Finding people with the right experience and skills continues to be a challenge across Europe. Skills mismatches and occupational shifts have worsened as jobs are opening up for technical professionals in Europe. It is a well-known fact that programmers are the most sought professionals in almost all European countries. Software development in a wider sense is becoming an integrated part of many different jobs in the modern society. Different sources declare thousands and tens of thousands developers needed in the labor market. Until recent years in majority of European countries software development jobs have been regarded needing educational preparation on Master’s or minimum Bachelor’s level. Today there are many successful examples of teaching programming starting already in primary schools. Examples of successful software development curricula on EQF levels 3, 4 and 5 can be found in different European countries, but they are not common yet. Also the employers are sometimes still hesitating whether the vocational training provides the skills needed in labor market.The partnership is composed by 3 members; all of them are active in ICT related training and education.Partner 1 - BCS Koolitus is ICT training and consulting company established in 1993 in Estonia, offering a full training process, from assessment of needs, till measuring the training results. BCS has been the awarding body of the professional qualifications in the field of IT since 2010.Partner 2 - CEIPES is a non-profit European organization with antennas in more than 8 European countries. Partner 3 - EUC - European University Cyprus is a private university, member of Laureate International Universities, a worldwide network of Higher Education institutions founded in the United States.The JobIT project focuses on meeting the needs of the employers with developing innovative and effective software development teaching methodologies for Vocational Education and Training on EQF levels 3-5. For this the consortium took the following actions. To study the labor market needs and the views of employers a focused analysis is a first and an integral part of the project. The study analyses the numerous ICT labor market research studies carried out in the partner countries and other European countries and study the needs for EQF level 3-5 software developers in participating countries. One focus of the study was to disseminate the understanding that vocational schools are capable of preparing skilled to start take their first job as junior programmer.Based on the study a conceptual framework was put together innovative integrated teaching methodology of the crucial subjects of software development. Crucial subjects are not just directly programming-related subjects, but also mathematics and social behavior related subjects tackling team-work, cooperation, project management etc. Good cooperation and close interaction with employers and real customers is crucial in developing the relevant methodology. Thus the methodology strongly rely on engaging field working practicians in the teaching process, but also providing real-life tasks and mentoring during practice period. The innovative methods were collected into handbook as a set of principles for the VET teachers. Based on the research results the consortium worked out a package of learning materials for web programming subjects (PHP and Javascript, testing). The accordingly developed courseware is using innovative educational technologies (mainly Scrum in Education) and gives teachers also guidelines how to use software development tools. The project also included a training component for VET school software development course teachers. The training were carried out in all three partner countries with the field specialists as lecturers. As a result of the training the participating VET teachers were confident in their knowledge and skills on teaching software development as having acquired the knowledge from specialists and straight from the companies during their practice. The VET schools now have guidelines (the handbook and web programming learning materials) to execute the innovative methodology for the crucial subjects of software development. After training and internship in companies, the VET teachers have better understanding of the employers needs and the field labor market. The European labor market will benefit from the skilled and competent VET graduates.

The “E-Crafts” project aims at two major dimensions, both the Social and the Artistic., focusing on the education and training of adults with fewer opportunities, in order for them to develop new competencies regarding sustainability and well-being, through Arts and Crafts activities.This project has risen in a pandemic scenario, which has been affecting the most vulnerable and fragile sections of the population worldwide and in a very particular way, the social groups that were already the most vulnerable and the entire cultural and artistic sector, aggravating issues already felt by them.Because of all this, the “E-Crafts” is born, a project whose main goal is to contribute to the training of adults with tools that enhance the exercise of Creativity in the search for innovative solutions in response to the current challenges of environmental preservation, intersectoral cooperation, preserve knowledge and cultural heritage, promoting social inclusion and people's well-being.Therefore, the project envisions the interaction between different beneficiaries, all of them affected by the pandemics, laying the foundations to positive outcomes for all, along the process as well as results: artists and craftsmen, the elderly, the adults, the handicaped, the migrants and the social workers.The project is promoted by three NGO's from Portugal - Rosto Solidário, from Spain - ASPAYM, and from Italy - CEIPES whose common denominators are: a history of active work with adults, especially with groups with fewer opportunities; all NGO's come from countries and regions where the cultural dimension and traditions of handcrafts can be capitalized; they have experience implementing projects with young people and adults and developing educational materials.Complementing this consortium, other associates and local partnerships will emerge throughout the project in order to give voice and turn to artists and craftmen in the region, with plans to involve local institutions that have already carried out / carry out actions involving these citizens, whether from artistic or technological schools, associations of artist /craftmen.This project is framed with a non-formal and informal approach in all of its stages: development, test and dissemination of intellectual outputs that provide adult learning: the development of competences through the use and appreciation of creativity and art, as well as environmental awareness through Upcycling activities (promoting waste reduction and less raw-materials exploration).The proposed methodology is based on active and horizontal cooperation between the three partners within a methodological framework based on the involvement of stakeholders, participatory methodologies and the promotion of a dialogue on issues of creativity, inclusion, entrepreneurship and the environment.Crosswise, it is intended to implement activities based on the concept of Artistic Residency. Working as an “incubator” of aesthetic and reflexive initiatives in the context of Adult Education, as well as boost of energy in arts and crafts, at a local level.The participants will, therefore, be artists, craftsmen/women, ONG workers and volunteers, whom will test the Upcycling approach based on a linear sharing of knowledge.The expected outcomes are:IO1Training Guidelines that will have a methodology proposal on Adult Education; adapted to vulnerable people such as the elderly, people with disabilities and migrants, based on the promotion of upcycling workshops;IO2 Educational Videos Toolkit which, made available on an online platform, will contain 18 videos with upcycling techniques presented step by step.IO3 Sustainability plan that will present future scenarios of social entrepreneurship as a way to continue the project.In addition, the project also provides transnational meetings, a transnational training in an artistic residency format that will bring together 27 participants. Multiplier events will also be organized in artistic residency formats, one per country.During the project, the direct beneficiaries will be 212 people, of which 137 artists / craftmen / educators / technicians and 69 learners.In producing innovative adult education resources, it is expected that two years after the end of the project, a group of 150 organizations will have used them. On the other hand, they will also be used by a diverse target group, from technicians and / or artists who use the materials to streamline their own sessions to adults with fewer opportunities (elderly, minorities, people with disabilities) who use the videos in a do-it-yourself logic.

In many European countries various programs, laws and policies have been adopted to fight against social exclusion of people with disabilities in all fields from home one to working one. It suffice to think about EC Council Directive 2000/78/EC of November 2000 -Article 5 which supports the idea of creating a reasonable ambience for all disabled people guaranteeing compliance with the principle of equal treatment in relation to people with disabilities. Social exclusion of people with disabilities, especially for those with mental disabilities, alongside with all possible prejudices that employees and managers may have or develop, tends to worsen their mental health and compromise also their ordinary life, affecting the way they are perceived by the others and the way they perceive themselves in relation to the others. In the working field it is frequent to find situations in which human resources managers and employees don’t know how to relate with people with mental disabilities creating a difficult and hostile environment for their disabled colleagues and not considering potentialities of their presence and of their work in the enterprises. For this reason, Work in progress steams from the necessity educate employees and human resources managers to respect and correctly relate with people with mental disabilities in working field with the objective of giving birth to a more inclusive and warm environment. How it is possible to realize this new environment? Work in progress aims at the creation of three principal outputs: a conceptual manual ( available in english, italian, greek and polish), that will educate and inform employees and human resources managers to all needs, limitations and skills of people with mental disabilities, alongside with a training course, at local level in each partner country, that will give the possibility to experiment what learnt and with an app that on the one hand, will contain the manual and post -training course exercises to verify knowledge acquired by participants; on the other, will be also the guarancy for dissemination for both previous outputs. Long term life of the project will be guaranteed by the online format of the app that gives the possibility to obtain an easy and more involving way of learning on the one hand and continuity in it on the other. Moreover, Human resources managers and employees, at the end of the course can share what they have learnt with their enterprises, increasing the spreading of the project and its impact; training course contents are based on the practical application of what learned at theoretical level through the manual, so also manual concepts will be spread and more and more employees and human resources managers will access the manual contents and the training results. Innovative aspect of “Work in progress” is that it combines this three important outputs that can offer a complete approach to the problem of the exclusion in the working field of people with mental disabilities, creating, as said before, an “in fieri” system. Main target group of the project will be therefore employees and human resources managers of enterprises, while indirect one will be people with mental disabilities. Project will be spread at local, national and international level thanks to a website of the project and the app that will be available at any time for both IOs and Android system and for all devices. We will involve through 4 different multiplier events at local level, staff member of organizations, staff members of partner organizations and all other interested stakeholders (enterprises at local, regional and international level, municipalities, VET providers and researchers, etc). We are a consortium made by 4 partners ( Multikultura, CEIPES, MBM training development centre and IDEC) coming from 4 different countries and realities, experts in the field of training courses, long life learning, web and app design skills, consulting and coaching ones.

"The project ""LOVE Life and Dance: Expressive therapy for empowering youth"" it is a strategic partnership project developed through the collaboration of 4 organizations from 3 european countries: AICSCC from Romania, Danubius University from Romania, CEIPES from Italy and ASPAYM Castilla y Leon from Spain. The project began with the awareness of the need of specialists to have a standardized instrument in the field of art-therapy for youth. The main aim is to develop two intellectual outputs - specifically, an intervention kit for dance-therapy and other expressive technics and a web platform with resources for specialists, youth workers interested in using art-therapy in their curative interventions. The principle objectives are the elaboration of these 2 intellectual outputs and the development of a powerful strategic partnership between the 4 organization, which can function on a log term, aiming to elaborate for the future, different instruments from the field of youth and psychology.The phases of the project will respect approximately the phases and standard of a scientific research, having a documentation phase, in which all the partners will contribute for the needs analysis and the development in each country of the dance schools and institutions using art-therapy. After the documentation phase, will begin an elaboration phase, in which will be organized a transnational meeting for straightening the partnership and for establishing the strategy for the future activities. After the elaboration phase, will start a testing phase, in which 240 young people from the 4 countries will benefit from the intervention kit, participating on 8 workshops of dance-therapy for 2 month. After the testing and improvement of the intervention, the kit will be launched officially and will begin the dissemination events. Will be organised 3 dance festival, one in each country in a public space, for popularize the impact of the expressive methods in the therapeutic process. The project will have a huge impact on the youth workers and psychology specialists, having the possibility to use standardized instruments of art-therapy in their work with young people. The project will end with press conferences and after the completion of all activities, the partners will use the intervention kit and will update continually the web platform."

<< Objectives >>Through the project Ambassadors of Green Professions, we want to promote green jobs among students of vocational and technical schools in the partner countries. We also want to popularize the green competences of the future and make people interested in ecology. Moreover, we want to participate in the development of a new job market in the green jobs sector, which is focused on green competences, which is an inherent result of the implementation of the European Green Deal.<< Implementation >>In order to achieve our goals, we want to establish a network of Green Profession Ambassadors who, equipped with the didactic tools we have created (workshop scenario, methodological and operational manual), will promote green jobs by conducting workshops for young people from vocational and technical schools. We will also conduct dissemination activities (international conferences, project website, social media) in order to reach potential recipients as much as possible.<< Results >>The result of the project will be the establishment of a network of Green Professions Ambassadors who will promote green jobs, the creation of a permanent community interested in ecology, environmental issues and climate protection, training 3,000 students from vocational and technical schools, and reaching 100,000 unique users on the Internet through dissemination activities, raising awareness among young people from vocational schools in the context of employment opportunities in green jobs.