The leading trend of demography developments in all EU countries is the well-known phenomenon of aging population. Responding to this trend in a proper fashion is a task of the utmost importance for the future of EU. Preparation of vocational professionals catering to the senior citizen services sector is undoubtedly one of the key elements comprising the solution of adjusting to EU population aging. However, the current state of human resources’ preparedness to serve the senior services sector is generally not satisfactory. National VET systems of the EU countries will have to upgrade the existing and develop new training programmes to close the gap between the needs and demands of the growing senior services market.The project aimed to develop and test innovative training practices in the field of senior care services and to support transnational recognition and validation of knowledge, skills and competencies acquired in the field. The ACE partnership developed a new and innovative training system for senior service workers with integrated ECVET competency assessment and validation system. The main characteristics of the training system include:1. Unified training system: employing a single learning content across the partnership boundaries with integrated competence recognition and validation tools, which promotes better job transparency and supports workforce mobility in the senior care service sector.2. Modular design: training modules are concise and short, offering higher scheduling flexibility of classes for trainees with different competence backgrounds and work experience. It also allows to target better specific competence elements. Modular design will also permit future extensions of the instruction contents when a need for training of new competencies arises.3. Combination of classroom instruction and web-based learning allows for differentiated learning in a classroom and even for including validation of previously acquired competences.within the training system.The initial field testing of the new course, conducted during the latter part of the project implementation, indicates that our goals were accomplished. Employment of the new training system should have a positive impact on quality of CVET training in the social care sector, resulting in a better match between the current and future needs of the senior poopulation and the skill set and competences of care staff. Utilizing the ECVET tool for assessment and validation of professional knowledge, skills and competencies of care workers in the training system will have a positive impact on much improved care staff mobility and transferability of competences.In the long term we expect to see a snowballing effect as more CVET organizations provide higher quality training, eventually raising the quality of services provided in the senior and social care sector.The project consortium ACE is comprised by five partnership members, all with a prior experience in EU project implementation:1. ACZ spol. s r.o. from Prague, Czech Republic, a CVET training organization and the coordinator,2. ibs Institut from Bremen, Germany, a CVET training provider,3. Socializacijos ir darbinio mokymo centras (SDMC) from Vilnius, Lithuania, counselling and social innovation organization,4. Provicia di Livorno Sviluppo, a public body from Livorno, Italy and5. Rehabilitation Centre for Physically Disabled People from Budapest, Hungary, a leading provider of rehabilitation services in Hungary. In the course of the project implementation every member has accomplished important and even indispensable role in the partnership's effort to reach the project objectives.

The society demand across EU for high quality training of social care staff in the senior care service sector has been steadily growing. This need was addressed by the ACE project (2014-1-CZ01-KA202-002058), which was completed in 2017. The principal output of the ACE project is an innovative senior service worker training system (SSW Course). The Course learning materials were developed in the working language of the partnership (EN) and in five languages of the ACE consortium members (CZ, DE, HU, IT, LT).At the beginning of the post-project phase in 2018 ACE partnership members started implementing their sustainability plans and notably the members from the Czech Republic and Italy have seen a positive response from the target groups. The intensive exploitation of the SSW Course and the potential of related ACE products led us to resume the cooperation with the goal of: 1. Secure top-grade professional development for the SSW Course CVET/VET trainers in response to expected high demand for training;2. Extend the level of usage experienced in the Czech Republic and Italy to the other ACE partnership countries (Germany, Hungary, Lithuania);3. Support usage of the SSW Course by elaborating its training methodology into even greater level of detail.With these goals in mind a new partnership has been formed: Two original members of the ACE partnership remained (ACZ from the Czech Republic and PLIS from Italy) and three new members joined (ITINKLAS from Lithuania, NHE from Hungary and NBH from Germany). All new members have an excellent potential for accomplishing the goals that were set out.VET/CVET teachers/trainers of social care workers are the primary beneficiaries and the focus of the proposed project. The project will be for the most part accomplished in a series of joint trainer staff workshops focused on exchange of know-how and best practices of all participants. In structured workshop sessions participating trainers will enhance considerably their professional competences and the workshops will also generate a set of outputs consisting of detailed lesson plans, worksheets and comprehensive methodology recommendations for training of social care workers in the ACE SSW courses.The proposed project implementation will start in November 2020. After completing the necessary preparatory steps all project partners will meet at the kick-off meeting in January 2021, where they will plan and agree on detailed project parameters. Each consortium partner will establish a study group of about ten staff members possessing one or more of the following areas of expertise:•Social care worker educators/trainers,•Seniors social and/or health care experts,•Adult training methodology experts.Study groups members will participate in joint staff workshops aimed at exchange of know-how and best practices. Before the first of best practice exchanges is organized a preparatory workshop will take place in March 2021, where the partners will work out the framework for joint staff workshops. Subsequently five cycles (one per each partner) of 5-day joint staff workshops will take place in regular 3-months long intervals. The first workshop will be conducted in April 2021, the fifth one in April 2022. After this the last workshop in July 2022 will evaluate and summarize outcomes of all exchanges. The best practices identified will be highlighted in amended SSW Course worksheets and methodology materials. The project will be concluded in October 2022.The study group of trainers participating in the joint staff workshops will obtain the immediate benefits of the work program. Exchange of know-how and best practices with the other experts and the common team work on development of innovative and effective teaching methods will benefit their professional development considerably. We also expect that a transfer of experience will take place among the lectors who participated in the exchanges and their other colleagues.Improvements in professional development of the trainer staff will have a profound positive impact on the quality of service partnership members will provide to their clients, public bodies, interest groups and other stakeholders when delivering SSW Course training.Results of the project will be freely available on the dedicated project website and on all partners’ websites as well, along with learning materials of the ACE SSW Course. Enhancing and detailing the training methodology of the SSW Course will support wider adoption of the ACE training system by peer training organizations on the regional and national levels. Finding new ways by the partnership of engaging the ECVET system for assessment and validation of professional competencies, which was developed in the ACE project, will have a positive impact in improved care staff mobility and transferability of competences, initially within the boundaries of our partnership and later among other EU member states.

Education should play an important role in all stages of human life and it is true for senior age as well. It can help prepare people for their old age and contribute significantly to making the old age more enjoyable, more dignified and more independent. Stretching the self-sufficiency period of the elderly citizens will have a profound positive impact on the whole society, not just the seniors.To address the need for providing high quality education to the elderly we set our objective to develop an innovative education program for seniors which will be able to deliver not only immediate goals of mastering the training topics, but also - and even more significantly - to contribute to overall well-being of participants by stimulating their social and spiritual activity. To accomplish this goal we have to move away from one-way mode of information exchange, which is prevalent today in education of seniors, to a two-way mode. It implies for us that, among other things, during all stages of the program preparation we will pay special attention to the issue of actual outcomes, answering the question: To what degree are the desired training goals met? Since mental and physical wellness are among the top priority themes for the elderly, we chose to address the subjects of physical well-being, spiritual well-being, social involvement and managing personal tasks of day-to-day living in the training portfolio. It is expected that the complete education program, when finished, will be covered in 100 – 150 hours of classroom instruction. The course should fill the gap between independent and active, mostly well-educated, students of universities of the third age on one hand and third age academies which do not require from the attendees much more than showing up for the activity, on the other hand.Our partnership is a transnational body formed by five institutions:The coordinator ACZ, an adult training organization from Prague, Czech Republic;Provincia di Livorno Sviluppo, social programs development company of Province of Livorno;Fjölmennt from Reykjavik, Iceland, life-long learning center for adult learners;KMOP, social innovation development NGO from from Athens, Greece;University for Adult Education Celje from Slovenia, adult education public institution.Implementation of the project will be executed in six logical segments:1. Course Analysis and Design2. Course Development3. Teaching and Evaluation Methods4. Application Verification – the piloting program5. Dissemination Activities6. Project ManagementThe principal results of the project include delivery of six intellectual outputs:OUTPUT 1: Analysis of Health and Wellness Education Topics for SeniorsThe study will examine suitability of learning topics for seniors with the goal maximizing potential benefits the education program can achieve with regard to its target audience.OUTPUT 2: Course PlanThe Course Plan describes in detail the structure and the contents of the course. The course total length will be between 100 and 150 class-hours.OUTPUT 3: Course Learning MaterialsLearning Materials constitute teaching/learning texts for the trainees and trainers who will participate in the education program. The contents, prepared in six languages (CZ, DE, EN, GR, IT, SI) will provide learning support to the topics laid out in the Course Plan.OUTPUT 4: Teacher's Guide and Evaluation KitThe product provides methodology for teaching and evaluating the course. It complements products O2 and O3 to form the core educational outputs of the project implementation.OUTPUT 5: Application VerificationThis activity will field-test the new course, evaluate its quality and effectiveness and will help to make final adjustments to the course contents and education methodology. At least 50 trainees will enroll into the piloting program.OUTPUT 6: Promotional VideoThe video information material provides introductory information about the core educational products developed by the partnership to potential students and to the stakeholders.The target group of seniors are intended to be the biggest benefits recipients of the project implementation. Their participation in the education program can help to prepare them for their old age and contribute significantly to extending their self-sufficiency.All participating partnership organizations will benefit substantially through empowerment of their employees and acquisition of new innovative products developed by the consortium. Their abilities to cooperate internationally will grow and their extended know-how will improve their performance capacity.On the local, regional and also national level we hope to see in longer term utilization of this education programs by peer adult education organizations. On the international level we wish to see a general acceptance of the need to increase the quality of education delivered to seniors with regard to monitoring and evaluation of actual training outcomes.

In the context of the increasing of the over 65 aged pupulation in Europe (+2,6% in EU28 from 2008 to 2018), and in the provision it could grow up, it is urgent to maintanin active and connected to the society the old people, to avoid they could became a social cost. In the COVID-19 emergency we realized how they're fragile, need to be autonomous and maintain their health, but can be a treasure to be preserved. The idea of participation, mobility and exchange is one of the key success of the Erasmus+ Programme, which get the best achievements in Europe involving 853.000 people in 2018. The Brexit results on 2016 revealed the short circuit among generations, inviting to face the gap on the mindset on Eu values between young people and seniors. The partners – learning and innovation centres, cultural body from IT, CZ, SE, CY – will reinforce the tested practices by Erasmus+ projects on educational services to seniors and increase their capacity to operate at transnational level widening the programme opportunities to over 65. The project aims to contribute to promote the Erasmus+ among seniors, by educational and exchanges activities related to EU identity funding values and by transmetting them to young people to build new citizens. Over 65 will test the programme becoming active, and having a new role in society as memory keepers on the values built through our common history (such as democracy, participation, solidarity, multiculturalism, cooperation, open space without barriers, etc). They will convey this big heritage to the new generations, being helped by them on their participation to Erasmus+.The objectives are: - increasing the old people participation to society, making them more active- widening the Erasmus+ programme popularity to different aged bands- favouring a double direction exchange: from seniors to young people and from young people to seniors- reinforce the social, civic and cultural roots of the EU- encouraging the civic engagement and social responsibility of young people.The participants in IT,CZ,SE,CY are:a) 440 seniors over 65 members of non-vocational adult education organisations and learners in non-vocational adult education b) 216 young people from 13 to 30s, staff and members of organisations active in the youth field, school classes of the upper seconday/thertiary levelc) 20 trainers/educators in the parners's staff.They will be involved in the activities:20 trainers/educators in 4 3days Eu workshops200 seniors in the awareness activities100 seniors in the 4 local focus groups16 young people as Erasmus+ ambassadors (participating to Erasmus+ programme) in the focus groups with seniors 40 seniors in 5days of mobility and in 4 EU focus groups to exchange experiences/practices100 seniors in local dissemination seminars on the Eu experience200 young people in min.4 local dissemination workshops.The over 65 will be motivated to transfer to young people the EU and civic values and will be involved in focus groups on social, civic, cultural and historical heritage. The preparation will be carried on by 4 focus groups among seniors in each country on specific topics. After that the seniors during the mobility will have direct knowledge of the topics in other countries, and will exchange the results in international focus groups with other seniors. The focus groups results will be introduced to young people both in class groups and in centres/youth associations, in order to spread the EU values and to educate the new generations to build the new EU citizens’ identity. Expected results during the project life in IT,CZ, SE, CY are:- 20 educators trained on methodology, services to seniors/young people- 200 seniors reached by the awareness raising activities - 100 over 65 involved in the focus groups at local level - 40 over 65 participating to the LTTA and to the EU focus groups - 8 practices pointed out on Eu values following the milestones- 100 seniors involved in the dissemination seminars- 200 young people partecipating to the dissemination workshops - 4 organization/association hosting the project's initiatives within their events- 4 associations/school classes/organizations adopting the kit of common practicesImpact on seniors will be in terms of: increased participation to society and quality of life, renewed in their role of memory keepers, motivated and trained to convey the heritage to the next generations, included in the building of the future EU society; and on young people in terms of: increased civic behaviours and social engagement, knowledge of their country's heritage and Eu main values. Long term benefits:- for the seniors increased active life, participation to society- for the Erasmus+ programme increased its popularity and widened its availability- for the young people increased the civic engagement and the willing to build the Eu society - for the participating organizations enhanced cooperation and learning offer.