BACKGROUNDThe Covid-19 virus outbreak in late 2019 - early 2020 led to a surge of remote working, where the majority of EU white collar workforce was compelled to work in an out-of-office setting; this comes to a sharp contrast compared to past years, where just 5-10% of EU employees have been working remotely. Nevertheless, such a rise in remote working has not been unprecedented; there has been a steady, yet minimal, increase through the years in the numbers of remote workers (esp. in the ICT sector), with a similar spike during the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak and other similar cases of business interruptions. The difference this time is that the increase in remote working due to Covid-19 virus outbreak has been fuelled both by more flexible and decentralised management practices, as well as more widely available technologies. Moreover, people are more used to it, be it for work or for personal communication. This led to an immediate and creative adaptation of workplaces to a remote work mode, where in many occasions the entire workforce worked from home.NEEDS & CHALLENGESThe most pressing issue and challenge that became obvious is the possibility of a lasting workplace change, where a greater part of the workforce works out of premises in the immediate future. In addition, clear and consistent policies on remote working are missing from many companies, exposing a lack of HR preparations on the topic in many companies (e.g. remote work company-wide policies, management & contingency plans). HR professionals need to be able to address these new challenges by redesigning processes, and retraining / supporting their colleagues on how to manage an increased remote workforce. From redefining goals and roles of staff, to redesigning personal interactions and normalising the new work environment, HR managers are faced with new tasks that were not part of their portfolios so far, and were rather a small part of the training they had undergone. OBJECTIVESThe project aims to document the emerging skills gap for managing a remote workforce & to develop corresponding Open Educational Resources (OERs) and a training course for the continuous professional development of HR professionals, trainers, supervisors, consultants and managers of organisations and teams. In particular, the project will: 1. Document the skills required for managing a remote workforce, improving skills intelligence at the EU level2. Define learning outcomes for a C-VET course for HR professionals on remote work management3. Make available a sector-validated online course for HR professionals4. Provide ready-to-use tools for the workplace to support the role of HR professionals as trainers and mentorsPARTNERSHIPThe partnership comprises 6 organisations from 6 EU countries (PL, GR, PT, HR, SI, BE) with complementary skills from the worlds of training (PAIZ), higher education (ISCTE, UM), research (EXELIA), sectoral representation (Centar HR), and consulting (INNOVELA). The partnership will be further strengthened through the involvement of a national association of HR professionals (APG - PT) and an HR networking organisation for businesses (LKB – PL), as associated partners.ACTIVITIES-Extended labour market and skills intelligence gathering activities, leading to the development of remote working management learning outcomes-Development of the structure of a joint VET curriculum on remote working management-Creation of corresponding pedagogical materials & a serious game, to be offered as OERs-Development, testing, delivery of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) infrastructures, promoting the uptake of innovative and flexible practices in VET-Development of a toolkit for cultivating an efficient remote working culture & environment -Sharing of outputs with multiplier events, inviting target groups to uptake REMOWA results and to act as further multipliers.RESULTS-Evidence-based learning outcomes on remote working management skills for HR & relevant professionals-Curriculum structure (syllabus), learning & assessment materials, a serious game, as well as a trainer handbook with VET integration guidelines-MOOC comprising the project learning units and contextualised training and assessment materials of the REMOWA course, in their online form-A set of tools for the facilitation of remote work management including self-assessment tool, a best practice guide, and protocols, guidelines and checklists to facilitate remote work practices & processes-6 national info-days to promote project results & public discussion on increasing the quality & effectiveness of VET in the HR fieldPOST-PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY-Uptake of project materials & OERs from relevant training & educational providers across the EU-Participation of a growing number of continuous VET learners in courses based on or integrating project outputs-Uptake of the resources & toolkit by associate partners (APG, LKB), businesses’ in-house training & HR departments