"The MiCare project strongly encourages migrant women's integration into the job market. According to the European Economic and Social Committee, participating in the labour market is one of the most effective and practical ways of integrating migrant women into society. On the other hand, the EU researches shows that migrant women represent an untapped and under-utilised source of skills, and that their potential is not fully exploited. The gap between the share of employed non-EU-28-born women and native women is 8 percentage points larger than the gap among men. Data confirms that migrant women face double disadvantage as as both migrants and women. They often have limited language proficiency and do not benefit as frequently from skills assessment, re-training measures and other integration programmes. Moreover the recent arrival of large refugee populations in Europe adds to the urgency of integrating migrant woman, who receive less integration support than men, both in terms of language training and active labour market measures. Cedefop Skills Panorama highlighted that caregivers will be called to respond to opportunities for new services that an older society will create. There is a rising need of such soft skills as: communication skills, active listening, clear speaking, tact, empathy and negotiation skills. Personal carers will also need observation skills to check physical and mental health on a daily basis, and the “ability to follow set rules"" in order to avoid potential risks for the older people.The MiCare project focuses on the empowerment of female migrants as well as their integration into the labour market. Project's comprehensive approach fosters the access to employment, including training and assessment of (formal and informal) skills. Health care, services to families and domestic work - these sectors are considered as an opportunity to integrate migrant women in the labour market by policy makers. The current demographic trend implies that more and more older people will need assistance and home care to facilitate their life during the day, to keep them company or to help them in life inside and outside the home. What is most needed is training professionals who take care of older people at home. These professionals require as any others specific training as a caregiver on the fundamental aspects of assistance, such as day-to-day support (meal preparation, shopping, cooking, cleaning, going to external appointments, etc.) and active ageing support (good health routines, physical and social activities, etc.). On the other hand, it is also important that those professionals own the necessary soft skills to develop their job – especially considering that the most of them come from foreign countries, with a different culture, language, habits, etc. Households are a particular workplace and the personal contact with the older person is a key factor.Moreover, as a matter of fact, the migrant workers have sometimes a limited knowledge about the country, language and culture they are hosted in, mainly as regards specific situations linked to home care and home employment.In this context, the project intends to pursue the following objectives and activities:•Development of a European benchmark research to understand how migrant home caregivers are provided with basic and personal skills•Identification of the needs of migrant caregivers, especially those who just arrived in a foreign country and require some basic training to start working •Recognition of the elder’s needs: which are the challenges that families usually face as regards day-to-day support and soft skills? For instance, in terms of language skills, cultural knowledge, personal capacities, home management (meal preparation, shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry care, personal and hygiene support), but also empathy, creation of mutual trust, communication, listening skills, etc.•Facilitation of the migrant workers integration in the hosting country by upskilling their hard and soft skills related to homecare, helping them to find an employment in the Personal and Household Service sector•Recognition of workers’ skills and competencies with self-evaluation tools – and also the self-recognition of their skills and capacities, as well as professionalisation•Development and adaptation of learning modules to improve workers’ homecare hard and soft skills•Meeting the French National priorities about “development of competences (transversal and key competences) and prevention of illiteracy”.The MiCare project meets the Council Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning: ""Europe should address the challenges in implementing competence-orientedtraining and learning. Supporting people across Europe in gaining the skills and competences needed for personal fulfilment, health, employability and social inclusion helps tostrengthen Europe’s resilience in a time of rapid and profound change""."

Demographic ageing in the EU leads more and more people to engage in informal care giving. It is indeed the backbone of care provision in Europe: around 100 million of family carers across the EU provide over 80% of all care, from which 2/3 are women, mainly daughters (in law) and wives/partners. In addition, the number of people affected by degenerative diseases is also increasing, among which Alzheimer represents about 10 million. At the same time, key social changes, such as the massive access of women to education and to the labour market, have greatly impacted care provision. A shortage of labour supply in caring services is expected to reach 20 million by 2025.In this context, TRACK project (TRAining and recognition of informal Carers’ sKills) addressed socially disadvantaged informal carers dealing with people affected by Alzheimer, to support them during their caring experience and beyond, by reinforcing their well-being, skills, and employability. This multifaceted goal required a complementary consortium, composed by 6 partners from 5 member states: • IPERIA, a VET provider and certification body for care workers, • Diputación Provincial de Jaén, a provincial government, • WBS Training, a VET provider,• La Compagnie des Aidants, an association of informal carers• WIAB, a research institution on labour market and education research• EUROCARERS, a European organisation representing carers at EU level.To reach this main project goal, 2 main objectives were fixed:1. to design, develop and test (in France, Germany and Spain) a tailored blended training programme, and2. to develop a roadmap for the recognition and certification of the skills acquired by informal carers thanks to TRACK training and their caring experience, enabling to valorise hem and to identify professionalising perspectives for those wishing so.To do so, a study to define the learning needs and the training offer available for carers in the EU was conducted. It involved 58 experts consulted, 26 publications, 8 initiatives and 10 EU projects reviewed. Its conclusions were validated by 3 focus groups gathering a total of more than 40 stakeholders, among which informal carers, care and health professionals and representatives of local communities: the need of adapted training, the obstacles (lack of time, replacement for caring during training), the preference for blended learning (face-to-face and online) and the most relevant issues (information about Alzheimer, stress management, self-care, communication and daily activities).Based on these results, a training programme was designed in 4 languages (EN/FR/ES/DE) and tested by around 60 participants. A short (about 20h), blended, and micro-learning-based training, including:• The Training kit: user’s guide and face-to-face,• Online resources: eLearning contents, quiz and info sheets.According to the evaluation, 90% of the informal carers were satisfied and 84% considered the training as operational, helping them to be aware of the skills developed (care planning, resources finding, communication and stress management, etc.). In parallel, a feasibility study was conducted to explore further development of the training and certification perspectives, on the basis of interviews with 6 national and 2 international certification experts, as well as the analysis of 25 good practice projects at national and EU level, 8 initiatives and 10 EU projects. The conclusions highlighted the importance of using existing tools and mechanisms (available professional certifications and available processes for the validation of experience on care sector), as well as ensuring online free open access to the training programme to guarantee long-term impact.These conclusions were validated as well by 3 focus groups that gathered more than 60 stakeholders and experts (informal carers, professional caregivers and health professionals, policy representatives, decision makers, validation experts, VET professionals and information providers for the elderly and public employment services, recruitment agencies and enterprises) who considered TRACK training as a facilitation tool for empowerment, professional positioning and employability for informal carers. All these results enabled to draft the roadmap for the recognition and certification of the skills of informal carers, validated as well during the final conference of the project in Brussels. Around 80 participants, stakeholders and experts in the field of informal care and training, as well as representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission, who made possible to attain a reinforced dissemination and sustainability.

The situation in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries with stiff international competition requires a highly skilled workforce to secure quality and productivity. The sector represents a major part of the European process industry and where the industrial production employs 3,3 million Europeans in 94.000 enterprises with a multibillion turnover (2014: 1 078 billion €). This turnover is continually challenged by investments in the development of new products, the fact that patents are time limited, down to 10 years, with immediate releases of “copy products” from other parts of the world, intensifies the need for qualified staff rapidly taking on new tasks and challenges.Laboratory functions and process operation are responding to new requirements as concerns complexity and a safe and sustainable production. This is partly due to new methods and technologies, new types of equipment and respective operational procedures, but over the last years also the emphasis on safety and security in the processes and strict environmental and sustainability criteria.To be competitive in a fast developing market, the training quality, the relevance and flexibility of training provision between schools and work based learning is of utmost importance. Laboratory personnel and process operators with their skills and competences– tacit and tangible –represent a core part of the industry’s intellectual capital. This implies also that critical skills and crucial tacit knowledge acquired in workplace settings are central in the project. Video recordings of these performance based competences will be directly linked to the respective learning outcomes in the ECVET based multilingual qualification matrixes in Skillsbank.To meet the requirements linked to the shared responsibility between schools and companies in the securing of compatible standards between the training providers and in the work based learning, the ECVET principles are basis. Using learning outcomes carefully defined and organised in logical units, the core qualification criteria will be operationally defined. For transparency purposes these qualification definitions will be developed transnationally and in multilingual versions. They will be supported by video clips as best practice examples as well as for the documentation of individual learners’ performance towards certification and employability.A standard ECVET implementation is relying on precise definitions of learning outcomes organised in structured units. When the differentiation between Competence / Responsibility and Autonomy), Skills and Knowledge is activated in the description of individual LOs, certain elements of skills and competence documentation may be lacking. These characteristics are technically labelled as tacit knowledge – “silent knowledge” which forms the parts of a learning outcome which can only be seen, experienced and documented through practical performance.In the context of the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme, the horizontal one“Transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications”, is directly mirroring the project ambitions. With the focus on work based learning the idea is to update and develop in-school training through close interaction with the industry itself. This should secure the relevance aspect, and with the video recording of individual learners’ performance as well as best practice examples the quality aspect are covered as well. This is clearly asked for in the European VET priorities “Developing VET business partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning in all its forms” and “increasing the quality of VET provision, the establishment of feedback loops to adapt VET provision based on outcomes, including by setting up or testing graduate tracking arrangements as part of quality assurance systems in line with the EQAVET recommendation”.This project pursue the following key objectives:• Improvement of training quality and relevance implementing video technology linked to ECVET oriented learning outcomes in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector;• Enhancing the ECVET defined learning outcomes with inclusion of tacit knowledge as documentation of performance of critical skills among process operators and laboratory technicians uploaded in the Skillsbank system;• Develop VET institutions and enhancement of VET-industry cooperation through work based learning;• Promoting recognition of work based learning, including prior learning independent of arena of experience, for permeability, flexible training pathways and alternative career options within the industry.The partnership comprises 10 partners from 7 countries (AT, CZ, DE, FR, IT, NO, SK)

Context/background:The context of the Skillstube project is the implementation of the ECVET principles of precise descriptions of Learning Outcomes (LOs) structured into units. Even though descriptions of LOs are highly precise through differentiating them into specifications of Competences, Knowledge and Skills, this form of competence documentation may, however, still fail to capture tacit knowledge – knowledge that cannot be correctly documented through verbal articulation or written descriptions. A better alternative to document such competences and skills is through practical performance. As there can be a distinction between competences that can be fully described by verbal means, and competences that can only be fully documented through illustration, video recordings of practical performances of skills can serve as a valuable tool to document tacit knowledge.Objectives:The main objectives of the Skillstube project were to firstly collect and store individual learner’s performance through video clips that are directly related to clearly identified LOs. These video performances can serve as electronic attachments to certificates that are obtained by individuals or further documentation of skills of individual’s performance attached to their European CV. This is great value added to teaching and learning, certification and individual career development in professional fields where practical performance is impossible or difficult to document. The second project objective was to develop a system where video clips can be stored and can serve as examples of best practices. This would be of high value to teaching and learning. Therefore the Skillstube project has systematised the video performances of the selected vocations, welding and crafts, and where implications for career guidance have been further studied.Partner consortium:The partner consortium (10 partners from 6 countries) was established to solve the tasks of project management and system development, production of video recordings of best practices and individual’s performance in the welding and crafts sector, testing in career guidance and VET teacher training and for the dissemination of project results and quality checks as the final project activities.Project activities and implementation methodology:Project activities were linked to defined work tasks, partner meetings and multiplier and dissemination activities. The products developed are tested in partner organisations for further implementation in partner networks and to broader audiences as part of the dissemination plan.Results and impact:The outcome of the project can be summarised as (1) procedures and principles of video documentation of skills related practical performance, linked to matrices of LOs, (2) a library of recordings of best practice example, and (3) a system of individualised recordings which can be linked to learning outcomes for further attachment to certificates and CVs. The video storage of Skillstube has been developed as extensions to the Skillsbank and YOMTOOL systems (www.skillstools.eu). Skillsbank is a multilingual web based toolkit based on ECVET principles with structured LOs into matrixes of qualifications. Skillsbank targets career guidance, recognition of prior learning and individual training support, whereas YOMTOOL is an integrated mobility toolbox.The innovative aspect of this project has been the direct linking of video recorded skill performances with clearly defined LOs. Therefore Skillstube contributes to a broader understanding of the EQF/ECVET definitions and of the differentiation of LOs into Knowledge, Skills and Competence. As the KSC model in some situations will not capture the full qualifications of an individual, Skillstube fills in the lacking gap and make it possible to document knowledge that generally is very difficult to articulate, but is at the core of the mastery of the skill. Skillstube will as well be a valuable attribute in the process of recognition of non-­formal and informal learning especially concerning migrants as a target group. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers often lack documentation on their qualifications and video recordings may serve as a valuable tool. Long term benefits:The long term benefit of this project is to contribute to bridging between the world of schooling and the working world. Strengthening of the ECVET and EQF principles will in the long run benefit students, trainees, apprentices, refuges, asylum seekers and migrants in general, similar to any other individual who is shifting his or her career path. The recording of best practices of competences will impact teaching considerably as this will bridge the gap between the expectations of the employers and the skills and competences of the employee.

European education and training systems continue to fall short in providing the right skills for employability, and are not working adequately with business or employers to bring the learning experience closer to the reality of the working environment. These skills mismatches are a growing concern for European industry's competitiveness (Industrial Policy Communication Update COM, 2012, p:582 ). By 2020, 20% more jobs will require higher level skills. Education needs to drive up both standards and levels of achievement to match this demand, as well as encourage the transversal skills needed to ensure young people are able to be entrepreneurial and adapt to the increasingly inevitable changes in the labour market during their career. The scope and pace of reforms needs to be scaled up so high quality skills can support both growth and jobs (EU Commission Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes, 2012, p:2). Skills mismatch refers to a discrepancy between the demand and supply of skills on the labour market. In other words a situation in which the skills sought by employers are different from the skills offered by job-seekers or workers. In order to achieve excellence in VET, curricula must be systematically renewed, delivery must be constantly modernized and businesses, especially SMEs, must be actively involved. VET must be able to react to the demand for advanced vocational skills, tailored to the regional economic context. Within this context given, this project aims to develop a platform through which vocational education systems and the labour market, especially the SMEs, communicate interactively, while one side voting for/valuing the skills they need and the other side, that's the vocational systems answers by updating the current curriculum. Also, the training content developed on skills analysis and mapping through the ECVET Skills Platform is considered to serve the quality of vocational education and training systems, giving the experts responsible for teaching technical skills the mission of teaching also the personal and conceptual skills.Target group of the project is vocational education and training institutions, teachers/trainers in VET, SMEs, employers, decision makers, non-governmental organizations and trainees. It aims at creating a channel among the members of the target group to keep them updated about the needs and requirements of the firms and the provided skills at educational institutions. During the project, the first step will be to identify qualifications of CNC Machining according to EQF as Level 4. Then, secondly, defining the expectations of the firms will be taken together with the opinions of technical teachers. In this context, ideas and expectations from firms and individuals in decision-making positions in the labour market will be gathered and a list of the necessary skills required will be established. Then, with ECVET Skills platform that will be installed on the internet, a ranking of importance will be listed by firms. This is the most innovative part of the project. Following this, the training curriculum in vocational high schools for CNC Manchine will be renewed and/or developed in order to ensure the most needed top ten skills. Trainers will be trained on this platform and will be informed about how they should implement their education. Then, hese trainers will apply the top ten skill-building training curricula on the qualification list from the digital platform.The students and teachers will be able to access into the videos and teaching materials on the platform and assess their own learning with the rubric provided. Therefore, they will have higher self-esteem in terms of qualifications and the market can be more satisfied in with hiring more qualified employers. On the other hand, top ten skill lists created by firms; and all teaching materials and videos created in a dynamic fashion can be downloaded openly to all individuals in order to ensure that the created platform reaches wider population. Thus, as students, teachers, and trainers easily access these information, the widespread impact of the platform will be increased.Establishing a vocational education and training curriculum and extensive content by using an online web portal to develop a system for skills and qualifications that are supposed to be based on the needs of the labour markets is the innovative wall of the project. One of the pioneering innovative elements will be enabling countries to obtain the skill ranking of CNC machining. The proposed web portal can be seen as one of the most key innovations of the project, since it will be accessible by all related stakeholders.