Large companies and public sector organisations use Wellness and High Performance Work Practices to support organisation development, staff productivity and to support staff welfare. Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) rarely use such methods. Stress in the workplace, especially within ambitious, growth-oriented SMEs is a significant challenge to enterprises and is becoming a risk to economic growth within this part of the economy. As major contributors to job creation and economic growth, it is important that European actors (e.g. governments, VET and education institutes and economic development agencies) seek solutions designed to help SMEs develop and grow. Stress-related absences impact on individual and organisational performance and tend to be longer than absences arising from other causes. EU-OSHA’s 2014 report argues the associated costs of work-related stress to individuals and employers are significant (e.g. lower income; reduced quality of life; absenteeism, presenteeism, reduced productivity, increased staff turnover. Work-related stress impacts on national economic performance and health costs. In the UK, it is estimated at £4billion per year (Employee Wellbeing 2011/CIPD 2010). Work-related stress impacts negatively not only the performance of individuals, SMEs, but also on national and European economic performance. The F4BG project set out to contribute to improving the performance of SMEs experiencing or aspiring to develop and grow through the development of a high quality work-based VET intervention thereby contributing to the development of an important area of skills within the European economy. The project aimed to address four objectives (1) To contribute to improving the performance of potential and/or actual high-growth SMEs through the development of the Fit4BusinessGrowth Model; (2) To develop a new Fit4BusinessGrowth Model and VET course; (3) To build on the knowledge and results obtained from earlier and related projects; (4) To deliver an exemplar project which will act as a demonstrator project for future VET products utilising wellness and high-performance work practices.Partners brought together three different bodies of knowledge (i.e. wellness in the workplace, High Performance Work Practices and High Growth Business Coaching) to synthesise a Fit4BusinessGrowth methodology. This enabled the development of the F4BG Model, a diagnostic tool and a set of coach and employer tools and resources to be prepared (IO1). These were trialed as with enterprises and VET teacher/trainers and resulted in the drafting of a strategy paper on the importance and longer term development of the F4BG Model and methodology. During the project, partners built on the results of earlier related projects and adopted many best project management practices, resulting in the delivery of a successful Erasmus+ project.The project directly involved 103 enterprises from the main target group. They were engaged in the trialing of the project's products and tools supported by a network of 62 trained F4BG Coaches. Partners created a Directory of F4BG Coaches and also prepared a set of 26 case studies showcasing the impact and experiences of both F4BG Coaches and SMEs. The project results and its impacts contributed to the drafting of a policy paper called, ‘A New Strategy: Fit for Business Growth’. The paper was presented at a series of national conferences (i.e. multiplier events) attended by over 350 people. Partners have also set out twenty four strategies to ensure the longer-term use and development of the F4BG Model including the integration of elements of the methodology within some VET qualifications in management and leadership.

<< Objectives >>The aim of Silver Grow is to provide the complex model of services for senior workers in order to support their potential on the labour market. It foresees the promotion of lifelong guidance and counseling dedicated to senior workers.The project will improve knowledge and competences of career counsellors, employers and employees related to new counseling methods based on the constructivist approach. Partners will create the „fast pathˮ for senior workers and disseminate widely all results.<< Implementation >>Forum group will contain: 5 on-line regular meetings with experts, conducting in-depth interviews with employers and employees, elaboration of report with interactive parts/tools. Creation of the „fast pathˮ for senior adults in enterprises will include: comparative analyses of tools supporting active ageing in enterprises, practical exercices, scenarios, diagnosis of the situation of senior workers, an interactive course, local workshops – testing, on-line downloadable manual.<< Results >>Project results: 5 panels with experts in each partner country, 50 in-depth interviews with employers and employees, one report with interactive parts/tools, the set of tools developed during the creation of a comprehensive training and advisory path (rapid response path) for senior employees, 50 employees from selected companies will increase their efficiency socio-professional, 25 trainers will acquire competences in the frame of the operation of the comprehensive approach.

<< Background >>The European Community has a strong commitment to support the development of the “Sustainable Blue Growth”, as a sector working as an engine of human and economic development. This is such a high priority that the United Nations proclaimed 2021-2030 “The Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”. According to the European Commission, European coasts and seas have potential to deliver sustainable growth and jobs in the coming years and contribute towards the Green Deal objectives. The way to achieve this is investing in new, blue skills and career development. One of the key features for this blue development is the digitalization: Intelligent sensorisation and monitoring, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data analysis, all based on three main skills: electronic, communication and programming. The last Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy (2 Feb-ruary 2021) reaffirmed “the need to prioritize education, vocational training and scientific capacity, in-cluding technology transfer, to anticipate transformative technological trends and promote just transi-tions”, as well as “the importance of working closely with the private sector to promote innovation and identify and address skills gaps”.The report “Strategy baseline to bridge the skills gap between training offers and industry demands of the Maritime Technologies value chain, 2019” (part of the MATES project, funded by Erasmus+) showed that the main paradigm shifter on the skill requirements is the digitalization and Smart Grid and Sensor, having answered more than the 85% experts from different European institutions and companies related to shipbuilding and marine renewable energy that this skill will become mainstream and more than 75% that it will affect the job situation. It will have an impact on a wide range of occupations, from marine engineer to electronical maintenance and repairing. The main actions proposed in this study were train-ing, reskilling/upskilling workforce in digitalization skills and enhance ocean literacy.The education provided by the Vocational Training centers to their students despite ensuring getting some of these skills and the competence needed to work for example in electronic or equipment mainte-nance, does not cover the marine environment peculiarities, the requirements of the emerging compa-nies related with the Blue Growth or the new job opportunities, losing a wide range of job opportunities. This project will design a specialization online course focused on the students in vocational training cen-ters. It will provide them with the knowledge needed to increase their opportunities to work in the blue economy sector. They will learn how skills learned during their education need to be adapted to an envi-ronment as the ocean, the special requirement that the marine and maritime companies have and what the sustainable blue growth initiative is. Besides, they will be introduced to the blue entrepreneurship opportunities available in this sector. The concrete objectives of this project are:- Follow an in-depth research and analysis at a European level of the demands and needs of the labour market to detect what the requirements of these companies related with the digitalization of their com-panies are.- Design and develop the complete online curriculum for VET, developing a pilot training for the students as well as a training for the trainers. - Launching a professional mentoring program for those students who are interested in entrepreneurship initiatives, as well as providing guidance in order to select mentors.- Design and launch of an online collaborative platform in order to foster the networking among students following the course and the companies where these skills are required and other potential stakeholders.<< Objectives >>This project will design a specialization online course focused on the students in vocational training cen-ters. It will provide them with the knowledge needed to increase their opportunities to work in the blue economy sector. They will learn how skills learned during their education need to be adapted to an envi-ronment as the ocean, the special requirement that the marine and maritime companies have and what the sustainable blue growth initiative is. Besides, they will be introduced to the blue entrepreneurship opportunities available in this sector. The concrete objectives of this project are:- Follow an in-depth research and analysis at a European level of the demands and needs of the labour market to detect what the requirements of these companies related with the digitalization of their com-panies are.- Design and develop the complete online curriculum for VET, developing a pilot training for the students as well as a training for the trainers. - Launching a professional mentoring program for those students who are interested in entrepreneurship initiatives, as well as providing guidance in order to select mentors.- Design and launch of an online collaborative platform in order to foster the networking among students following the course and the companies where these skills are required and other potential stakeholders.<< Implementation >>The main activities to be developed in the frame of BLUEDIVET project are:1) Follow an in-depth research and analysis at a European level of the demands and needs of the labour market to detect what the requirements of these companies related with the digitalization of their com-panies are.2) Design and develop the complete online curriculum for VET, developing a pilot training for the stu-dents as well as a training for the trainers. 3) Launching a professional mentoring program for those students who are interested in entrepreneur-ship initiatives, as well as providing guidance in order to select mentors.4) Design and launch of an online collaborative platform in order to foster the networking among stu-dents following the course and the companies where these skills are required and other potential stake-holders.5) Organization of 4 face-to-face and 3 online Transnational Meetings for the project partners (every five months).6) Organization of a Short-term joint teacher training event to ensure that all mentors are aligned with the strategy of BLUEDIVET using some procedures and approaching for supporting the students.7) Organization of the BLUEDIVET final conference to be held in Cartagena (Spain).<< Results >>OUTCOMES DURING THE PROJECT:- Bringing a common knowledge of: * The level of offer in education provided by the Vocational Training centers to their students in order to acquire the competences required for the blue digitalization based on electronic, communication and programming. * The skills needed by the marine and maritime companies.The aim is to analyze the digital competences demanded by the labour market within the blue growthfield and compare them with those actually acquired by the professionals hired to develop these func-tions. Then, a complete curriculum for vocational training will be proposed to narrow this gap and thus improve the employability levels. This result will contribute to build evidence on the skills needs of the society through skills anticipation.- Design and implementation of an innovative educational package based on the information collected after the finalization of the research followed for the first outcome. All the educational materials will be designed and developed in order to be implemented in an online scheme, using an e-Learning platform. This innovative educational package will be tested on the ground through a pilot experience developed in the four countries involved in the project in order to improve it and obtain a definitive version that could be easily exportable and transferable to other geographical contexts and European countries.- Design and launch of a Mentorship program in order to encourage and accompany those students who are willing to start their own blue businesses. In this way, a complete common and shared methodologi-cal manual will be designed to guide entities to select mentors, fulfilling a set of agreed criteria, who will be accompanying them for taking first steps in their business adventures within the blue sector, not only to those that have participated in the training program. Mentorship will enable these entrepreneurs to gain as much autonomy as possible, thus contributing to the successful implementation of their business ideas.- Create, through a collaborative platform, a European Network of Experts on blue digitalization, blue skills and, all in all, blue growth. This action will be supported with the design and spread of an online collaborative platform in order to foster the networking among students following the course and the companies where these skills are required, as well as key stakeholders and experts from different coun-tries.OUTCOMES ON ITS COMPLETION:- Ensure that VET curricula and training programs are actually meeting blue industry needs in terms of digitalization.- Ensure that students are equipped with blue digitalization skills as well as soft skills enabling them to develop new ideas and products, and possibly launch their own start-ups, updating their skills even for future needs that are still unknown.- Create a network of the workforce being trained on blue digitalization and the entities related to the blue growth in order to cover the job opportunities in the sector with a good specialized knowledge.

<< Background >>It is a fact that the European population is ageing progressively and inexorably, even more remarkable in rural areas. Thus, to cite only one example, in the province of León, located in the central area of Spain, % of inhabitants who have 60 years or more exceeds 34%, according to data from 2020, a % that in-creases significantly in rural areas until reaching around 40%. A very high % of this elderly people has some degree of dependence, which means that they need help from third persons to carry out basic ac-tivities of daily life.Given that the longevity of our elders is increasingly high, it is necessary to establish actions that preven-tively allow them to acquire basic knowledge and skills for optimizing opportunities, contribute to strengthen social, economic and territorial cohesion, through active participation in the society in which they live and the promotion of the idea of active and healthy ageing.In this context, through DIGI-Activeing we will implement innovative measures to prevent cognitive im-pairment of the elderly, especially memory and other higher level cognitive functions (language, orienta-tion, attention, concentration, calculation...), so as to encourage and facilitate their active participation in social life within the environment in which they live and be autonomous as long as possible. This need has been accentuated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has aggravated the feeling of loneliness of the elderly.This purpose will be reached through the application of digital technologies, so in a complementary way DIGI-Activeing promotes the access and use of IT by a sector of population (elderly living in rural areas) whom living outside these new tools that can facilitate them access to new opportunities, a better quality of life and personal autonomy and encourage civic participation.DIGI-Activeing is based on the very successful experience that the County Council of León has been de-veloping in recent years through the implementation of the so-called “Memory Workshops”, through which they promote the acquisition of habits that enhance intellectual and mental activity of the elderly living in rural areas in their daily contexts. In these “Memory Workshops” educators carry out various cognitive stimulation activities for the elderly aimed at preventing memory problems associated with age. With DIGI-Activeing we will go a step further and try to enrich these activities through the cooperative work of the consortium members and incorporate them into a 100% digital format to favor their transfer, turning it into “Memory Digital Workshops”.<< Objectives >>The general objective of DIGI-Activeing project is to implement innovative measures to prevent cognitive impairment of the elderly, especially memory and other higher level cognitive functions (language, orien-tation, attention, concentration, calculation...), so as to encourage and facilitate their active participation in social life within the environment in which they live and be autonomous as long as possible.The specific objectives are the following:1. Develop a collection of good practices on active and healthy ageing in rural areas, housed in a micro-site, consisting in the creation of a common bank of successful experiences and references, with a greater emphasis on initiatives of cognitive stimulation, developed at a European or even international level, fa-voring its visualization and dissemination among professionals, institutions and citizens in general.2. Design a digital educational package on cognitive stimulation of elderly people, developed with digital technologies and incorporated into a mobile app. The idea is to develop totally new material, as well as to digitize what is already being used in a traditional way, until configuring an innovative package of games and recreational activities in 100% digital format. 3. Test the digital educational package on the ground through a pilot experience developed in rural areas of the 7 countries represented in the consortium (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain) in order to improve it and obtain a definitive version that could be easily exportable and transfera-ble to other geographical contexts.4. Contribute to the networking and cooperation between public authorities, educational institutions and other local agents for the promotion of active and healthy ageing in rural areas.<< Implementation >>Main activities to be developed in the frame of DIGI-Activeing project are:1) Micro-site of good practices on active and healthy ageing in rural areas (PR1): This output will consist in the creation of a common bank of successful experiences and references, with a greater emphasis on initi-atives of cognitive stimulation, developed at a European or even international level, favoring its visualiza-tion and dissemination among professionals, institutions and citizens in general2) Digital educational package on cognitive stimulation of elderly people (PR2): Partners will design and implement a digital educational package on cognitive stimulation of elderly people, developed with digital technologies and incorporated into a Mobile App usable on smartphones and tablets.3) Organization of 5 face-to-face Transnational Meeting for the project partners.4) Organization of one Multiplier Event in each of the countries represented in the consortium (7 in total) for the public presentation of the Mobile App developed and for announcing the pilot experience and the organization of the different editions of the “Memory Digital Workshops” in each territory.5) Organization of a short-term joint staff training event that will serve for the qualified professionals who will be conducting the “Memory Digital Workshops” that will be organized by each partner during the pilot-ing and testing phase of PR2.6) Organization of a Final conference DIGI-Activeing project to be held in León (Spain).<< Results >>OUTCOMES DURING THE PROJECT:1. Design and implementation of a digital educational package on cognitive stimulation of elderly people (Memory Digital Workshops), developed with digital technologies and incorporated into a mobile app. The idea is to develop totally new material, as well as to digitize what is already being used in a traditional way, until configuring an innovative package of games and recreational activities in 100% digital format. This material will be tested on the ground through a pilot experience developed in several countries in order to improve it and obtain a definitive version that could be easily exportable and transferable to oth-er geographical contexts.2. Development of a collection of good practices on active and healthy ageing in rural areas, housed in a micro-site, consisting in the creation of a common bank of successful experiences and references, with a greater emphasis on initiatives of cognitive stimulation, developed in rural areas at a European or even international level, favoring its visualization and dissemination among professionals, institutions and citi-zens in general.OUTCOMES ON ITS COMPLETION:1. Contribution to the design of activities that preventively allow to elderly, mainly those living in rural areas, to acquire basic knowledge and skills that allow them to optimize ageing opportunities, contribute to strengthen social, economic and territorial cohesion, through active participation in the society in which they live and the promotion of the idea of active and healthy ageing.2. Fostering the application of digital technologies for the promotion of active ageing and education of elderly, mainly those living in rural areas, tools that can facilitate them access to new opportunities, a better quality of life and personal autonomy and, in short, encourage civic participation of the entire rural community. This need has been accentuated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has aggravat-ed the feeling of loneliness of the elderly. 3. Contribution to the networking and cooperation between public authorities, educational institutions and other local agents for the promotion of active and healthy ageing in rural areas.

Coastal and maritime tourism is the largest maritime activity in Europe and closely linked to many other parts of the economy. It employs almost 3.2 million people, generating a total of € 183 billion in gross value added and representing over one third of the maritime economy. Coastal areas are important for growth and jobs, however, many of the small- and medium-sized enterprises that make up the sector struggle with a variety of challenges and cannot adequately exploit this potential alone. An healthy environment and high-quality services — by specialised and well-trained entrepreneurs and workers— will make coastal areas more appealing for marine and nautical tourism activities, sports, and green tourism. OBJECTIVES The general objective of the proposed project is to boost entrepreneurs’ competences, enhance their services and support their competitiveness in marine sector at EU level. Specific objectives are: - SO1: Improve the institutional ecosystem identifying best practices and replicable models. - SO2: Train the trainers in order to support entrepreneurs and want to-be entrepreneurs in adapting their businesses to current market, where a large part of customers are interested in support environmental-sustainable businesses. - SO3: Encourage the creation of new businesses focused on blue economy (touristic businesses mainly) with a business model which integrate business competitiveness/growth and environmental protection. The project aims at filling the gap of the skills related to the entrepreneurs of the maritime sector. TARGET GROUP Direct Target: educators, trainers, teachers which support entrepreneurs and business creation, entrepreneurs active in marine tourism, want to-be-entrepreneurs in marine tourism Indirect target: policy makers, public authorities, tourists SIX PARTNERS from 5 countries will take part to this project: - Leader is The Maltese Italian Chamber of Commerce (MICC) is a non-profit organization whose aim is to develop and increase business opportunities; - Varna Economic Development Agency (VEDA) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental association; - Coopération Bancaire pour l’Europe is a Brussels-based European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) - Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI) is a private consulting company, created in 1997, as an active centre of national and international networks connected to the SME and innovation sectors. - FVB (The Hive) is a “certified business incubator” delegated to promote the birth and development of innovative start-ups; - The University of Malta (UM) it is the highest teaching institution of the State. Two Associated partners will support the project activities along with Dissemination and Sustainability: - University Maritime Platform (Malta) - Department of Geosciences (Malta) Description of ACTIVITIES: - project management activities; - quality assurance and evaluation activities; - learning outcomes and quality indicators; - Online Interactive map of Best Practices & Repository of training courses, experts' interviews and datas; - BLUESPROUt training programme; - Interactive (E-learning)Training platform; - project web site (design and programming, content); - testing and piloting activities; - dissemination activities; METHODOLOGY: designed to incorporate necessary research, design, testing, production, implementation, exploitation and sustainability phases. Activities are scheduled to allow for essential reflection and inputs both by the consortium partners and target groups. PROJECT ACTIVITIES RESULTS will be clearly related to the specific objectives of the project. IMPACT: increased competences of blue entrepreneurs, want to-be entrepreneurs, workers, learners, trainers and techers; increased awareness of participants (at local, national, European level) about opportunities and innovative trends (as the application of the principles for a sustainable Blue Economy) in the coastal and marine touristic sector. PARTICIPANTS: number of participants from the target group and potential beneficiaries: 500