"By signing the commitment to take into account existing projects, good practices, new trends and possible scenarios that are emerging, the project responds to the request for a change in education and focuses its mission on improving the ecosystem of VET as a tool for social and cultural change.The project responds to two priorities that are closely intertwined: the professional development of teachers, trainers and tutors in the field of vocational training and social inclusion, in a perspective that considers the professionalism and growth of awareness of the staff teacher indispensable condition for an inclusive educational system for all.The general reference context of the project is the one outlined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the one established by the European Accessibility Act. From a more specific point of view, the project context refers to the principles promoted by the Agency for Inclusive Education Systems and to the specific activities carried out by the Agency in this area.Enhancing, in particular, the results of two initiatives carried out by the Agency (""Education and vocational training: policies and practices in the field of education for special needs"" and ""ICT4IAL"" - Guidelines for accessible information) the project is to identify and implement - starting from the reference context that characterises each single partner organisation - strategies and concrete methods for the application of the principles of accessible information and training.The project has the primary purpose of compiling, evaluating and putting into practice, in a process of co-construction of content that will involve both the main target group and the final beneficiaries, a Declaration of intent on accessibility, as a reference document for the promotion and application of accessibility policies in the educational context and, above all, in the production of information and educational materials.The concept of the project stems from the particular attention of the leader in relation to the issues related to accessibility of communication, from a collective reflection on these issues and from an internal self-evaluation research conducted by each individual partner. Through the self-assessment process, we have analysed the following elements characterising the information and training profile - regarding the digital materials available online - of the partner organisations:1. standard of accessibility of the website of each organisation (the websites have been evaluated using the WAVE Web Accessibility evaluation tool);2. standard of accessibility of a sample of documents issued on the website by each partner (pdf, word, PowerPoint, video, etc.)The collected data provided an updated profile on the accessibility level of the online educational materials of each organisation and, even if not exhaustive, show that most of the tools presented are not accessible or only partially accessible. Furthermore, the self-assessment has shown that none of the partner organisations has an official Accessibility Statement or a Declaration of Commitment. In line with priorities and objectives, the project affirms a ""user-involved"" and ""user-centred"" approach and includes the direct involvement of people belonging to the priority target group, and of people with disabilities and special educational needs, in their role of end users.the entire staff of each organisation will be asked to respond to a questionnaire for the precise definition of the status quo on the subject within the individual organisations. Some, among these people, selected on the basis of criteria such as: competence, interest, previous experiences, etc. they will participate in a series of transversal meetings aimed at co-designing and implementing the final document. These meetings will also include a representation of people with disabilities and special educational needsIn summary, the applied methodology consists of the following phases:design and implementation of an internal questionnaire,analysis of collected data and implementation of a final reportplanning and implementation of a series of co-planning meetingsprocessing of the final documentevaluation of the documentcreation of a specific medium-term follow-up documentpromotion of the document within each organisationpresentation of the document to political decision-makers with a local and regional profile.After the closure of the project, after about six months the partners will measure the results achieved: the data collected will be analysed collectively to verify their strengths and weaknesses in a perspective of strengthening and widening the activities."

"The COVID-19 pandemic affected and put unprecedented pressure on education and training systems around the world. It has led to significant changes in the way we learn, teach, communicate and build collaborations, both within a particular education and training community and between different ones. This has had an impact on all stakeholders - learners, their families, teachers, heads of institutions, as well as society as a whole.After the outbreak of the epidemic, educational institutions in all areas of education have made significant efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff, but this is not at the expense of the educational process. The widespread physical closure of all institutions has necessitated the rapid mobilization of alternatives and the provision of support for distance learning and teaching through the use of digital technologies.THE MAIN OBJECTIVE of the ALL-LEARN project is to unite the experience of the participating organizations for design, development, testing, validation, use, distribution and maintenance of a web-based platform adapted to open source mobile devices, through which to share educational digital content, oriented towards conducting practical training in professionally oriented specialties.THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES are:•Preparation of a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of distance learning in the European Union in the field of practical training in professional specialties;•Supporting the transnational sharing of educational digital content, oriented towards conducting practical training in professionally oriented specialties;•Increasing the capacity of the participating organizations to deal with the problems of practical training caused by the situation with COVID-19TARGET GROUPS under the project were also taught by students from the secondary education system. From the interviews and observations conducted so far in all participating countries, it was found that most of their teachers lack good technical skills for the preparation and conduct of distance practical training in professional specialties. Through participation in the planned activities, 20 teachers will be able to master new skills for providing high-quality inclusive digital education through the use of innovative online resources and tools.At the same time, there is a negative tendency among students for lack of opportunity to participate in practical training in vocational specialties in the conditions of COVID-19 mainly due to lack of well-developed cases for practical training or due to difficult access to available online resources. After the implementation of the project we expect all learners to master a practical experience that is close to that which they will gain in real presence form, through the use of a web-based platform adapted to mobile devices.The main ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT are:• preparation of national reports on the application of innovative practices in conducting distance learning training in professional specialties in Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and Portugal;• preparation of the Analysis ""Interactive methods for distance practical training in the field of VET"";• development of a methodology for building an online platform ""All-learn"" , aimed at supporting practical distance learning in professional specialties;• development of an online platform ""All-learn"" adapted to mobile applications;• preparation of interactive teaching materials that will be used in conducting distance learning of practical training in professional specialties;• conducting 12 pcs. workshop ( 3 in each of the countries participating in the project - Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and Portugal)• conducting a seminar ""Innovative methods of teaching practical training in professional specialties in a digital environment""• organizing training of teachers to work with high quality digital products to provide innovative and entertaining practical training in professional specialties in an electronic environment DURATION: 20 monthsPARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS: “D. Marinov” Vocational High School - leading partner and project coordinator, Bulgaria, Demetra Technology EOOD, Bulgaria,“ TecMinho ”, Portugal “ Erasmus Learning Academy ”, Italy,“ ACSESO ”, Spain The project will enable the establishment of a well-coordinated and effective network for work, through which transnational sharing of resources, online content and expertise will take place, cooperation with experts in the field of educational technologies and pedagogical practice will be built in order to develop individual solutions adapted to the challenges and real situations in the application of distance online practical training in the field of education."

The textile industry in Europe faces big challenges for qualified personnel and requires implementation of new research results. In order to keep their competitive advantage, textile enterprises have to focus on innovation. The gap between modern requirements at the workplace and the current skills of young apprentices has to be bridged by up-to-date educational materials. The Knowledge Matrix for Innovation (KMI) is a management instrument for quantifying the intangible assets of an enterprise. It is used to describe the assets of an enterprise. The project’s main aim is to increase the capacity of innovation and training in textile enterprises, by defining and implementing the KMI.Objectives:1. Development of work-based training envisaging key competences both to employers and employees in the textile field;2. Improving the innovation capacity and training methodology of textile enterprises with the support of research providers;3. Fostering use of ICT in innovation process within textile enterprises;4. Improving the strategic cooperation between research providers and enterprises in textiles at transnational level.The consortium of the project tackling these objectives, reflects a very well-balanced distribution of activities and responsibilities. There are two research institutes (INCDTP = coordinator, Centrocot) and two universities (University Maribor, Technical University Iasi) and one training / technology transfer center (TecMinho), from 4 countries with important contribution to the textile industry in Europe: Italy, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia.The project’s consortium undertook the following main activities:1.The KMI was defined, processed and adapted for textile enterprises. The structure of the KMI consists of Elements, Criteria and Factors on one dimension and of Conditions, Resources, Activities and Results on the second dimension. Thus, the project partners carefully prepared and synthesized the 52 Factors of the KMI. 2.The KMI was transformed into a Benchmarking questionnaire (BMQ) and the partners conducted the benchmarking activity by receiving questionnaires from 64 enterprises from the 4 partner countries both in online and written format.3.A Benchmarking report on European / partnership level as well as 4 Benchmarking reports on national level were prepared with the comparative situation to the European average. Moreover, dedicated reports for each participating enterprise were issued with the comparative situation to the European and National average (this outcome was not initially foreseen).4.A SWOT analysis was conducted to the Benchmarking report on European level and based on the identified Opportunities and they provided a number of 35 project’s solutions. The link between Opportunities and Solutions was performed by a cluster table. Moreover, an entire Guide with new solutions was prepared in all partner’s languages (IT, PT, RO and SI) and English, including the modules:Elements specific to innovationInstruments for supporting and promoting innovationInnovation based on scientific results (project solutions)Legislative framework for protecting innovation5.The e-learning tool with all these OER was implemented with the URL address www.advan2tex.eu/portal . The Moodle platform includes special customized e-learning courses in all partner’s languages and 658 user accounts. 6.Five blended courses and five multiplier events (one by each partner) were organized and unfolded for ensuring a proper impact to the envisaged target group, based on the performed outcomes. The results attained were:•199 stakeholders in textiles prepared within multiplier events (instead of 100 initially foreseen);•137 young trainees in textiles prepared within blended courses (instead of 95 initially foreseen);•64 textile enterprises involved within the Benchmarking activity (instead of 50 initially foreseen);•One new Erasmus+ / strategic partnership project proposal won in the 2018 competition. The impact of the project was achieved on five levels:1.Upon participants from the textile industry (stakeholders): a number of 19 textile enterprises interested in the project solutions and improved links research-industry;2.Upon young trainees: 36 trainees counseled for their career path and 16 trainees intending to follow a job in textiles or related fields; 3.Upon participating organizations: improved project management skills and cooperation relationships;4.Upon the dissemination target group: 23 papers in scientific magazines and conference proceedings, 29 PPT presentations at events, 20 poster presentations at fairs, 24 posts in newsletters and press releases, 26 links to social media networks and 44 other presentations at info days, symposia, cluster meetings etc. 5.Upon project’s website visitors (599 different users with 730 sessions) and e-learning tool visitors (620 different users with 1922 sessions).

Tourism impacts on a wide range of policy areas - including competitiveness, social policy and inclusion (tourism for all) - while the continued globalisation opens new opportunities and creates increased competition. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has focused efforts on encouraging the diversification of the European tourism offer through initiatives in different areas. As declared by the European Commission: evidence shows that making basic adjustments to a facility, providing accurate information, and understanding the needs of disabled people can result in increased visitor numbers. Improving the accessibility of tourism services increases their quality and the enjoyment of all tourists. It also improves the quality of life in local communities. Although important steps have been made in recent years, much remains to do: research and surveys on this field demonstrate that improper attitude of staff towards disability and poor customer service are two of the main problems tourists with disabilities face in carrying on their touristic experiences.According to this background and according to the European Commission definition of Accessible Tourism - the set of services and facilities that can allow people with specific needs the enjoyment of the holiday and leisure without obstacles and difficulties - the project aimed to contribute to make Europe an accessible destination, by training people on a market field that have both a social and an economic value.The main project goals were to: design, implement, promote and test, starting from a transversal focus on the field, the profile of a professional able to match the training offer and the market needs: an Ability Advisor operating in supporting SMEs to face successfully the increasing tourism for all market; to generate new job opportunities for trained people; to tackle the topic by a cross-sectoral approach matching the needs of VET providers, VET learners and SMEs; to develop a cross-sectoral partnership to look at the topic by an European perspective. The project objectives and the needs it intended to fulfill were strictly related to the target group identified and to the key stakeholders needs.The main target audience was made of VET learners or graduates aged 20 to 35, currently unemployed or underemployed, graduates from specific University courses or High School graduates with specialized diplomas (including post-school diplomas) and/or people having previous experiences in tourism services’ fields, while the key stakeholders are VET providers, SMEs operating in the tourism sector, public bodies and associations dealing with disability. To reach its objectives and the selected target groups, the project implemented, as IO1, a comprehensive document of the local framework - a starting point on which the following project steps was built - and a training course model which was tested and released as an OER in in English, Lithuanian, Italian, Portuguese languages. The training course has an average length of 80 hours. It was implemented with the support of people representing associations dealing with disability and trainers with specific skills, was evaluated by a transversal team of 27 persons representing VET providers, SMEs, public entities, associations and was delivered in its pilot version in Lithuania, Italy and Portugal in a blended mode: 40 hours of traditional classroom-based learning, 20 hours of e-learning and 20 hours of work-based learning. The WBL activities enabled learners to get a real WBL experience and the selected SMEs improved their knowledge on how to welcome better people with specific access requirements, improving their business as well. The number of people applying the course, in its testing phase was 43; also 30 SMEs. All the project activities were carried out by five partners - organizations coming from Lithuania, Italy, Portugal and Belgium, belonging to different business and social sectors and dealing with different topics (training, labour market, disability, social communication).The project was designed to become sustainable: the sustainability plan included a direct dissemination activity - a serie of small events at local level targeted to 390 persons and four Multiplier Events involving a total amount of 270 persons - to promote the course among VET providers, SMEs, public bodies, associations and a set of activities to start a collaborative dialogue with public bodies. The project was developed at transnational level, as it offers to participants opportunities to understand better foreign and European contexts, take part and be supported by an European stable network: all key assets in the touristic sector and a positive trigger for work quality and employment opportunities.

"Context:The quality of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in technical fields at European level means a competitiveness leverage in the international context. European VET schools have a good performance and a strong tradition - however, the key competences have to be maintained and developed. The speed-up of technological development is a challenge for the young VET students, while the development of the textile industry needs well prepared specialists in multidisciplinary fields. In correlation with these facts, the Skills4Smartex project was centered on improving knowledge, skills and employability of VET students in the STEM related fields, by providing adequate training instruments to understand multidisciplinary working.Objectives:Obj1: Performing of a Guide for smart practices meant for supporting innovation in textile enterprises.Obj2: Performing a course in smart textiles, meant for multidisciplinary thinking.Obj3: Performing a dedicated e-learning instrument, meant for channeling the interest of VET students for ""serious games"".Obj4: Improving the skills of VET students by means of practical work in constructing a smart textile prototype.Type and profile of participants:The partnership reflected a very well-balanced distribution of activities and responsibilities: two research institutes (INCDTP = coordinator, TZU), three universities (Ghent University, University of Maribor, Technical University Iasi) and one training / technology transfer center (TecMinho, interface of the University of Minho), from 5 countries with great importance for the textile industry in Europe: Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia.Main activities and results: (O1) A Guide for smart practices with the current and envisaged situation in technical and smart textiles, based on a survey activity with 63 textile enterprises, multiplied within multiplier events for 200 young professionals in textiles. (O2) A Course in smart textiles with 56 modules on three criteria: from theory to practice and vice-versus, on 7 chapters of manufacturing technology for smart textiles and on four basic STEM disciplines. Please consult the modules with open access at the URL: http://skills4smartex.eu/instrument.php. (O3) A Dedicated e-learning instrument and an e-learning platform with the following main functionalities: - for the instrument: PHP filter-based access on the 56 modules and a simple attractive interface;- for the platform: 6 Moodle e-learning courses in national languages of the project (CZ, DU, EN, PT, RO, SI), with the modules in Book format, 420 multiple choice tests in Quiz format and 28 embedded PPT presentations. Creation of 200 new Moodle user accounts for e-learning courses, URL: http://www.advan2tex.eu/portal/. (E1-E6) Organization of 14 multiplier events with 200 participants and 89 feed-back questionnaires stating option of transfer for best practices, on partnership level, for multiplying the three IOs. The events were organized either virtually or face-to-face due to pandemic restrictions. (C1-C6) Organization of 11 courses with 262 VET students in virtual, blended or classroom format, with support of smart textile prototypes and the e-learning platform.(C7-C8) Organization of two Joint staff events: creation of smart textile prototypes on three levels of complexity for educational purposes and a methodology for VET students. Achievement of an unitary concept of the 56 modules.The following dissemination results were achieved at partnership level:- Leaflets/ e-mails to inform about 300 stakeholders;- 6 Promotional posters / roll-ups in each partner’s language and English; - 37 papers published in scientific revues or conference proceedings;- 34 Posters presented at events (exhibition, trade fairs, invention fairs etc.);- 16 standard PowerPoint presentation template for the project;- 12 announcements via social media posts;- 8 posts on partner’s website with up-to-date information; Impact attainedImpact was ensured for the 262 VET students by the attractive concept of the Course and its related e-learning instrument with filter to access the 56 modules, as well as the Moodle e-learning platform with courses in 6 languages and the work with the smart textile prototypes. The project partners supported as well the textile enterprises’ 200 young professionals by means of new instruments and training methods. The 89 feed-back questionnaires showed the preferences of best practices in smart and technical textiles to be transferred. The enlarged target group was impacted by the 107 dissemination activities. Longer-term benefitsThe main sustainable output of Skills4Smartex, the e-learning instrument and platform, will be hosted on the INCDTP server even after project’s end and will further support the textile world-of-work in improving innovation and training."