in the field of sustainable local development, employed or who intend to re-qualify their skills, benefitting from the Transnational Skills Validation methodology and the access to the online training course to fill eventual gaps.In addition, a wide network of stakeholders will be addressed, in particular:-enterprises, businesses, freelances dealing with local development, green economy, spatial planning, mobility, tourism, etc. who can cooperate with the newly trained Experts to increase their competitiveness, representing a job opportunity for target groups.-territorial bodies, municipalities, local authorities: potential employers and contractors, they can also benefit from national contexts analysis, improving decision-making processes, developing new approaches, policies, etc.-training agencies, universities operators, improving their knowledge on how to build a transnational professional profile and a transnational skills validation methodology focusing on non-formal/informal competences.Eight partners coming from Italy, Austria, Spain, Romania, Turkey and Greece belonging to different domains and dealing with different topics (training, counselling, local development, mobility, tourism…), will cooperate to provide these opportunities to a wide number of individuals and organizations, also through a widespread dissemination strategy.

The European Commission through the Erasmus+ programme aims to develop the level of key competences, enabling adults to secure fulfilling & productive employment in an increasingly competitive work environment. Upskilling Pathways recognises that almost 20% of adult Europeans struggle with basic reading, writing, calculation & use of digital tools in everyday life. The level of these competences is believed to have a direct relationship with quality of life.The development of automation & artificial intelligence is already having a significant impact on working practices. This impact is expected to increase dramatically in the next 10 years with as many as 50% of low-skilled jobs disappearing as workers are replaced by machines. Low-skilled adults are therefore likely to find it increasingly difficult to access the job-market. This is further complicated when one considers the impact of discrimination, ageism & Covid-19.Work is important to an individual. It matters because we need to support ourselves & our families; it formulates social status; it provides opportunities to generate social relationships; it can also inspire creativity & contribute to individual identity.The idea for INTERGEN comes partly from discussions at the ‘Future of VET Conference’, held in Helsinki 11-13 November 2019; partly from the results of an intergenerational pilot study in Iceland & also from observations that low-skilled adult learners at both ends of the age spectrum encounter significant difficulties in developing the necessary skills to access learning opportunities & the job market.There is therefore a gap between the learning required by these target groups for the development of formal &/or non-formal competences & what is currently available.The INTERGEN project brings together 8 partners from 7 EU member states & aims to fill this gap by producing 4 outputs leading to a ‘win-win’ scenario – both young & senior target groups have skills & knowledge that the other needs to become more competitive for job market access.Firstly, we will research & design an INTERGEN BRIDGE MODEL to facilitate social inclusion through intergenerational learning, by allowing young & senior adults not in employment to learn from each other & develop mutual respect. We will design opportunities to acquire key competences, digital skills & entrepreneurship, tailored to meet the needs of our target groups. We will take into account cultural differences & specific needs of partner countries to produce an adaptable programme for effective implementation throughout the EU. We will create pedagogical materials for job centres, career guidance centres, adult educators & institutions based on the Community of Practice model to apply the INTERGEN BRIDGE MODEL in interesting, interactive ways appropriate to both target groups.We will develop training modules in key competence development appropriate to both target groups featuring an innovative peer-leaning-based methodology.Finally, we will produce online tutorials to link learning in the INTERGEN programme with EU tools, such as Europass CV, to best showcase competences to potential employers & access the job market.6 Pilot Studies in 6 partner countries will extensively test the INTERGEN materials, involving 30 participants from each target age group & 10 organisations. A significant number of participants will come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.These resources will be open-source, available in the 7 project languages & downloadable via the INTERGEN website.The impact of our project will be on 5 levels:+ The number of organisations offering intergenerational key skills & career development for low-skilled adults+ The disparity in learning opportunities for the development of key skills for adult learners of different ages+ Social cohesion & the reduction of age discrimination & ageist stereotypes+ The level of key skills & competences, adding value to participants’ CV & increasing job-market access+ Employer satisfaction due to increased availability of potential employees with the skills that they require, thereby increasing the degree of added-value to companiesOur main focus will be on low-skilled, unemployed adult learners aged 18-30 & 50+, but our resources will be adaptable for other categories of adult learners & for use in countries not actively involved in the project, thereby dramatically increasing the project impact.The INTERGEN partners believe that the problems of adult learners in developing their key competences & securing employment are likely to increase dramatically in the coming years. Hence, the urgent need for innovative solutions, such as those that we plan to design, is clearly demonstrated.In the words of Georg C. Lichtenberg, ‘I cannot say whether things will get better by change; what I can say is that they must change if they are to get better.’ This is what we will address through the INTERGEN project.