<< Background >>According to the Council Recommendation on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (2018/C 153/01) one of the criteria for working and learning conditions is that of Pedagogical support i.e. “In-company trainers should be designated and tasked to cooperate closely with vocational education and training institutions and teachers to provide guidance to apprentices and to ensure mutual and regular feedback. Teachers, trainers and mentors, especially in micro, small and medium-sized companies, should be supported to update their skills, knowledge and competences in order to train apprentices according to the latest teaching and training methods and labour market needs”. The primary goal of the i-Coach partnership is to create a new occupational profile i.e. the i-Coach Expert: a role which has been either missing or neglected by businesses, educational institutions and national policy makers.Companies often lack the experience of running an internship program, as there is a lack of definitive reference as to who should take the responsibility for creating such a program, what competences they should have or what is the proper understanding of the mentor of his/her role. Equally important is the question of return of investment i.e. how can they enable their companies to benefit from WBL and individual apprentices or successfully integrate the latter in their working environment. While larger companies can afford to invest in training for their staff to bring up quality internships, smaller businesses can’t as they would rather invest in more urgent needs. Thus, the long-term effect of having a dedicated internship program, headed by a dedicated staff, is not being harvested in full capacity.The problems addressed by the project are common to all countries, and that is why their social and cultural background, as well as experience in the field, will create conditions for enhancing and adapting the processes of quality WBL. The i-Coach project aims to tackle the above mentioned issues through the transference of innovative knowledge, tools and practices based on WBL knowledge, collaboration between the relevant stakeholders and exploitation of ICT Tools in these fields. The project aims to introduce the role of the i-Coach Expert, by developing an innovative toolbox, which will equip potential end users with the necessary knowledge required to create & manage an internship program or support employees in their transition to a new role within their organization. The application of ECVET principles into the development of the profile and by developing LOs at EQF Level 4 will allow the project to outreach the TGs.<< Objectives >>OBJECTIVES1) Create a new occupational profile i.e. the i-Coach Expert to support businesses in providing quality internship opportunities2) Provide an innovative approach to upgrading the TGs’ mindset and skills about internship/apprenticeship implementation managementPromote WBL by ensuring pedagogical support for working and learning conditionsSPECIFIC OBJECTIVES1) Equip potential end users with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences of those who are looking to create/manage an internship program2) Increase awareness of the use and the benefits of WBL3) Design a dedicated training methodology and training course to facilitate the uptake of the i-Coach Expert occupational profile;The project also aims to:1. Promote WBL by involving all relevant stakeholders (PR1, PR3) 2. Develop products that are tailored to the identified TG needs (PR1) 3. Make the products of the project sustainable and usable for a large number of stakeholders (PR2, PR3)<< Implementation >>PR1: Design of the i-Coach Expert Skill Set ProfileProject Result 1 (PR1) represents the foundation on which the other 2 PRs will be laid upon - via a mapping process, the partnership will investigate and explore all relevant factors which will lead to the successful creation of the i-Coach Expert’s Profile i.e. what characteristics, knowledge, skills and competences should the i-Coach Expert possess.PR1/A1: Needs Analysis FrameworkThis first activity of the project aims to determine the skills and competences necessary to create the i-Coach Expert’s profile and help define the training contents, the methodology, the way of delivery and the evaluation methods.PR1/A1.1 WBL Knowledge Gap FrameworkThe partnership will investigate what are the obstacles related to national legislations which hinder (or accelerate) WBL practices. PR1/A1.2: i-Coach End Users Focus GroupsThe partnership will organise a series of Focus groups with the main objective to receive first hand feedback in terms of WBL needs, which cannot be received by other conventional researching methods and engage relevant stakeholders from the very beginning of the project.PR1/A2: Elaboration of National Reports Each partner will develop a national report depicting the current situation in terms of WBL.PR1/A3: Elaboration of the i-Coach skills set reportThis first milestone of the project, will contain all the necessary information regarding the set of skills, knowledge and competences required for the creation of the i-Coach Expert Profile.PR2: Development of the i-Coach Training ToolboxPR2 aims to elaborate the i-Coach Training Toolbox leading to the ECVET profile of the “i-Coach Expert”. PR2/A1: Development of the i-Coach Training MethodologyBased on PR1 results, partners will develop the i-Coach Training Methodology i.e. the backbone of the training content and will define the way it will be delivered to end users.PR2/A2: Development of the i-Coach Training CourseBased on the elaborated methodology, partners will work on the development of the specific training content.PR2/A3: Translation of the i-Coach Training ToolboxOnce the contents and materials have been developed and proof-read in the English version, they will be translated in all partner’s languages.PR2/A4: Development of a Training PlatformThe e-learning training platform will support the training, function as a knowledge dissemination platform and facilitate the active collaboration between learners and trainers.PR3: The i-Coach Collaboration ModelPR3 represents the final outcome of the project and its main goal is to (1) test the quality and functionality of the i-Coach training course; (2) test its impact on the end users; (3) and thus, provide insights for the i-Coach Collaboration Model. PR3/A1: Test of the i-Coach Training ToolboxEach partner will invite at least 15 representatives of the project TGs with a special focus on SMEs, giving a total of at least 105 participants.PR3/A2: Piloting phase assessment & Fine-tuningThis activity is dedicated to improve the training content and the functionality of the e-learning platform, based оn the collected feedback.PR3/A3: The i-Coach Collaboration Model ReportThe i-Coach Collaboration Model Report will serve to demonstrate how the strategic use of the i-Coach methodology and WBL approach has the potential to give competitive advantage to businesses.C1 Train the Trainer The event will give partners the opportunity to assess the project outputs through mutual learning and testing process.Multiplier events During the last 2 months of the project lifetime, the partnership, will run a series of multiplier events in the form of a conference. The main objective of the event is to generate awareness among TGs and relevant stakeholders about the project outcomes, the i-Coach Training Toolbox and the Collaboration Model Report and ensure and support the use of the project deliverables by a critical mass of adopters.<< Results >>In order to avoid repetition with other sections, here we would like to present only the key outputs and their respective performance indicators:PR1: Design of the i-Coach Expert Skill Set Profile- 28 case studies in the area of WBL and internship implementation (PR1/A1.1)- 6 national reports exploring the national legislation in the area of WBL & internship implementation (PR1/A1.1)- At least 7 focus groups engaging >70 relevant stakeholders on the issues addressed by the project (PR1/A1.2)- 7 focus groups reports (PR1/A1.2)- 1 i-Coach Skill Set report describing the skills, knowledge and competences necessary for the creation of the i-Coach Expert Profile (PR1/A3)- 6 translated Executive Summaries of the i-Coach Skill Set Report (PR1/A1)PR2: Development of the i-Coach Training Toolbox- 1 i-Coach training methodology (PR2/A1)- A set of training modules designed according to PR1 findings (PR2/A2)- 1 e-learning platform to facilitate the online training of the end users (PR2/A4)PR3: The i-Coach Collaboration Model- At least 105 individuals engaged in the Pilot test phase (PR3/A1)- 14 people interviewed with the aim to obtain more in-depth feedback related to the quality of the project results (PR3/A1)- 7 National reports related to the pilot training assessment (PR3/A2)- 1 i-Coach Collaboration Model Report (translated into all of the 6 partners’ languages) (PR3/A3)C1: Short-term joint staff training events- 1 Train the Trainers Workshop;- 14 staff members (2 from each partner) trained in each of the developed modules from PR2;Multiplier Events- 6 national multiplier events (BG, CY, SP, BE and RO);- A total of at least 200 participants in the national multiplier events;Dissemination- At least 70 persons attending the end user focus groups (PR1/A1.2)- At least 105 individuals and professionals attending the pilot training (PR3/A1)- At least 200 participants attending the final multiplier events- At least 5000 stakeholders reached at the end of the project through publications, newsletters, press releases, meetings and events, organized or attended by the partners;- At least 250 followers on the Facebook project page;- At least 5000 unique users accessing the project web page;- A set of dissemination materials ensuring visibility of the project e.g. 1 project brochure, 4 Newsletters, 1 project website, 1 Social media page, at least 2 press releases.More information is provided in the “Project Results” and “Impact” sections.