The project “To SWITCH – Towards Senior workers’ Innovative Training Challenges” – gathers a network of eight partners from seven European countries and is intended to create three intellectual outputs (IO) aimed at the innovation and improvement of training processes as well as at the updating of trainers and professionals involved in the training of adult workers, particularly those aged over 50.Over the last years, professionals involved in adult education have faced the challenge to reconsider their way of working in terms of approaches, methods and tools. Increasingly, they have been requested to introduce learner-centred paradigms in training (to include learners’ background, motivation, expectations, inclinations, critical thinking skills, perspectives). With the profound transformation in pedagogical paradigms, tailor-made approaches have proven to be central to tackle the training of older workers with outdated skills, approaching the end of their career. Such intense changes are combined with the current demographic emergency. The increasing number of workforces aged over 50, combined with a very low labour substitution rate make it a huge challenge to secure market productivity and competition as well as social cohesion. Even more so, with the negative and unpredictable effects of the COVID-19 emergency. Public policies and businesses struggle to implement programmes to foster inclusion and sustainability within the market and business organizations regardless of the workers’ age. The skills demand by the labour market has been rapidly evolving, thereby dismissing some competencies because outdated, in favour of more modern ones, such as critical and computational thinking and problem solving, all to be applied to high-tech scenarios. In this framework, the To SWITCH project sets as objective meeting all these challenges by enhancing the role of lifelong learning especially among 50-year olds and over.To meet this objective, the project will focus on the definition of frameworks of competences, tools and methodologies to the benefit of all professionals addressing the training of older workers. Thanks to a hands-on lab-based approach, professionals from the different countries will share a new theoretical and methodological framework of reference (IO1) based on an updated andragogical model for the training of older workers. They will collaborate on the development, implementation and experimentation of the digital platform (IO2) for the training of trainers and on contents development (methodologies, tools, etc.) and will finally design training guidelines (IO3).To meet the aforementioned objectives, the project will develop over 5 work phases (WPs). WP1 and WP5 will be cross-sectional phases as they will focus effective project management and dissemination of results respectively. WP2, starting from the analysis of existing scientific literature and best practices, will focus on the definition of a new andragogical paradigm, which, together with the identification of new social, psychological and pedagogical profiles of senior workers professionals, will lead to a theoretical and methodological framework of reference. This work phase will be preparatory for the design of the rest of the innovative outputs. WP3 will be focused on the development of an open source digital platform for the learning and mutual sharing of professionals and institutions dealing with senior workers’ training. This tool will make the most of the collaborative learning holistic approach, which will be useful to adapt the andragogical model to a technological context (theory). The model will influence the digital infrastructure (container), the training resources (content) and the way of using them (method). After an experimentation stage of training courses addressed to trainers/training supervisors/coaches/mentors across all the countries involved in the project, WP4 will focus on designing guidelines (IO) with recommendations and suggestions for all professionals and institutions dealing with the training of adult workers.

REVEAL - Reconstructing an Environment for continuing professional development and Validation for Educators in Adult LearningThe REVEAL project was based on a series of successful projects in the field of VINFL and will be carried out by a consortium of partners with a long experience in European project collaboration from DE, GR, IT, BE, SK, LT, IE and NL working in Adult Education and bring in substantial expertise to support the implementation of VINFL as cross- sectorial approach.The project aimed primarily on the professionalisation in Adult Education, a sector which is rather heterogeneous in structure and joint approaches and which lacks a truly European approach to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of educational staff working therein.The ERASMUS+ Key Activity 1 is certainly the flagship of European funding for CPD in European mobility and the amounts for staff mobility have been substantially increasing over the last years, with an ever rising tendency in future.However, as the REVEAL project found out in its stocktaking phase (IO1), there is a lack of clarity among the AE sector where to find high quality CPD offers on the one hand and how a high quality CPD should look like, since European validation systems and instruments have not really been implemented in the KA1 system and in CPD for Adult Education in general yet. KA1 courses ought to be a source of professionalization on the European level but there in the past there was no central platform where professionals could find high quality Continuing Professional Development courses and course providers can advertise and organise their courses and learning offers according to professional and European standards.As the REVEAL project found out in its first IO, most of the professional stakeholders such as grant owners, course providers and also staff in the National agencies and at the European Commission are concerned about this fact and would want a tool which tackles this challenge.There is also a lack of a comprehensive, high quality CPD approach including learning and teaching materials for the professionalization of adult educators. Until 2018 there was also no systemic approach based on a sound competence taxonomy that interconnects Continuing Professional Development for Adult Educators to the EQF system – which hampers a systemic approach to a true European validation of professionals in adult education in these EU-funded courses.REVEAL combined existing approaches of frameworks for professional competences for adult educators and compiled a CPD system which relates to an ECVET based qualification. The core output of the project is the REVEAL Implementation strategy for the Professionalization of Educational personnel in Adult Education (O6).It compiles a fully-fledged European qualification for educational professionals for Competence Oriented Learning and Validation (COL&V), which was designed, developed and piloted with a group of 22 professionals in blended learning methodology (O5). The COL&V learning programme was delivered in blended learning including the REVEAL learning suite – a rich open, web-based CPD environment consisting of OER learning technologies, namely mahara e-portfolio, Moodle LMS (also as mobile app device with a badging mechanism and the LEVEL5 validation software, all combined with seamless transfer between the systems.The a combined learning and validation environment (O3+O4) was developed on the basis of a sound technical ECVET specification (O2).The specification is grounded on a research survey (O1) that addressed KA1 course providers, KA1 educational institutes, KA1 learners (professionals), their requirements and experiences on competence development and validation.REVEAL learning technology partners also developed the PROVIDE platform (O4), which is an attractive showroom for KA1 CPD offers, sending organizations and individuals as participants of European KA1 mobility.The PROVIDE platform is a place where professionals find high quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and course providers can advertise and organise their courses and learning offers according to professional and European standards.REVEAL created for the first time a system that allows the European educational community (sending organisations, course providers and the learners):-to communicate and manage their European development plans online-to match sending organisations and course providers along quality criteria-to integrate validation of competences and competence developments-to set up personal qualification profiles for each individual learner and to connect these to EUROPASS, ECVET and LEVEL5 instruments.Therefore, the REVAL project will strongly contribute to the professionalization of educational personnel in adult education and will ensure a quality check for KA1 courses based on European standards.

"In most European countries, (non-formal) adult education is inadequately funded. In contrast to the formal system, the sources of financing are fragmented. Allocation of public funding can come - depending on the respective country and region - from different ministries, regional and local authorities as well as communes. Furthermore, employers and public employment services play a central role in the financing of adult education. In many countries and depending on the providers and the individual situations and learning needs of the learners, the learners themselves contribute through fees. Different funding mechanisms target providers and learners to enable them to provide learning offers or to participate in learning.Whilst the cost of many learning offers remain an obstacle for many Europeans (especially younger or older people or persons with low educational attainments as highlighted by the Adult Education Survey), funding for adult education has been under increased pressure due to the financial crisis, leading to a cutting of funds for education even in traditionally well-supported countries such as Finland. This is in contrast with a clear need to increase participation in lifelong learning. The PIAAC results have shown that at least 20% of Europeans lack basic skills, and the benchmark for participation has decreased in the last few years rather than made progress. The Thematic Working Group on Financing Adult Learning European Commission tackled this issue in 2012/13. The FinALE project was a reaction and follow-up on this work. The consortium started from the belief that there is a need to look into this topic from the point of view of civil society and to update what has been achieved to make proposals for policy and financing practice that focus on providers and learners. FinALE aimed to answer the following questions: why do we need to invest in adult education? What are the indicators for funding? Where is investment needed? Which instruments work? Which funding mechanisms can engage (more) new learners? The objective of the project was to provide a set of analyses as well as policy recommendations targeted at policy-makers of all levels (European, national, regional, local, communal) and at providers to be used as information and advocacy tools.Through a mix of different methods, including peer learning among the partners, quantitative and qualitative research, desk research, and consultations of stakeholders, the partnership monitored and analysed adult education policies and funding instruments and made recommendations on how to improve them. The main target groups were policy-makers, adult education providers and organisations as well as other stakeholders, such as research institutes, social partners etc. Feedback from these target groups were collected at the multiplier events of the project and through mapping and consulting key stakeholders, establishing an expert group on the financing of adult education in Europe as a ""by-product"" of the project. The outcomes were published in the FinALE Advocacy Toolkit (online publication), the FinALE Executive Summary (online and printed publication), the FinALE research paper on Where to invest, the FinALE paper on financial indicators for adult education, and the FinALE website (www.financing-adult-learning.eu). All publications as well as further information on the project and the topic of financing adult learning will remain available for consultation and download on the project website. The insights into the funding of adult education gained as well as the policy recommendations developed in the project equipped adult education organisations and providers with tools for their own advocacy work, and policy-makers with a better knowledge about key challenges in the financing of adult learning. While a short-term impact on adult education organisations as well as policy-makers can already be seen as the products are referred to and used in presentations, on official platforms etc., the consortium expects the main impact of the project to be visible on a mid-term and long-term perspective. The outputs are contributing to improved efficiency of public expenditure and investment in adult education as well as more effective adult education policies by drawing on European best practices and establishing a set of financial indicators for monitoring and evaluating use of resources."

The project intends to improve the implementation of Upskilling Pathways (UP) by identifying and engaging new stakeholders, establish and improve cooperation mechanisms and implementation plans with them. The consortium, coordinated by EAEA, consists of 11 full and 4 associate partners. The full project plan will be developed in 6 countries (HR, CY, EL, IT, LV, RO) and EU (EAEA & eucen). In 5 countries (HR, CY, EL, LV, RO), the NGO partners will work with their ministries / agencies (HR, LV full partners, other countries associate).Objectives:Engage in peer learning with the other partners about what works well in their contexts / countriesAnalysis of existing / missing cooperation mechanisms + stakeholdersEnable meetings between relevant stakeholders and agree on cooperationsDevelop implementation plans for further stakeholder engagement and cooperation Share experiences & outcomes of the project at the national level, in Europe, with relevant institutions and organisationsOverall, the project intends to have a systemic impact on the implementation of UP by developing new cooperation mechanisms.The 1st phase will (WP 2) provide information in identifying existing and missing stakeholders through analysis. The next phase is WP3, development groups. They bring these stakeholders together and enable cooperation, trust-building and discussions on improving the implementation of UP.The last phase is implementation plans (WP5), which will deliver realistic & ambitious road maps.Study visits and dissemination (traditional dissemination, webinars at national levels, a final European Conference)The main outcomes: analyses, implementation plans, Lessons Learned (recommendations), reports of other activities; website with all the results, also in a virtual map / repositoryThe consortium consider the project as a launching pad for future steps, transfer to other organisations / countries and additional more / better implementation for UP.

<< Background >>Sustainability is the key concept to combat climate change whilst creating and securing social and economic welfare. With the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the UN has designed a system which converts the rather abstract concept of sustainability into a system with operational objectives and targets.From the educational point of view, sustainability can be considered as a key competence. With reference to the Council Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/2018), one could state that each European citizen should become sustainably “literate”.In the proposal on hand, we therefore use the term “sustainability literacy” for generic sustainability competences of individuals.In contrast, we use the term “Sustainable Development” for community projects relating to concrete mitigation or adaptation on community level. (Both terms will be abbreviated with SL&SD).The Adult Education (AE) sector plays a key role in addressing both perspectives of learning sustainability: the individual (SL) and the community (SD) level.There is a lack of innovative and appropriate educational programmes to bring about skills and competence for sustainable behaviour and development for adults who learn in different contexts.This is the starting point of the GSD project.It shall create consciousness and enable the adult learner to change behaviour and to become active for sustainability (SL) and create SD projects on local community levels, for instance by implementing a green project, by improving a specific situation or by supporting certain members of the community.<< Objectives >>The GSD project aims to achieve three main objectives: 1) It will provide innovative learning opportunities relating to Sustainability Literacy and Sustainable Development to learners in Adult Education. Concretely:oIt will create spaces for design-based learning in which the learners can actively collaborate in concrete sustainability projects.oIt will start from the individual perspective and competence profile and move on to a community based joint learning approach.oIt will consider the demands of the target groups and fit to their living, working and learning context.oIt will provide a constructive learning and development approach not exclusively aimed at knowledge acquisition.oIt will include state of the art technologies, and innovative learning spaces, such as collaborative local projects.2) It will to train Adult Education professionals to facilitate Sustainability Literacy and Sustainable Development. More specifically:oIt provides necessary knowledge and skills on which the Learning and Development Professionals can build their learning programmes.oIt creates context sensitive learning cases that can be transferred into the learning contexts of the Adult Learners.oIt provides a concept which promotes “facilitation” rather than teaching competences.oIt qualifies them in new digital teaching and learning formats (Design-based Collaborative learning) in a learning by doing approach.oIt provides modular teaching and learning materials on a platform with asynchronous, synchronous and collaborative learning and development opportunities and facilitates competence validation.3) It will to connect both target groups in a larger European network approach, that is:oIt provides appropriate constructive (design driven) mobility programmes for both the Learning and Development Professionals and their target groups (KA1), and transnational blended learning opportunities for the staff members including courses and job-shadowing opportunities.<< Implementation >>In the project, 7 European partners from DE, IT, IE, LT, SK, SE and the UK collaborate in 4 work-packages to achieve its central outputs:1.Curating the GSD-Inventory and updating good practice examples2.Developing and contextualising the GSD-Planning Pack 3.Planning and Delivering the GSD Qualification 4.Creating and maintaining the GSD-Support-Hub1. The GSD-Inventory will be designed in a digital format with special focus on OER that can be linked without legal constraints from AE providers into their own learning offers.In the first project month a structure of the database will be set up. In the following, each partner collects suitable digital materials on sustainability in its specific field and focus. After an interim evaluation the GSD inventory will be launched (as a resource for the following activities and outcomes) and constantly updated by best practice examples collected by partners, educational professionals and Adult learners in their projects.2. The GSD Planning Pack is a “Learning and Development Approach” based on the methodology of “Design-Based Collaborative Learning”. The instruments used in this approach will be applied to plan and deliver Sustainability Literacy and Sustainable Development learning offers.3. The GSD CPD (Continuing Professional Development) will be planned based on R2 (the facilitation approach) for the AE professionals. It is a qualification programme based on LEVEL5 and EQF taxonomies which facilitate a professional validation and certification.22 professional Learners will participate in the training which starts with a virtual phase, contains a 4 days Face-to-Face (F2F) training in Massa and will be followed by concrete open learning projects over a period of 3 to 8 months at the partners’ locations.4. The main works carried out for the GSD Support Hub relate to the content creation, to the design and uploading of information, and most importantly to the connection of the members of the target groups to the platform, while supporting them with content creation. Partners will coordinate monthly helpdesk sessions to achieve a maximum dissemination and support impact for interested parties to join in the GSD programme.A final conference is planned with approximately 100 participants in Dublin.The GSD project will be extensively disseminated, to the European networks mainly via online channels, and locally via direct encounters within the partner networks of like minded institutions, NGOs and self-help organisations.The project will be internally and externally evaluated.<< Results >>GSD will produce four project results as central outputs to reach its objectives. They are designed in a logical sequence (building on one another) but are also stand-alone products of the project and can be used by the AE community individually. All 4 results together unfold their impact in a holistic system to generate sustainable development.1.GSD-InventoryThe GSD inventory is an open and growing catalogue of materials, units, tools and resources to promote Sustainability Literacy in diverse AE contexts.It provides SL&SD materials for Adult education in●diverse AE sectors (andragogy, literacy, integration, gender)●specific AE contexts (e.g. health, gender, culture, entrepreneurship education)●formal to informal settings (from general AE (e.g. Folk-High schools) to specific AE institutions, NGOs of family education centres). 2.GSD – Planning PackThe planning pack is a compilation of contextualised Competence Frameworks and Intervention Methods related to SL&SD. It is based on the methodology of Competence Oriented Learning and Validation and contains contextualised planning and validation instruments.3.GSD - CPD programmeThe GSD Continuing Professional Development Programme for Learning and Development Professionals aims to equip the AE professionals with competences to facilitate SL&SD.The main training is structured around 3 phases:4.A Pre-course delivered in synchronous online sessions and via platform5.A 4-days F2F course6.A Follow-up Pilot phase, in which 15 SL&SD learning projects will be planned and delivered by 22 AE professionals in their local AE projects.4.The GSD Support HubThe GSD-Support-Hub consists of a comprehensive platform system and a helpdesk offering:d)An open learning space with easily and constantly accessible offers for learning and facilitation of sustainability literacy and sustainable developmente)A matching platform for Learning and Development Professionals and their “clients”, local projects and initiatives who need support, guidance and learning opportunities f)A specific KA1-module for mobility learning opportunities for AE facilitators and learners in the field of sustainability literacy and sustainable development