The priority goals of the European Union concerning the improvement of VET include the dissemination of work-based learning, however there are only a few methodological professional materials available - that regulate the whole training process – related especially to adult learning. The partnership led by the Government Office of Békés County has aimed at developing a complex methodology for work-based learning in international cooperation that can be applicable on European Union level in CVET of adults. The Government Office has implemented the project in cooperation with Finnish, Italian, German and Hungarian organisations that engage with VET and with a Hungarian employer that is involved in work-based learning as well.The methodological handbook is based on handbooks made by foreign partner organisations according to a uniform system of criteria, including the methods they apply in CVET of adults. The intellectual output of the project, namely the complex methodological handbook, contains the work-based learning processes and sample documents for CVET of adults, the building blocks of its quality organisation according to the 6 building blocks defined by EQAVET (Design, Improve, Respond, Communicate, Train, Assess). The ready-made handbook was presented at the 1st multiplier event organised in Hungary during the mid-term of the project to the experts responsible for VET. The next, pilot version of the complex methodological handbook was prepared taking into account the feedback of partner organisations and professionals responsible for VET. The methodology was tested and the handbook was finalised in the 2nd year of the project. During the preparation phase of testing guidelines were prepared for the tasks to be performed, the professionals carrying out the test training had also been prepared to apply the method.The methodology was tested in VET provided outside and in the school system. The former one was realised with the participation of the 2 Hungarian partners, a meat product manufacturer training, consisting of 240 lessons was organised by ALFA KISOSZ Advocacy and Training Association with the participation of the employees at Gyulahús Ltd. The latter one was carried out in a two-month period of social care worker training organised by Gál Ferenc College Vocational School, Secondary Grammar School of Békés at the Hajnal István Nursing Home of the Békés County Hajnal István Social Service Centre.During piloting we used methods, processes and sample documents included in the methodological handbook. The development of a web and mobile application supported to document the implementation of the test training, which enabled the professionals and leraners to document the realisation of the training in an electronic form. Student self-assessment was realised on a daily basis as well as the evaluation by the instructor.We evaluated the experiences with the professionals and learners, summary studies on the implementation of the piloting were completed. Following the testing, the foreign partners evaluated the experiences of testing the new methodology. The final version of the methodological handbook was prepared taking into account the experiences of operation and the evaluation made by foreign partners.At the beginning of the project and after the piloting, questionnaire surveys were carried out among the VET providers, workplaces and the learners to measure the impacts of the project. After testing the developed method, the change in relation to the initial state was measured. Testing the methodology clearly confirmed the relevance of each process element defined in the handbook, applying the methods significantly enhanced the quality of the training and the satisfaction of the VET provider, the workplace and the learners. A final study available in English and Hungarian have been completed containing the demonstration of the aims, activities, the achieved goals and sustainability. The methodological handbook, which is the main output of the project can be downloaded in 5 languages from the website of the project, www.wbl.hu, where after registration it is free to try and use the web and mobile application, too.We have made a proposal to the Ministry for National Economy for the wider dissemination of work-based learning in Hungary.The project results had been widely disseminated during the project:multiplier events were organised in all 4 countries implementing the project, at a meeting of the Steering Commitee of the European Network for Quality Assurance in VET, at a professional conference of EPALE among others, and on an EQAVET forum.The new methodology enables the introduction of work-based learning and its effective application in each member state of the European Union, the methodology can be integrated into our VET system, it is applicable in the future as it complies with the quality requirements specified by EQAVET.

"In connection with the progressing process of the aging of the EU society, initiatives are taken to activate professionally as well as socially adults and seniors. In a special situation on the labor market there are women whose statistical life expectancy is longer than men*, but the length of professional life is lower**. Many women whose children are grown up and become independent would like to start a professional career that will give them a sense of meaning. Unfortunately, returning to the labor market for many of them is a challenge because they often feel that their skills have become obsolete and they have nothing to offer to a potential employer.According to Eurostat data (access from 27/06/2018) regarding the employment rate in EU28 in 2017 – there is 58,9% professionally active women aged 50-64, while men, in the same age group - 71.1%.Project entitled ""Universal model of professional course for new age child carers dedicated for women aged 50-64 years"" responded to the need for professional activation of unemployed women and inactive people over 50, so that they could transform unique skills and knowledge related to bringing children into a professional career. In addition, access to the services of professionally trained child carers would also allow young parents to return to the labor market more quickly.The aim of the project was to exchange best practices and ideas for developing a universal model of a professional vocational course for future child carers, with particular emphasis on the training needs of women aged 50-64.As part of the consortium, the recommendations on personality characteristics and skills necessary for a child carer were developed, a self-assessment test was prepared as the first element to check the predispositions for working with children, tools and methods for verifying candidates for the profession were presented and a training program consisting of nine modules was prepared concerning different areas of knowledge related to childcare.Six partners from the following countries were involved in the project implementation: Poland, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. In order to best take into account the needs of women aged 50+ and the requirements of parents looking for a suitable child carer, among the institutions creating the course were Non-profit organizations (M'am'amloca, ProActivate Ireland) involved in activating older people and caring for their well-being, regional institutions dealing problems of the labor market (Voivodship Labor Office in Katowice and Government Office In Bekes County) and institutions leading and creating trainings (COOS and Bimec).Project activities were related to the implementation of international partner meetings (5 meetings during the project) and the development of project results:- creation of a project website containing the most important information about the project, project meetings and partnership results and its ongoing update; - carrying out two surveys concerning the personality traits of a guardian for children and the most important issues of the course conducted among parents and women aged 50+; - design and publication of a leaflet informing about the project;- preparation of a self-assessment test to test predispositions in the profession of a child carer;- evaluation of the test by professionals dealing with child care;- preparation of a model (program of a vocational course) containing 9 thematic modules, comprehensively preparing for the role of a child carer;- evaluation of the course by institutions involved in the creation of courses, professional activation and conducting training to confirm the high quality of the program and its minor modifications based on the analysis of suggestions received by the partners;- preparation and publication of a handbook showing the results of the project.The results will bring long-term benefits, especially for people interested in taking up a job as a child carer. The self-assessment test is one of the tools to assess the predisposition to work with children, based on test results, unemployed people or those wishing to change their career path may decide to take action to achieve this goal.The professional course model prepared by the partner group is comprehensive and flexible. It allows training institutions to choose all or the most important, from the point of view of the target group, modules and subjects in order to prepare professionally trained child carers. *Based on data from the Eurostat database, access from 27/06/2018, the difference in life expectancy of women and men in Ireland is 4.1 years, while in Poland it is 7.5 years.** Statistically, men in EU28 work 38.1 years and women 33.1 years."

The two-year project entitled ’BACK to LEARNING – Developing Key Competence of Adults for High Quality Learning Opportunities’ has been implemented by an 8-member international partnership representing 6 countries (Hungary, Estonia, Ireland, Germany, Malta, Spain) with the coordination of the Government Office of Békés County funded by the Erasmus+ programme.The project focused on the further development of the professional activities of organisations involved in the partnership and mutually becoming acquainted with the best practices applied in the topics of cooperation system of organisations, the organisation of trainings aimed for competence development, curriculum development, the sensitising of professionals engaged in development and those in a position to improve the situation low-skilled adults, and in further professional trainings.The meeting in Hungary in September 2020 was implemented in an online form due to the world pandemic while at all the other venues project staff was at present. The exchange of experiences was realised in the form of holding 2-day transnational partnership meetings in each 6 partner country. During the meetings, apart from carrying out project management related tasks, the hosting organisations presented the best practices, methods and the experiences of implementation applied by them or with organisations cooperating with them in the field of adult education that are in accordance with the project aims. Besides receiving theoretical pieces of information, the participants could meet people implementing as well as participating in the programme in the form of on-site visits. The meeting in Hungary held in September 2020 was implemented in an online form due to the world pandemic while at all the other venues project staff was at present. The project primarily intended to provide further development for professionals responsible for career counselling and guidance, the basic competence development of adults, the education of teachers/experts dealing with basic skills development, adult education and forming employment policies at the particular organisations, however the ultimate aim was to integrate the best practices seen and considered to be adaptable into the operation of the implementing organisations, and to further improve the level of their professional work with amending the methods, if needed.One of the major results of the project is the Brochure of Best Practices presenting the methods and approaches applied by the partner organisations and the results and experiences of their operation in practice. In the document 2 best practices per partner country, in case of Hungary 3 programmes due to the 3 partners, are described to the reader. They can directly or – via the further education and sensitisation of professionals – indirectly contribute to develop adults’ basic skills, to reach motivation towards entering adult education/VET thus their labour market integration. During the implementation, measuring impact received special attention. Each partner selected at least one or some elements of the best practices seen, the testing and later adaptation and application of which they considered to significantly improve their own professional work and the network of stakeholders. The project partners measured the impacts according to a pre-defined system of criteria, in which they described which methods they had chosen to test and in what ways they had integrated them into the operation of their organisation, what the experiences of ‘piloting’ were and what amendments they would suggest in order to improve the method. Another very important outcome of the project is the framework system on the further education of professionals facilitating adults’ basic competence development. In the document a proposal using a ‘learning outcome-based’ approach has been made for the profile and competences to be possessed by professionals of three properly distinguished fields (educators/teachers/trainers, counsellor, support workers).Furthermore, a complex pack of proposals was prepared by each country for policy makers, adult education providers and other organisations in relation to measures and actions necessary to be taken to improve adults’ basic skills development.Besides the Brochure of Best Practices, the study summarising the experiences of integrating the acquired methods into the operation of the organisations, the framework system of training for professionals facilitating basic skills development as well as the country-specific proposals are also available at the http://bekes.munka.hu/Engine.aspx website under the menu item ’International projects’ and the partner organisations’ websites. The results published are recommended for any organisation and professional responsible for the project topics because they offer beneficial guidelines related to acquiring basic skills and thus motivation towards participating in lifelong learning.

<< Background >>The two-year long strategic partnership project is implemented by Hungarian and Romanian public employment bodies, a Spanish and Hungarian higher education institution, a German community college, Estonian and Hungarian vocational training institution also providing adult education, and an Estonian private company facilitating the implementation of industrial digitalisation.The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the digitisation poses increasing challenges for adult education as well, across Europe. In order to better address the more and more tangible workforce shortage, new ways should be sought in training that is adapted to participants, taking into account their skills structure when combining the various methods and teaching materials applied in education.During the pandemic, adult training courses across Europe were partly organised in a digital work schedule. We have found that disadvantaged, low-skilled adults have been able to engage in this form of training with little efficiency in the absence of appropriate technical tools and digital competences. Research conducted by the coordinator institution among educators and experts in adult education, and among adults participating in training has also confirmed that the lack of digital competences for disadvantaged adults, and the deficiencies of modern educational methodologies of training providers are a barrier to the digital switchover of adult education. New demand has emerged in education professionals for the digital competence development of adults, and for learning about new approaches - applicable in adult education - that effectively apply the achievements of digitalisation, as well as for renewing their methodological toolkit. We looked at the situation of the 4 partner countries, reviewed local research and professional materials on the subject. According to feedback from partner organisations – although to varying degrees - this problem is identified everywhere, as well as the need for the methodological development of professionals engaged in adult education. In order to meet common needs, the partnership has decided to implement a project in international cooperation, in the adult education sector in line with the Digital Transformation priority.In adult education – from an employment policy perspective – the need for the development of digital knowledge emerges in two different target groups. Due to the renewal of technologies, a large number of professionals working in companies are in need to renew their knowledge, at the same time, the knowledge of disadvantaged available labour force (including the inactive and the unemployed) also need to be improved in order to be able to work in the digitised working environment. The system of services and aids operated by the employment organisations, including the system of demand-driven labour market trainings, shall be continuously developed. Adult education providers must be prepared to provide education supported by modern teaching methods and digital tools that take into account individual needs and prior knowledge. In order to improve the efficiency of the professional activities of the partner organisations, it is necessary to develop the specific competence of staff in the field. The members of the partnership also want to contribute to the higher quality of the work of staff by providing more qualified human resources to achieve our strategic goals. In the professional further training system of the partner organisations, learning about innovative methods applied on the international stage is a priority. We would also like to increase the quality and efficiency of the organisations’ professional activities by integrating them into the operation. The Erasmus+ programme has created the possibility for this.<< Objectives >>The main objective of the project is to ensure that partner organisations can expand their toolbox of methods for developing adult digital competences and digital awareness through learning from each other. Partner organisations share the methods they apply in the provision of services/guidance for adults with low digital skills, in determining the level of digital competence and its recognition in studies, the wide use of digital tools in adult education, the preparation of trainers for digital education, in differentiated (e.g.: adults of different generations, therefore with different digital skills structures) teaching methods. Our further goal is to network organisations that are stakeholders in adult learning and employment; strengthen cooperation, and this way exchange experience in the operation of local cooperation systems.Employment organisations do not organise trainings, but participation is supported through complex labour market programmes (including services and training aid). The aid is awarded to the jobseekers, and in case of the employed, to the employer. They operate a demand-driven labour market training system; trainings for qualifications that meet the needs of the labour market are implemented by officially licensed adult education institutions cooperating with them.One important element of labour market trainings is the development of basic skills, including digital skills – required both for learning and employment - for people in employment and for jobseekers. Low-skilled adults can only join higher levels of education matching employers’ needs after catching-up. However, the success of access to learning opportunities also depends on the quality of counselling. By implementing the project, employment bodies want to contribute to better addressing demand and supply needs in the labour market through developing human resources, renewing existing methodologies, integrating innovative approaches into day-to-day work of their staff and the organisation. The development of basic skills, including digital competences in adults, and the application of modern methods (including digital teaching methods and tools) facilitating differentiated teaching (taking into account the needs of adults with different skills and motivation levels, and of different age groups) require specific teacher competences and preparedness. The two Hungarian, the German, the Spanish and the Estonian partner organisations are adult education providers, thus, from their point of view, an important objective for the dissemination of digital education is to increase the capacity of their institutions to use digital technology, improve the methodological training of their teaching professionals and to improve the effectiveness of counselling in order to utilise the benefits of innovation. By implementing the project - from the point of view of adult education providers - we would like to achieve the increase of methodological knowledge of adult education professionals in the field of digital skills development and digital awareness development of adults, as well as in education that can match the needs of adults of different backgrounds and utilise the achievements of digitalisation.<< Implementation >>The further training of experts of the partner organizations is provided through professional exchange of experience, and learning from each other, which is realized in transnational meetings. There will be a total of 5 partner meetings in 5 countries with all partner organizations participating. During the meetings in addition to performing project management tasks, good practices applied by the host institution and its partners are always presented. Practices are to be presented in a practice-oriented manner; in addition to the transfer of theoretical knowledge, the participants also meet the implementers of the given programme and the training participants. After the partner meetings the participants present the good practices they learnt in a professional report and their proposals for the applicability. Reports are to be in English and shared within the partnership, and presented at the next partner meeting. The quality of implementing the partner meeting is assessed by the participants in a questionnaire. The Questionnaire Survey provides feedback, which is considered during the preparation of the next partnership meeting.After the partnership meetings each partner begins internal dissemination activity within its organization. The staff participating in the meetings will work together with colleagues responsible for the management and coordination of professional activities in the project field. Taking into account the legislation and operation requirements, partners analyse the applicability of the given best practice. If a practice or its elements are considered applicable to be incorporated into the operation of the partner organisations the practice will be tested. Colleagues working in the field of the project, who did not attend the meeting, are also involved in this process. We intend to motivate them to participate in innovation during Information Days.If a good practice is considered suitable to be adapted in inter-organizational cooperation as well, we will also propose methods to be tested with the involvement of partner organizations cooperating with at national level, and discuss the application of the method.We strive to pay special attention to evaluate the project objectives, activities undertaken, and the project progress. Methods and tools of evaluation are set in documents developed in the preparatory phase of the project, such as the Organisational and Operational Rules, Work Programme, Risk Management Plan, Dissemination and Communication Strategy. In the implementation phase, the preparation of the professional products of the project and quality control of the products are supported by guidelines and criteria. Documents ensuring the appropriate quality of the project are always discussed and adopted at the partner meetings.During the project implementation we will measure the impact of the project. On the one hand, this will be done by applying the expected impacts defined by the partner organizations in the preparatory phase to the indicators assigned to the impacts. According to local possibilities each partner intends to test one best practice. In case of trial, before the end of the project - on the basis of pre-agreed guidelines - each partner prepares a summary about the result of testing, including any proposals for further improvements.Project results will be disseminated continuously outside the partnership as well. The partner organizations implementing the project will also directly inform the local organizations they work closely with in the field of the project about the project results through their cooperation channels. Each partner keeps its target audience and interested parties informed on its own website. The partner organizations' websites will also include project press materials, a general description of the project, contact details of the partners, interim results and the main products of the project. We also use the EPALE platform in the dissemination.<< Results >>In the Brochure of best practices two good practices per partner countries including the experiences and results of their operations will be presented. The collection presents methods that will be relevant in the future, lasting and valid in the post-project period, and can be integrated into the adult education system of any country.In the professional material prepared as the other main product of the project, we will propose a framework for in-service training - applicable at the EU level - ensuring the methodological preparation of the professionals participating in adult education (training organizers, educators, curriculum developers). The framework includes required learning results necessary for the development of digital competences and the application of differentiated teaching methods. We strive to that the professional material can be the base of developing further training programmes in any European countries. The partner organizations will make a proposal on what improvements they consider necessary in their country after the project period, taking into account their country's adult education system, the needs of their own organization and the shortcomings in this professional field, as well as the experience gained during implementation. The development proposals are made for policy makers, adult education and other relevant institutions. In the Project Impact Summary, we present the effects of the project implementation on the partner organizations.These documents will be accessed by the public in electronic form and downloaded without any restriction. Products will be available on the website of the project partners and both on the EPALE and Project Result platform.By implementing the project at local level we expect that each partner organisation will incorporate a good practice and methods learnt from the partners into its operation and, through them, into the work of organizations that still work closely with them on the project topic.Using innovative methods can contribute to the digital competence development of adults and thus to their access to higher level trainings, and to completion of these training programmes in a more effective way. This can result that the number of dropouts decrease and adults can acquire knowledge in higher quality and thus they can be integrated or return to the labour market as well as they will be able to keep their work placements.Through the professional dissemination of the project results by the project partner in a wide range, results can be built into the work of institutions operating in geographically remote areas carrying out the same activities so that results can be of great use in a wide geographical area. The methods collected will be available to all interested organizations and professionals, can be applied in any Member State and adapted according to local rules.Results of the project will also be shared with policy makers in the partner countries and thus, as a social impact of the project, changes in legislation and modifications in regulatory in the partner countries may allow good practices to be incorporated into work processes.As a social impact in a long-term we expect that the digital awareness of inhabitants will increase, adult education institutions will organize their trainings in a more effective and flexible way according to individual needs and using a combination of traditional presence-based and digitally-supported absentee educationIn terms of partners good practices shared during the partner meetings can generate more and new project ideas, and as set out in the development proposals, the preparation of another innovative project proposal may begin in the post-project period.

The ITER (Improving Transitions - Enabling Results) Project. NEET is a pan-European challenge; 14.3% of Young People (YP) aged 16-24 in the EU (5.3million) are NEET; (Eurostat 2018) the aims and objectives of the ITER project are directly linked to EU Youth Strategy (2019 - 2027) core priorities to fight the social exclusion and poverty affecting large numbers of YP in Europe. NEET YP across Europe are at serious risk of poverty and social exclusion; the ITER Project will contribute to opportunities and resources necessary for NEET YP to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life. The ITER project is designed to improve methods to engage NEET YP in identifying their needs and barriers to mainstream vocational education, empower them to co-design and implement their personal action plan to address their needs and barriers across 4 ‘Zones’: Learning, Life, Leisure and work, building in the customised assistance needed to support their transition from NEET to mainstream VET and support them & their receiving VET College with a transitions action plan which sets out the YP's support needs and agreed plan that prepares them for transition, supports them during transition and offers support to the VET organisation. The ITER project will focus on developing, testing and implementing innovative approaches and practices for study programmes, learners, staff and organisations; ITER is a partnership of 9 organisations/institutions representing 5 European Countries: UK, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Hungary. The partnership has the optimum skills, knowledge, experience and expertise that will be applied to develop and test innovative approaches and practices which support YP aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) to successfully make the transition from intensive support programmes/specialist NEET provision to mainstream Vocational Education and Training (VET Partners involved in the ITER project are:Antares (IT) ; Békés County Government Office (HU) Desincoop (PT) Eulab (IT) Extern (UK) GEMS (UK) lead partner, Polytechnic University of Bucharest (RO) Time (UK) University of Huddersfield (UK) The ITER project has been developed and designed to build on the innovative approaches of two previous Erasmus+ projects EC-YP (Extended Choices for Young People in VET) and DayPlot ) Diagnosis and Actions for Young People Looking for a Better Future) The ITER project will consolidate and improve the EC-YP collaborative mentoring model with specific emphasis on developing an improved initial point of entry NEET needs and barriers diagnostic and developing guidelines and practical solutions to improve the transitions of YP who are NEET to mainstream VET; the ITER project will develop a web-based platform and interface/dashboard using the DayPlot gamification methodology to encourage the engagement of NEET YP in the initial assessment, action planning and transitions readiness stages of their customised assistance and support their transitions to mainstream VET reducing dropout/withdrawal and increasing completion/qualifications rates for previously-NEET students/trainees. The ITER project combines the development of an innovative model, piloting it in UK, Italy, Portugal and Romania with 60 YP and 12 IAG Practitioners/Mentors, and impact analysis to measure the pilot outcomes at regional/national level. The ITER project will be realised through the delivery of 5 Intellectual outputs each led by the designated IO lead and supported through a project management and implementation framework based on PRINCE2 IOs are: IO1NEET isn't Neat - Challenges and Opportunities & lessons for policy & Practice Result: Comparative Analysis, Presentation of Findings of the measures that have been introduced at national level in the UK, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Hungary in relation to the NEET challenge & the identification of good practice models . IO2The ITER Platform Result: online YP friendly and exciting interactive platform adapting gamification methodology to support initial needs and barriers assessment, action planning, review and transitions management support IO3 The ITER Handbook: Bridging the Transitions Points between customised assistance for NEET YP and Mainstream VET Result: A handbook with practical support and guidelines for partnership working to improve transitions.IO4 Pilot Testing the ITER Model - Pilot Study Report Result: analysis of the pilot testing of ITER involving 60 YP and 12 IAG practitioners/Mentors in 4 European countries. Potential longer-term benefits are A tried and tested innovative approach and model which creates meaningful VET pathways for NEET young people who experience complex barriers to participation in VET; Open Source access to ITER platform and increased social inclusion through Enhancing access to training and qualifications for all & increasing the quality in VET through feedback loops to adapt VET provision.