The project idea was born within a context characterized by the mass arrival of refugees in Greece, from Turkey and other countries, mainly during the period 2015 to 2017.Thus, there was a great need to intervene for the benefit of the group of young refugees, aged 16-24, based on their characteristics and problems, as well as their wishes, such as relocating to a EU country. Relevant intervention should facilitate their integration into society and labor market, handling their difficulty to communicate in the Greek language, their difficulty to find a job, due to lack of relevant skills, as well as their difficulty to be integrated into a formal educational context, due to lack of relevant documents.In view of the above, at a time when other National Authorities’ relevant action was not yet developed, with the exception of the Ministry of Education, the Manpower Employment Organization/OAED, the Greek PES, in conjuction with Strategic Partners, designed and implemented this two-year project, under Erasmus+ for Youth (2017-2019). In this strategic partnership, OAED had the leading role. Partners were the GSEE Center of Educational Policy Development/KANEP/GSEE, the Turkish Ministry of National Education/ MoNE, and the German Training Organization “DEKRA”.I.Ref.SoS scope was to develop an effective transnational system of reception, social support and rapid integration of young refugee populations, inspired from the empirical finding about limited use of the long time period required from arrival in the countries of entry to the time of final settlement in the host countries. It was, therefore, considered that, this period should be positively used to support the steps for social and occupational integration in host societies.The project objective was to develop and test innovative VET pathways, methods and tools to enhance skills of young refugees and professionals in the field, in order to achieve development and implementation of a rapid integration mechanism and relevant good practice, at national and transnational level. Within the framework of the I.Ref.SoS project, studies were initially carried out on young refugees, aiming at gathering the necessary information, on their profile and needs, as well as on the labor market needs of potential host countries. Based on a specific methodology, process and appropriate criteria, forty persons, young adult asylum seekers with legal residence in Greece, were selected to participate in the pilot implementation. An intensive/accelerated language and intercultural training package was designed, for Greek language learning and teaching, enriched with intercultural elements, including tools addressed both to Trainers and Trainees, published in print and digital form, for use on tablets. The program of linguistic and intercultural training was implemented, at pilot level, testing the training methodology and tools. Both the participating young refugees and their trainers used the tablets and the printed material during the lessons. The participants’ needs were analyzed during Guidance/Counseling parallel implementation, based on personalized approach, via interviews with each trainee. The participants’ skills acquired during these interventions were reflected in an individual E-portfolio, whose design and production were also supported by the project. A Vocational Guidance Package was subsequently designed and implemented, oriented to technical and tourist occupations and entrepreneurship, including visits of young refugees at VET schools and laboratories. The action included development of material for vocational guidance counselors. A methodology was furthermore developed to promote the integration of young refugees into the labor market of potential host countries.All the above mentioned project outputs and products cover a wide range of methods and tools for young refugees’ social support, to be further used and/ or transferred to better prepare target group(s) for integration in the host society and labor market. Project results and relevant impact, however, are wider, including important networking and debate, at local, regional, national and transnational level, through multiplier events, with all the involved stakeholders, public authorities, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, social partners’ organizations, practitioners in the field, policy makers. A post-project dissemination strategy is adopted by all the four partners to sustain produced impact.In Greece, interaction with relevant actors, at local/national/transnational level, led to finalization of the project’s results and to a proposal for national strategy. This was an essential result of high importance, which is already yielding results, as it has paved the way to a wider project in the field, at national level, making use of the project lessons, practices, tools and networking, but also including actions to promote refugees’ integration in the labor market.

<< Background >>The GamingDRV consortium has decided to apply for this project because we have experienced how the long-standing need for better, more inclusive and more innovative virtual training and the recognition and formalisation thereof has been exacerbated over the past year in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. For many years, the European transport industry has suffered from a major skills shortage and, according to the International Road Union, the demand for skilled professional drivers will continue to rise in the future. At the same time, it is anticipated that the occupation profile of professional drivers will undergo major changes in the context of digitalisation, autonomous driving and the increasing internationalisation and automation of the sector. Road transport has long been a fundamental driver of economic and social growth in Europe, and, during the corona crisis, the sector and its professional drivers, have proven to be systemically relevant. The pandemic has also been a driver of virtual training, not only in the road sector but beyond. The crisis has highlighted the advantages of digital forms of learning but also the shortfalls that still exist in spite of the political will to redress them, specifically at European level. It has become apparent that not only is there a lack of infrastructure and resources for the promotion of digital training offers but also a lack of competence of all actors involved when it comes to the development and implementation of high-quality, didactically sound, innovative and integrative digital training offers. For the group of professional drivers, who are legally compelled to partake in regular further training, this has been exacerbated by the fact that regulatory frameworks do not provide for the recognition of virtual training. In addition, this group is characterised by a socially and educationally disadvantaged make-up that makes it even more difficult to cater for in digitalsied training. The relatively low participation rates in further training programmes, the high share of migrant workers, a high share of semi-skilled workers, relatively low levels of self-learning competence as well as the obligatory nature of driver CPC training result in a complex set of learning needs requiring more didactically sound approaches than mere frontal training. This is exacerbated in digital training formats. This target group thus has an increased need for scaffolded training programmes, exhibiting high degrees of trainer support, special support in the sense of inclusive training, social learning, and interactive training methods which can be achieved by our concept of inclusive gamified training approaches. The GamingDRV project aims at addressing these shortfalls by developing a holistic and innovative approach to gamified virtual classroom (VC) training for professional driver certificate of professional competence (CPC) training.<< Objectives >>GamingDRV responds to the goals laid out in the European Skills Agenda, the Osnabruck Declaration on promoting TVET in the EU as well as to the new Digital Education Action Plan’s strategic priorities to develop a high-performing digital VET system and enhance digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. Our overall goal is to support the promotion of inclusive digital CVET programmes in professional driver training and beyond in the sense of a pan-European just, inclusive, innovative and competitive VET landscape that incorporates the creation of digital VET systems and programmes as well as the support of digital skills, both among our main target group of professional drivers as well as among the crucial group of VET personnel. GamingDRV aims to create greater diversity and access to further training for low qualified workers and other disadvantaged groups, such as migrant workers in the driving profession. The GamingDRV project shares the guiding principles of high quality and inclusive digital education being a strategic goal which necessitates the endowment of VET personnel with the skills and competence needed in order to provide high-quality, integrative and innovative digital training. GamingDRV aims at increasing interactivity and interaction between learners and trainers in the virtual classroom as well as at supporting trainers in effectively designing, implementing and deploying gamification as an innovative approach to learning, thus enriching VC-based training for professional drivers. GamingDRV's notion of gamification assumes that human nature is inclined to play games and that the paramount goal of education is to ensure that learning is a fun and a worthy endeavour. Nothing compares to the effectiveness of doing something while being entertained. We are convinced that gamification represents a real opportunity for learners in professional driver CPC, especially those among them, who have so far been disadvantaged in education and training, by improving the quality and effectiveness of the training and raising learners’ motivation. Aside from improving the quality, accessibility and recognition of virtual training for learners, GamingDRV will develop approaches to supporting VET personnel in applying innovative and integrative gamified training methods in the VC. The development of a train-the-trainers module as well as an online pool of resources for organising and implementing innovative and engaging gamified VC training will contribute in a major way to the much-needed improvement of digital-didactical competences of trainers.<< Implementation >>The project will undertake all the necessary activities in order to achieve its goals and planned results. These activities will follow the four project phases outlined in the project management planthat affect all project results and transversal activities: exploration, development, testing and adaptation and exploitation and transfer of results. During these phases, various activities will be undertaken that either serve the development of tangible project results or the dissemination and exploitation of those results, respectively of the overall project objectives such as recognition of virtual training. Activities may also serve multiple objectives, such as stakeholder consultation undertaken in the context of elaborated needs exploration of evaluation of interim results also serves dissemination and exploitation purposes. Project activities to be undertaken also involve the testing of results, specifically a testing workshops with professional drivers and trainers for R1 and 2, a virtual training course for the GameTrain module (R3), testing workshops with trainers for the online pool of training resources (R4) and consultation workshops in the context of R5. In addition, five multiplier events will be organised by the project consortium, four of which will be national events hosted in France, Sweden, Finland and Ireland, and one European conference to be hosted in Germany. Beyond these events, all project partners will carry out various other dissemination activities over the course of the project lifetime, such as (virtual) stakeholder consultation workshops, presentations at other events such as workshops and conferences, online publications. Activities to be carried out also involve the four planned physical transnational partner meetings and the additional virtual transnational partner meetings at which project management activities will be coordinated and agreed upon, work steps and (interim) results will be discussed and reviewed and future activities planned and organised.<< Results >>The GamingDRV project will develop all the tools that are necessary for the provision and sustainable exploitation of high-quality, didactically sound, gamified, innovative and inclusive VC-based training. These tools include: (1) a learning outcome-based concept and curriculum for VC-based driver CPC training, allowing for the integration of innovative and inclusive gamified training elements; (2) the development of Gamified Learning Elements, digital gamified, engaging and interactive training methods that can be applied in the VC; (3) a train-the-trainer module, based on the necessary learning outcomes, that enables trainers to plan, organise, implement and evaluate innovative, gamified and engaging VC-based training, taking into account specifically the scaffolding necessary for inclusive training approaches; (4) an online pool of resources targeted at trainers, providing them with high-quality, relevant, affordable and GDPR-compatible tools, methods, instructions and resources for gamified VC-based training; (5) guidelines for the application of all project results in and beyond the sector, including guidelines for sustainable exploitation of the project, specifically by integrating approaches to virtual learning into regulatory instruments by addressing issues such as regulatory and recognition-related aspects. For this purpose, the results will be developed in a way that allows for long-term integration into formal VET systems, specifically the compulsory driver CPC training. In addition to the tangible project results we intend to create a major impetus for the establishment of a sector dialogue regarding the long-term exploitation of virtual (elements) of driver CPC training through formal recognition in the involved countries. This work will be supported by the recommendations and guidelines developed in R5 as well as through the national and European multiplier events and other dissemination and exploitation activities in the context of the project’s activities and through the support of the project’s associated partners. We thus intend to create and support an exchange of ideas, methods and good practice among VET stakeholders of the logistics sector and to establish new and strengthen existing ties and networks among those.

The road freight transport industry represents one of the most important sectors in Europe, providing millions of Europeans with fresh produce, bulk goods, liquids and other essentials every day. Arguably the most important position within road freight transport is that of a professional driver, who often has responsibility for driving a truck, loading and unloading goods, liaising with customers, managing routes and schedules and maintaining safety standards. Estimates show that there’s over one million truck drivers working in Europe today, and while it’s fair to suggest that the public perception of a professional driver has been poor it continues to be a valued and important role that flies under the radar of many Europeans. However, times are changing and quickly. The widely publicised testing and development of autonomous vehicles has demonstrated the speed at which technology will change the landscape of the labour market. The widespread introduction of this technology is likely to occur through the commercial road freight sector in the first instance, as it offers the most significant potential towards cost reduction and enhanced safety as well as overall improvement in factors such as air quality and fuel efficiency. However, the consequence of introducing this technology will be the impact that it will have on the one million plus professional drivers within Europe. Forecasts suggest that by 2030 the majority of journeys made by a large goods vehicle will be fully automated, which leaves a question mark over the role of professional drivers in the truck of the near future, and at this stage it isn’t clear about what part they will play in transporting goods. The average age of a European professional truck driver also continues to rise year after year, which demonstrates an ongoing problem to attract new drivers into the industry. It also shows that the industry relies on the experience and skills of well-established and knowledgeable drivers. So we know that the role of drivers will change significantly over the coming years, therefore it's important that transport businesses and professional drivers can be as prepared as possible. The Steer to Career DRV project will focus on developing curricula and professional learning programmes to help companies prepare their professional drivers for a more diverse role within a company. These objectives will focus on areas that will become more important as we move into the age of vehicle autonomy and will include the principles of managing people, basic financial management, emergency responder, customer service and safety management. The project will also seek to develop two sets of guidance; one for managers / company owners and one for professional drivers. The guidance will focus on competences, attitude and social skills, with the aim of helping managers to deploy drivers to alternative positions within a company, and to help drivers recognise the competences they need in order to continue to be successful in their professional life. It is essential that this project is undertaken on a transnational scale because the potential problem is a universal one. Work will be done in conjunction with European and National Qualification Frameworks and will leverage systems such as ESCO (to identify potential career options) for research and development purposes. The experience and knowledge of the project partners will also be utilised where possible and as appropriate. In order to successfully achieve the objectives of the project, Steer to CareerDRV will; • Engage, through interviews and questionnaires, a wide range of stakeholders on the development of the professional, personal and social skills of truck drivers • Undertake industry research to determine the most important and relevant competences • Use the information and output from the series of DRV projects (ProfDRV and ICT-DRV) • Develop a set of professional learning objectives based on management and communication • Produce guidance for managers and professional drivers • Promote the project through media and publication channels • Disseminate the guidance and findings industry-wide

There are major changes within and related to the professional driving profession ahead of us that need to be prepared and supported by vocational education and training in order to reach its full potential but also to avoid a further increase of already today’s major deficits of skilled workers in this field that belongs continuously to the Top Ten jobs employers are having difficulty filling. For this purpose it is of major importance to think ahead of time and to develop a vision of this profession in future under consideration of megatrends, trends and innovations influencing this occupational profile in order to get ready for changes that are ahead. The FutureDRV project investigated this future of professional driving by taking a look into tasks and role of professional drivers and their qualification requirements in 2030 and beyond. The FutureDRV results understand the way towards a well qualified future workforce within professional driving as a joined effort that requires the engagement of all groups of stakeholders concerned. It approaches not only a single set of competences or measures to be addressed/ undertaken by an individual stakeholder with its approach but takes this occupation as a whole into the focus. It, therefore, approached the future of professional driving from different angles in order to address those aspects sufficiently and comprehensively.The project developed__a FutureDRV PROFILE describing the professional driver and its future role and the related knowledge, skills and competences within the 4th industrial revolution. The FutureDRV profile aspires to become a major reference on future skill needs within professional driving within the upcoming 15 to 20 years.__exemplary FutureDRV LEARNING SOLUTIONS that support the current workforce to keep up with the changing and increasing qualification requirements. Those learning solutions address learning outcomes (communication skills) new to the current workforce taking up trends within learning and adapting those to the characteristics of drivers. In this way flagship learning solutions have been developed pointing the way towards the future of competence-building within this vocational field as part of lifelong learning.__FutureDRV RECOMMENDATIONS addressing all stakeholders concerend such as employers and VET providers with suggestions how to prepare professional drivers for their future requirements. They identify actions to be taken in the context of individual EU Members States in order to take the characteristics of those systems into account. Finally they address the European level and here specifically Directive 2003/59/EC and its role within preparing professional drivers for the future.__finally, a FutureDRV TIMELINE allows a look into the past of professional driver qualification as well as an outlook into future developments based on the projects research results. It takes up trends and innovations and their interrelations with each other and with qualification requirements on drivers. All together the FutureDRV project results equip the transport sector with valuable tools and recommendations for the development of a professional driver workforce capable of meeting the future needs of the sector across Europe.

CONTEXTThe e-ManTRA project focuses on the Transport & Logistics (T&L) sector, which represents approx. 4% of the EU's gross national product and employs around 9 M people (~4.5% of EU employees). Its impact is substantial, as other sectors need an efficient T&L sector to develop. T&L is more than a question of mobility: it is a factor of competitiveness for the EU and will therefore play a significant role in the economic recovery overcoming the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.T&L trainings were strongly impacted by the sudden transition to 100% distance learning. In France, a Carif-Oref survey on training during lockdown shows that 75% of T&L training has been suspended, one of the highest rates. EQF level 5 training courses for transport managers have been particularly affected due to the significant lack of online resources. We concentrate on these trainings as it is crucial for the sector to ensure pedagogical continuity here: The transport manager has a central role in T&L companies through the organisation of transport, drivers and customer relations.OBJECTIVESWe aim to equip EQF level 5 trainings for transport managers all over Europe with effective and inclusive tools, training material and teaching methods to ensure distance teaching and online learning, continuous learner monitoring as well as the evaluation of learning outcomes.The project intends to:Guide learners & teachers for an optimised digital learning experienceImprove digital education readiness through the provision of free (OER) & inclusive online tools & innovative resources for training providers, by allowing for flexible combinations of a distance & blended learning offer, & by providing teachers with useful decision-making tools to design & implement innovative training approaches specifically tailored to digital learning needsOvercome the hurdles of the Covid-19 pandemic by facilitating distance learning formatsPARTNERSAFT has gathered seven complementary partners with various backgrounds and expertise representing different groups of stakeholders and beneficiaries: 1 sectoral association in charge of developing training in T&L, 2 national training providers with own pedagogical engineering departments, 1 network of training providers, 2 public high schools and 1 SME developing e-learning tools. The consortium is represented in six countries, thus covering several European sub regions.ACTIVITIES, METHODOLOGY & EXPECTED RESULTSOur project is structured in 5 main activities. A1 Project management, A4 Dissemination and A5 Quality monitoring are cross-functional and supporting the implementation of the overall project. The technical part is divided into two project phases building on each other: A2 allows partners to develop project outputs while A3 aims to facilitate and foster their implementation and further exploitation to ensure sustainability.Our methodology includes research, analyses, pedagogical design, IT development, training, tests, surveys & consultations of experts to produce the following results:Guide with innovative pedagogies including digital & inclusive teaching, monitoring & evaluation methods & tools adapted to different teaching scenarios (100% distance, blended learning, etc.) to train teachers & develop their digital pedagogical competencesGuidance material for students to help them adapt to online/distance learning3 innovative digital resources relating to a selection of key Mobility Package topics (CSR) & favouring transversal competences: Virtual multi-user environment for collaborative online training, an online CSR game & a digital Escape-RoomPilot phase to test the outputsRecommendations for key stakeholders: training providers, public authoritiesIMPACTSImproved knowledge of digital training/learning conceptsEnhanced digital skills of teachersContinuous training provision for transport manager coursesUpdated content & new pedagogical resources for digital learning development Better guidance to teachers & learnersTeachers stimulated to innovate to capture students’ attention more effectively Access for students & teachers to ready-to-use & transferable innovative digital learning & teaching resourcesPOTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITSFacilitating training providers' ability to develop a digital learning offer with distance & blended learning through the provision of clear instructions & logical classifications of pedagogical options adapted to digital formatsRaising teachers’ awareness on the need to vary teaching methods taking into account the constraints based on training objectives & learner autonomyHelping teachers deliver high quality inclusive digital educationReducing drop-out risksIncreasing the rate of training completionIncreasing public authorities’ knowledge with regards to digital training and provide them with an incentive to implement policy-based actions to support the development of digital training for transport managers & beyond