Legislation, norms and regulations in the field of waste management are under constant development and new technologies and knowledge emerge continuously, requiring industry to adapt rapidly to survive. There are sectors which are facing great difficulties to detect, understand and apply these developments, while at the same time generating a considerable amount of hazardous and/or dangerous waste. It concerns sectors with a high concentration of (micro)SMEs which focus on non-knowledge intensive activities. The car or vehicle repair and maintenance sector is a typical example of this, it is one of the branches which face great difficulty to transform or adapt their activities to the current legislative, normative and regulatory developments and the adoption of good environmental practices.Traditional methods are currently predominant in the sector with respect to training in this field, including for waste management. Traditional training in this sense is understood as attending physically a training course, where a trainer transfers theory, and best practices are merely explained and exposed but not experienced. However, this type of training is not tailored to the needs of the target public, partly due to the their reluctance to these type of methods (on many occasions the reason why left in early stage formal education and training, or opted for lower level VET training with a more hands-on learning approach). But another, an no less important reason is that the number of staff in these kind of SMEs is already low, and has suffered even more due to the economical crisis. This increases the strain on existing owners and staff, with more hours and much less flexibility, reducing the possibilities for participation in training that required physical presence and fixed hours. CARWASH has provided an answer to this challenge by developing an easy understandable and user-friendly serious game with its support training platform, which will provide the professional (i.e. owners and staff) of the car repair and maintenance sector, with the knowledge. skills and competences to properly understand and apply the legislative, normative and regulative framework concerning management of hazardous and/or dangerous waste, and implement good environmental waste management practices. The serious game and support training platform can be accessed on-line and is prepared for mobile use. The playful learning approach through a serious game counteracts many of the inconveniences for the target public as encountered in traditional training. It has done so by starting with a needs analysis, which fed into the development of the learning objectives and requisites for the game and platform and their subsequent development of the game & platform, complemented with a learner´s guide provides. All underpinned with project & quality management, dissemination and exploitation. CARWASH has been developed by 6 partners from 6 different European countries, representing the expertise, competencies and knowledge required, while at the same time representing the identified target groups:•ASPREMETAL y CTRIA, are related to the sector and represent jointly over 120 associates.•VOKA represents all companies in its área (total 3400) of which a significant group belongs to the target sector.•TRAIN2000 is the CNA Pesaro training organisation with 6000 members of which 270 belong to the sector.•EP2000 is expert on methodological and pedagogical approaches and provides training to the sector.•AVACA is the technological expert, with a track record in serious games.The foreseen impacts on the direct target group have been realised: -Gain knowledge on waste management and adhere to the legislative/normative framework: the target groups indicates that have gained relevant knowledge on the topic and see the game as a useful tool for learning. They indicate that they can gain knowledge which helps to avoid sanctions. -Implement good environmental practices, and reduce the decision-making times: they identify that good management of hazardous waste contributes positively to the positioning and image of the company and see it relevant towards their clients. -Good waste management and environmental practices are appreciated by the clients, and a company can distinguish itself by communicating this and increase their client base. This is confirmed by the target group, who mention clearly that adhering to these kind of principles helps to gain competitive advantage. -Increase their employability: from the impact dialogues it is evident that this is an issue which considered by most respondents as most relevant for the future professional, i.e. those who are currently in VET training cycles related to the automotive sector. The inclusion of the knowledge and approach of Carwash will allow them to acquire knowledge which is not included in the regular curriculum and can give those who have used it a head start in the labour market.

Gothenburg Technical College is the result of a unique private/public sector collaboration between Volvo Car Corperation, Volvo Group and the municipalty of Gothenburg. The College is jointly owned and managed by both organizations. The purpose of GTC is to provide high quality technical education within the technical industrial sector. GTC has for many years sent about 35 students abroad in Europe each year to do their internships. GTC works with internationalisation throughout the entire organisation and is one of the objectives from our owners The need for highly educated staff that has experience from mobility and international coorperation is crucial for the industry to survive and develop. The need for good language skills is necessary for a global company of today. The language and technical development from experiencing different methods used in our partner countries is a key for both our Upper Secondary students, adult learners and staff to have the know-how and experience for high employabitlity. The companies in the industry need skilled employees within Research & Development and leadership, which are our objectives with the project, to be more competitive and manage through recessions and in return create jobs. The internships are planned to take place in the industrial sector in Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy and Latvia. The participants of this mobility project consist of young workers, employed by Volvo Cars Cooperation, studying their 3rd year at GTG. They undergo a special designed industrial technical program. Work life integration is part of their training. The international work life training is planned during 5 - 8 weeks. Locating work place training to another European country will increase the participants’ employability on an international market. Many modern European manufacturing industries are forced to be in the leading edge of developing new techniques and methods, that’s why companies change faster than schools. In the work place training in companies with high level of technological competence in Europe, the participants will be able to learn and work with updated technology. Through international training the students will also be better prepared for industrial mobility in the future, since they have improved their knowledge of a foreign language and gained experiences of intercultural communication. The partners are chosen on the basis of long-term relationship and consist of schools, organizations and companies from our previous projects; Q-placement, i2i and EAPP. Latvia is a new partner for us, and we are very eager to start working with them. The project aims to improve quality of technical development and innovation and the course leadership and organization. The participants of this mobility project will study how research & development differs and how it is similar in Sweden from our partner organisations as well as how leadership and organisation differs. There is much to learn, both for our students abroad and for our students that will meet participants here in Göteborg. This year we also want to increase the mobility for our adult learners. This is also crucial for our staff, to keep the high level of skills within the technical and industrial sector. One way of evaluating the quality is to make the participants evaluate their experiences of the internship period. By working with their awareness about their own social competences by using self assessment tools we have seen they have grown as individuals during their stay abroad. The self assessments methodology has been integrated in all classes doing their last year at GTC and is something we want to work more with the adult learners. An important aspect of the Learning Outcomes in this project are not only the technical development in mechatronics, telematics and technical design, but also the intercultural and social skills. We have developed a tool for students to do a self assessment and we have lessons for each class to work with social skills, leadership styles and discuss companies' expectations. The lessons have been positive evaluated by the students and has along with the knowledge acquired abroad been very valuable for their life-long learning and for their opportunities in finding jobs with this experience in their CV's. Recruiting young people in leadership is a challenge for the companies in the industrial sector in Sweden. With this project we aim to strengthen the participants for the future in this regard.The benefits are numerous;• Improve technical skills for future employment in the industrial sector. • develop greater awareness of the social, political, and cultural environment of the host country • increase their networking and employability opportunities • develop transferable skills, such as problem solving, teamwork, communication, decision-making, autonomy and flexibility • increase independence and self-confidence

There is a significant gap between the reality of the workplace and the educational world that need trimming. Corporate Volunteering is a strategy (linked to the Corporate Social Responsibility) that provides an opportunity to connect both realities. According to “Business in the Community” (reference organization in Europe in the field), Corporate Volunteering is “voluntary activities and personal commitment made by employees in an organized and on an informal, unpaid, and for the benefit of other individuals framework. These activities include: mentoring and coaching, training and knowledge transfer schemes, workplace learning and training, community service, team projects building and conference dedicated to volunteering.Corporate Volunteering in educational centres have relevant benefits for both:- For the educational centres, joint work with companies provides them with new perspectives, contents, methods, resources for students and teachers. It also provides with an updated vision on the skills and competences that the labour market demands, from a general and specific point of view.- For business, this collaboration contributes to increase their positive image and reputation but above all to improve the commitment and sense of belonging of employees, thus contributing to a better internal working environment. Volunteering activities also improve participating employees’ competences (such as: self-management, organizational and communication competences). CV PLUS project seeks to contribute to improve the connection between the education and business world through Corporate Volunteering. Its objective is offering to those responsible for business organizations and educational centres, resources that enable them to understand what Corporate Volunteering is, how to integrate it into their strategic plans/educational program, how to design joint actions and how to measure the impact of these actions on the company and on the educational centre and their staffs. The project Consortium is formed by seven organizations from six EU countries (ES, DE, IT, PL, FI, BE) that are both business organisations (such as CEBEK, Hanse-Parlament and VOKA), schools and VET practitioners (such as CCOOS and KCZIA), and specialists on innovative pedagogies and business management (such as Learnmera Oy and Inveslan)They will enjoy their theoretical background and practical experience for the development of:1. An online platform for open educational resources, which will include - A database of good practices on Corporate Volunteering linking companies and educational centres (with video testimonials from people who have been involved in corporate volunteering experiences with educational centres); - A training course to train managers of companies to design a strategic plan of Corporate Volunteering and evaluate his impact; - A training course for school and VET centres leaders, trainers and teachers to empower them to organise CV initiatives in their centres.2. A Methodological Guide for companies in which methods and tools for planning, implementation and evaluation of actions of Corporate Volunteering in cooperation with schools will be offered.3. A Methodological Guide for schools in which methods and tools for planning, implementation and evaluation of actions of Corporate Volunteering in cooperation with companies will be collected.CV PLUS project will contribute:- To disseminate information about what Corporate Volunteering is, and which opportunities and benefits it offers;- To improve the links and cooperation between companies and educational sectors through the implementation of Corporate Volunteering projects;- To improve the capacities of the business and educational management to design and implement effective Corporate Volunteering programs and activities.The long term benefits of CV PLUS activities will be a better collaboration between business and educational worlds, which will translate in:- A more socially committed business world, - An educational world closer to real work market needs;- The improvement of students’ competences and employability.

The project finds its rationale in the needs of training and education providers, students, production companies, ngos and the European Commission. The need for the ethical training of employees has already formally been acknowledged by the European Commission claiming to integrate CSR in the skills and competences of managers and employees. These are regarded as key elements in terms of individual responsibility development for a lifelong employability and its sustainability, thus the intensification of ethical skills education is a challenge both for the business and the educational sectors.In our globalized world changing our lifestyles and consumption patterns here means also having an impact on the southern hemisphere. For this reason raising awareness is becoming a necessity as well as a part of the mission of the ngos involved in international cooperation. Guiding principles of cooperation projects are not ever growth and development but mutual learning, solidarity and environmental sustainability. Therefore, education on human rights, respect for the environment and social diversity is required for adult audiences as well.All stakeholders of the project are represented in the partnership that is composed by 5 training providers, that include also 3 universities, two chambers of commerce (representing companies) and 2 ngos.The objective of the project was to enhance the quality and relevance of the learning offer in training, via developing new and innovative approaches, supporting the transfer of good practices and fostering the assessment of key-competences, including transversal skills like ethical ones, in order to enhance the role of ethical competences, to raise the awareness of companies on the issues of human rights, respect for the environment, the consumption of land and resources, i.e. values that are part of the ethical skills area of EQF for managers.To achieve this objective the project has worked with all stakeholders, represented in the partnership (training providers and universities, ngos and companies) and built up an innovative and attractive training catalogue. The catalogue has been planned upon the results of an international research coordinated by Stockholm UNiversity aimed at identifying 8 areas of interest to enhance the CSR culture in companies. Ngos and companies has been interviewed during the research. After the research results the partnership has designed the training format the has been characterized by a non formal part and informal part. So every training path is composed by a non formal session, an informal session and the assessment session. On the base of this structure a training catalogue has been drawn. It includes a slot of opportunities of non formal training courses based on the 8 identified areas. The non formal training can have several duration, depending on companies and students needs and availability. The training catalogue previews also informal sessions to be developed directly in the field. There are 64 different informal training sessions. The informal training can be developed in Europe and in contexts outside Europe. A lot of informal training sessions can be developed in contexts in which projects of cooperation for development are realized. The catalogue includes informal training sessions in 16 countries around the world.The training offer includes also a framework to evaluate the learning results gained during the courses. This framework previews also the aknowledgement of ECTS credits depending on the amount of hours attended and the learning results gained. The trainings included in the catalogue can be financed in several ways. For this purpose the partnership has developed a sustainability report that esplains the cost for each training path, both for the non formal and the informal sessions. The project has salso faced a good number of dissemination activities. In each partner country at least one multiplier event has been realized. Moreover the universities partners has made a good dissemination about the catalogue among other universities with seat in their country. The chambre of commerce has disseminated a lot with their associated companies. The training providers has disseminated among pupils and companies. Ngos has made a good dissemination activity addressed to companies and other ngos. It’s very interesting that ngos’ main dissemination target have been companies. It confirms the great interest of the non profit sector to cooperate with business sector.The project is having good impacts in the organizations: ODISEE and VOKA has already realized the second edition of the Summer school for sustainable business (page 18 of the catalogue), Oikos Onlus has realized the first edition of the refugees simulation (see page 21 in the catalogue). Innospectrum has received the first request by a very big company that want to partecipate in the training offered by the catalogue

The greatest challenge for today's Europe’s engineering economies is the so called smart industry, which is understood as the intelligent IT-based components and systems within all key areas of supply, production and distribution chains. This irreversible leap forward in industrial development is comparable with the introduction of steam power, electricity or basic IT at previous stages and is therefore known as the fourth industrial revolution.Engineering enterprises must act quickly because they need to:• build-up IT-controlled communication and interaction processes between various actors during the entire production and value chain• develop and implement Cyber-Physical Systems• redefine management and staff skills• restructure work organisation and communication flowUnfortunately, Europe’s enterprises are poorly prepared for these developments and lag behind their competitors in the USA and Asia. In particular SMEs, the backbone of Europe’s industry and still global leaders in many parts of the market, are under enormous pressure in order not to completely lose contact and their share of the market in the medium-term. Recently, some national initiatives have put smart industry on the agenda, however these are very generic, not interlinked with each other and provide little support to SMEs.Therefore, the SMeART project has been initiated to build up sustainable cooperation between HEIs and engineering SMEs to ensure the successful transfer to smart industry by:• Comparative description of major smart industry initiatives in all 28 member states, interlinking them through our project• A survey on smart industry situation of engineering SMEs and profiling of clear areas for support and guidance by HEIs• Development of a HEI business cooperation model for upskilling SMEs to meet the challenges of smart engineering• Development of a sustainable learning, exchange and networking online portal to ensure further cooperation, development and lobbying.