<< Background >>Over the past ten years, the EU has seen a great amount of migrants and refugees coming to live within its Member States. The first issue to be observed is that the MS tend to see the integration of these newcomers as a challenge rather than an opportunity. Economists agree that the presence of immigrants is highly valuable for European economies and will help to counterbalance the ageing European population. The integration of migrants in the labour market is thus vital. VET education is an important framework for the inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups in society and more especially migrants. VET institutions themselves are not always adapted to the needs and specificities of migrants, and women migrants in particular. This specific group may encounter various obstacles including cultural differences, linguistic barriers or specific discriminations because of their gender.According to an OECD report (2019), Unlocking the Potential of Migrants, host countries have a tendency to misunderstand migrants’ professional potential and skills, while migrants themselves are not sufficiently aware of what VET education has to offer to them (Jeon, 2019). Additional efforts need to be made to adopt a gender sensitive approach since women and men with a migrant background have different needs. Another report published by the European Institute of Gender Equality (EIGE, 2019) reminds us that “currently, most EU and Member State policies on education and training have been designed using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that does not distinguish between the different needs of women and men”.Applying the Theory of Change to VET education environments will help address these problems in a structured, effective and sustainable manner. A proven method like the TOC is needed here because of the complexity of the change that we need to achieve. Indeed, the issue of inclusion needs to be tackled on two levels, simultaneously dealing with the inclusion of third-country migrants in VET and an adaptive and gender-specific integration of women migrants in this sector.The idea of InclusionToC is to use the Theory of Change (TOC) to foster the inclusion of under-priviledged groups such as migrant women in VET education. The TOC is a reliable, standardized method with the advantage to engage all project participants in a co-creation process, namely involving target groups in changemaking.Indeed, the TOC is “a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context.” One strength of the TOC is that it focuses on long-term goals. VET staff and trainers need an approach encompassing long-term goals in order to improve the inclusion of women migrants in VET centers and in society in general. The other strength of this method is that it is participatory. Therefore, both groups of stakeholders—VET trainers and women migrants who currently are or are interested to become VET students—will be involved in designing the inclusion strategy. It is crucial to favour a participatory approach to take in account the women migrants’ specific needs and personal objectives during the inclusion process in order to avoid a forced integration that would discourage them from participating in educational programs.What this project offers is the maximum involvement of migrant women throughout the process, and also an innovative tool for all VET institutions.<< Objectives >>The goals of InclusionTOC are to:-Foster the integration of women migrants in VET education-Make VET education more attractive and welcoming for women migrants-Agree on common long-term solutions to tackle obstacles to education such as linguistic, social and cultural barriers-Agree on solutions related to the specific problems that women migrants encounter due to their gender-Make VET a safer and more attractive space for the most vulnerable groups such as women migrants-Prevent isolation of women migrants through a progressive inclusion in the VET centers -Empower women migrants in their learning journeys-Expand migrant women’s employability chances-Offer a concrete training material on soft skills which will be beneficial both on a professional and personal level-Create an environment of inclusion and acceptance-Create a core of migrant women who after the training can work as role models in their communities, assisting younger women in their educational journeyThe specific objectives are to:-Upskill VET staff and trainers to use the TOC-Upskill migrant women by enhancing their soft skills and leadership competences-Raise VET staff and trainers’ awareness about the obstacles related to the intersection of migration and gender inequality- Help VET organisations use a participatory method (involving VET staff and migrant women) to apply TOC in VET institutions- Empower migrant women and enhance their soft and leadership skills, to work as role-models in their own communities<< Implementation >>The project can be divided into 4 stages:1) PreparationPartners are going to conduct the research, which includes desk research, a survey and focus groups. The results will be the basis for the development of the training course for VET organisations. Partners will also develop the specifications for the digital platform and the methodology for participatory design using TOC for inclusion of migrant women, which is going to be utilised in the digital platform. Partners are going to elaborate on the project management plan, the quality plan, the evaluation methodology and the dissemination and exploitation strategy. The project's graphical identity is going to be built, as well as the website and social media accounts. 2) DevelopmentIt includes the development of project outputs. These include, the curriculum and learning materials for the training course, the development of the digital platform, the development of the self assessment tool and their translations and finally the development of the training guide for migrant women on leadership and soft skills. Partners will deliver the 1st periodic financial report, the 1st semester report and 2 newsletters. Partners are going to work on dissemination of the project, through presentations of the project in workshops, animation of social media and other networking activities.This stage will end with the organisation of the 1st set of multiplier events (E1- E6). These events will be held online, and their objective will be to disseminate project results achieved and attract and engage VET organisations for the implementation phase. 3) Implementation This is the actual implementation of TOC in VET Institutions. All partners are going to deliver the training course to staff from a VET organisation in their countries. A Learning activity will be organised in Greece, where representatives from the VET organisations who participated in the course, as well as representatives of the partner’s organisations, will be trained on the familiarisation of TOC and the digital platform and also on how to assist migrant women with the development of leadership and soft skills. This stage is the actual implementation of what has been developed. All partners are going to deliver the training course to staff from a VET organisation in their countries. The implementation of TOC in VET institutions that has just started will actually take place. This is an intervention, where partners are going to guide and help VET organisations implement the TOC methodology into their organisations, for the design and development of inclusion strategies and practices, for migrant women. Partners are going to offer guidance, support and organisasie workshops. Partners are also going to facilitate the process by guiding VET organisations on using the platform. To engage more the VET organisations and ensure that they will implement the whole procedure, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between partners and VET organisations. This stage also includes the organisation of the training for women migrants on leadership, soft skills and self development. At least 5 women with a migrant background, enrolled in the VET organisation which participates in the implementation of the TOC, will be trained and will be empowered in order to act as role-models in their own communities4) FinalisationResults are going to be improved according to evaluation and they are going to be finalised. A final impact analysis from the implementation phase will be produced by the partners. The second wave of multiplier events is going to be implemented in partner countries, as each country will host a conference. The multiplier events are going to be held face to face and their objectives will be to disseminate the project results and outputs, in order to maximize impact. Furthermore, partners are going to elaborate on the exploitation and strategies to ensure the sustainability of project results.<< Results >>The project will develop 3 main results:Training course - Inclusion of migrant women using Theory of ChangePartners are going to firstly implement a European wide research, on practices implemented by VET organisations for the inclusion of vulnerable groups of people, especially women with a migrant background. The research will also include the organisation of focus groups, which will involve all target groups, including migrant women enrolled in VET education. The next step will be the development and implementation of a course for VET teachers and staff, on the importance of applying inclusion policies in VET and the use of the Theory of Change. The training course will end with the organisation of a learning activity and exchange of good practices among VET staff who participated in the training. The second part of the result will be the implementation of theory of change in VET institutions. Partners are going to guide and mentor VET organisations implementing TOC and apply changes into their organisational structures and practices. 2. Digital platform: Participatory design using TOC for inclusion of migrant womenThe second result of the project is the development of a digital platform for the participatory implementation of TOC for the development and application of inclusion strategies in VET organisations. The digital platform will be used by VET organisations and will foster the participation of all target groups involved in the process, which are VET staff, VET teachers, VET management, VET students and migrant women enrolled in the organisation. The platform will also include a self-assessment tool for VET organisations, which will help them assess their existing inclusion practices, while it will also help them assess the results of the implementation of the training programme (Result 1). 2 self assessments of VET organisations are going to be organised. One at the beginning of the intervention and one at the end. 3. Training guide on leadership, self development and empowerment of migrant women A guide designed for migrant women, offering theoretical and practical information on soft skills, leadership, personal development, self-awareness and empowerment. The main scope of the guide is to provide to migrant women an updated and modern educational tool, motivational, inspirational, and engaging, focusing on the enhancement of their soft skills, and leadership competences, aiming to empower them and make them believe in themselves more. The more confident the women, the more eager they are to search and find their professional path, ensuring a more stable financial future and personal development. The 3rd project result, also includes the organisation of a training for migrant women, based on the training guide, which will help them work as role-models in their own communities.The outcomes from implementing the project activities will be:- awareness raising about the importance and benefits of using inclusion practices for migrant women in VET education.- raising of attractiveness of VET education and transformation of VET organisations into safer spaces for the most vulnerable groups such as women migrants- application of long-term solutions related to the specific problems that women migrants encounter due to their gender identity- capacity building and upskilling of VET staff and trainers on how to use TOC to apply inclusion practices into their organisations- empowerment of women migrants’ soft skills and leadership skills, enhancement of their willingness for self-development- improved chances of employability for migrant women- improvement of everyday life issues for migrant women- empowerment of women migrants who will be able to participate in the process of bringing institutional changes in VET organisation, through their participation using TOC