The people with disabilities (PwD) are the most disadvantaged group with regards to employment. Up to 2011 (the latest official date available) in Bulgaria their number (aged 18-29) is about 227 000 and more than 60% of them are unemployed. In Turkey they are 273,915 and only 15% are in employment compared with the national average of over 80%. In Austria they are around 850,000 and only 19% are employed and in Spain they are 3,847,900 and only 11% of them have permanent job.This project was built in line with the one of the key areas of both European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 and Europe 2020 to allow full accessibility to the labour market for people with disabilities. In many European countries and beyond (Turkey), the access to the labour market is still not given because of the lack of suitable and powerful implemented support concepts who may ensure a smooth preparation and follow-up.The impact of the Supported employment (SE) approach (a method of working with disabled people and other disadvantaged groups to access and maintain paid employment in the open labour market) is very beneficial to the PwD and during its implementation phase it gives clear quality improvement of the accessibility to the labour market for those targets.The COACH@WORK project continued the inclusion and implementation of the Supported employment approach in Austria and Spain, but also in new countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey where this was done for the first time by developing EQAVET system for recognition, validation and accreditation of their knowledge, skills and competencies, dedicated VET programme together with (self-) assessment procedures and tools. It involved 4 partners from Bulgaria, one from Austria, one from Spain and one from Turkey. This COACH@WORK VET programme related to the new job profile of Supported employment specialist was accredited by the national body (NAVET) which happened for the first time in Europe in that field. In Spain and Turkey the accreditation procedure also applied and the outcomes are expected from the relevant authorities. In Austria it is provided on a regional level by the biggest SE provider. This training programme was followed by piloting implementation phase where a memorandum of understanding for the further exploitation of the ECVET based project outputs was concluded.The long term impact of the project increased the employment rates of PwD who were inactive in the labour market and have low or no work experience. This led to greater independence and financial security, allowing them to become fully active members of society in general and ultimately to an improved economy. On the other hand, SE consultants who successfully completed the pilot course and were validated by the dual verification tool (IO2) now have the ability to increase their opportunities for sustainable employment by providing this very innovative expertise on National and EU levels.The developed VET training programme is consisting of predefined learning outcomes which are connected with the dedicated unique ECVET training programme for SE providers and consisting of the following modules:1. Module 1 - Disability Awareness2. Module 2 - Acquisition of key and transversal competences3. Module 3 - Practical methods in the coaching process4. Module 4 - Mainstreaming and Digital Technologies as Support to the Education, Employment and Well-Being of People with Disabilities5. Module 5 - Supported employment basics - the five steps process6. Module 6 - Attitudes and approaches towards people with disabilities7. Module 7 - Pre-employment agenda8. Module 8 - Career guidance - labour market methods9. Module 9 - Implementation and NetworkingThe project successfully achieved all its objectives: introduction of appropriate EQAVET system for recognition, validation and accreditation of the knowledge, skills and competencies of the Supported Employment (SE) providers. It allows a more efficient and effective monitoring of the recruitment of SE consultants and providers. The project has demonstrated the capacity to adjust the type of IOs according to the needs of the target groups. The project demonstrates a real impact on target groups, beneficiaries and gatekeepers.The impact of the project was observed directly – related to the main results of the project, as well as indirectly – related to the dissemination and exploitation of the concepts and methodologies developed and implemented through the project. The main impact of the project can be measured as a real support for establishment of a clear legal framework for the national inclusion of the Supported Employment around the partner countries (BG & TR). The project has reached the expected impact in number of courses implemented and number of people taught.All project results are available via: www.supportemployment.eu

BACKGROUND:The DITOGA project started on 01/09/2018. The background of the project was to meet the demands of the working world regarding the offered VET programmes of VET providers/institutions for VET students/VET graduates across Europe. Thus, the main idea was to align and adapt the offered VET programmes with the constantly changing demand of the world and therefore the labour market outside the educational institutions across Europe. A fact is, that the demands of the world of work and the labour market are constantly changing and in the context of contemporary challenges like digitalisation, individualisation and internationalisation, the skills and qualifications that were and are expected of VET students/graduates were and are constantly changing as well. VET providers have to face these challenges, but it seems that as soon as they have gathered enough relevant data and are ready to adapt their VET programmes accordingly, the world outside the VET institutions has already evolved again.This is where the DITOGA project tried to catch up with this evolvement.OBJECTIVES:That challenge of skill gaps was and still is increasingly addressed by the European Commission. In alignment with the objectives defined by the ET2020 Strategic Framework, the EQUAVET recommendations, and especially by the Riga Conclusions, the main priority of the DITOGA project was to enhance the quality and sustainability of vocational and educational training (VET) programmes across Europe in order to provide VET learners with a modern, comprehensive, and resilient skill set. By establishing continuous feedback loops on personal level with VET graduates using digital technology, new sets of meaningful qualitative and quantitative and consequently and most importantly interpretable data were generated and used complementary to existing data pools which allowed VET providers to increase their performances and efficiencies in a progressive way.Due to conducting the DITOGA project and making its products relevant and usable to and for all EU member states, their policy makers, and in particular their VET systems, the transparency and comparability of said data as well as the deductions drawn from them were ensured by committing to European transparency tools available (e.g. ECVET).PROJECT RESULTS:IO1 DITOGA VET Graduate Tracking Strategy, leading partner: Jugend am Werk Stmk. GmbH, AT:The first intellectual output (IO1) the empirical-theoretical part, in which VET providers learnt how they could use the collected data to improve their training programmes.IO2 DITOGA Mobile App, leading partner: ENTER GmbH, AT:The second intellectual output (IO2)) dealt with the creation of an app, which was used by VET students/participants and was created in cooperation with an external programmer in the project partnership.IO3 Analytics Software, leading partner: Co&So, IT:The third intellectual output (IO3) ensured the usability and accurate filtering of the data entered in the app (IO2) for the training providers in the individual project countries in the form of a database, in order to be able to adapt or re-adjust their training content accordingly and to keep a finger on the pulse of the changing requirements of the economy.In the overall context of all three intellectual outputs, the distribution of tasks in the project partnership - excluding the main responsibilities for the different IOs - was always well distributed. The tasks were accordingly well perceived and productively fulfilled by the project partners. The partner organisations with main responsibility for the individual IOs always performed their tasks very well and productively to date.The involvement of the individual project partners was in line with the original planning, except for the Belgian partners who left the project.PROJECT ACTIVITIES:Several activities were conducted during the project period by the project partnership, including five transnational project meetings (MTG1-5) the last two of which were virtual ones due to Covid-19 restrictions. Additionally, a Learning-Teaching and Training-Activity was conducted (virtually) covering the training of VET professionals for IO3 in March 2021, close to the project's end. Moreover, the Multiplier Events in the respective partner organisations took place between 31/03/2021 and 27/05/2021 as an individual handling of the different dates was more effective for the partner organisations to due Covid-19. Overall, there were 115 VET students, 96 VET professionals and 108 stakeholders involved.PROJECT PARTICIPANTS:31 professionals/external stakeholders and 60 VET professionals participated in the conducted survey of IO1, 163 VET students/graduates tested the app during the pilot phase of IO2, 12 VET professionals were involved in the LTTA and 319 persons were involved in the MEs. This shows that there was a huge variety of people beside the project partners involved to make the project become a success.

<< Background >>For the project partnership of the #me#us#now project it is absolutely essential to apply for this project, as the focus is set on low-qualified people in VET, VET professionals including external VET trainers and VET schools, and the aim of changing our current situation not only on local, regional, national or EU levels, but also on international level for the better and to include everyone to counteract the effects of climate change in a sustainable and participative way based on common green values.The project #me #us #now focuses on low-qualified young people between 15 and 30[1] years of age in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and VET professionals across Europe.The addressed needs can be clustered according to the two target groups in VET and stakeholders, including professionals and experts, as follows: (1) low-qualified young people in VET -identify the status quo, needs, barriers and awareness levels -raise motivation -reduce given barriers -support them with easy-to-handle and low-threshold activities and measures -use their capacities in peer-group settings -accelerate their self-efficacy -allow for and further the building of common values -create access to societal participation -encourage a sustainable lifestyle (2) VET professionals -meet the need for common guidelines -offer innovative tools and strategies -encourage cross-institutional acting and supporting-provide potential innovative contributions to be incorporated into the curriculae of VET systems -encourage exchange of results, best-practices, experiences and lessons learnt -further exchange on local, regional, national, EU and international levels (3) stakeholders, professionals and experts -meet the need of a common green networking platform -encourage exchange of results, best-practices, experiences and lessons learnt -further exchange on local, regional, national, EU and international levels[1] age range is leaned on the European Youth Guarantee: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1079&langId=en<< Objectives >>The project partnership of the #me#us#now project has set the following objectives to be achieved during the project for the following target groups: 1.low-qualified young people in VET -Identify the awareness, needs and barriers of low-qualified young people in VET concerning climate change by conducting national field studies and desktop research, both enabling conclusions and recommendations for VET professionals (R1) -furthering motivation, identification, development and implementation of effective and sustainable countermeasures that are applicable and adaptable daily and permanently (R2) (R3) based on the results of R1 -further active participation in society (R3) -further the development of shared green values (R2) (R3) - promote the transfer of the planned project results, especially R3 to more representatives of the target group -contribute to effective climate change countermeasures for all groups of young people through the implementation and delivery of the #me#us#now project. 2.VET professionals -support low-qualified young people in VET to increase their awareness and self-efficacy on climate change (R2) (R3), based on the results of R1. -support VET professionals in motivating the target group in the daily context of VET (R2) -providing useful tools, activities and measures that can be easily implemented and adapted (R3)-encourage the incorporation of innovative and sustainable contents in all curriculae, including those in VET schools and the education of VET teachers/trainers - establish a networking platform to promote exchanges between VET professionals on multiple levels 3.experts and stakeholders on different levels -establish a networking platform to promote exchanges between stakeholders and experts (R4) at local, regional, national, European and international levels -provide a Green Policy Paper for public and educational bodies and political decision-makers-encourage education, VET policy and political discussion at a broader level (R4)<< Implementation >>The project activities that will lead to the successful implementation of the #me#us#now project can be divided into the following categories: 1. Project management and implementation activities These activities form the basic framework of the #me#us#now project by defining all the tasks necessary for the proper implementation of the project inside and outside the project partnership and consist of -administration (A.PM1) -monitoring (A.PM2) and -budget control (A.PM3) 2. Quality Management These activities include the -Quality Management Guide (A.QM1.1) which defines quality benchmarks on process, product and impact level and the-Quality Assurance consisting of regular evaluations of process, product, and impact quality on internal and external level. 3. Sharing and promotion, Exploitation and Sustainability These include-Sharing and Promotion Products (A.S1), such as design of project logo, Sharing and Promotion Guide, brochures, flyers and posters, the project website, social media channels and continous sharing and promotion activities sharing regular news about status-quo and product development process through online activities and personal activities at target group and at stakeholder level. Additionally, the-Impact Assessment (A.S2) provides regular sharing and promotion reports of partners. Moreover, there is the development and implementation of the-Sustainability Strategy (A.S3) 4. Transnational Project Meetings Direct and personal exchange between the partners in the crucial phases of the project split up into -TPM1: Trim, IE, Apr 2022 -TPM2: Bilbao, ES, Dec 2022 -TPM3: Graz, AT, Aug 2023 -TPM4: Vicenza, IT, Dec 2023 5. Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (C1), Aug 2023 and Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (C2), Dec 2023 In this 3-day short-term staff training each, both target groups involved will be trained in using and applying the #me#us#now project results R3 and R4. 6. Multiplier Events The national multiplier events further the sharing and promoting of project results, include relevant stakeholders and are split up into -E1: AT, Jan 2024 -E2: IE, Jan 2024 -E3: ES, Jan 2024 -E4: IT, Jan 2024 The project consortium of the me#us#now project will produce four high-quality and easy-to-use project results for the beneficiaries of the project and for further use on regional, national, European and international level. These consist of - the #me#us#now Research Report (R1), including national Field Surveys, a Transnational Report concerning low-qualified young people in VET and a video summary subtitled in all project partners’ languages. - the #me#us#now Methodological Collection (R2) providing activities and measures for raising the motivation and awareness of low-qualified young people in VET concerning climate change, including national motivational workshops. - the #me#us#now Action Plan for Eco-Pro’s (R3) offering a practical guidebook to VET professionals, a peer-group setting with role models of the target group of low-qualified young people in VET, and implementation activities. - the #me#us#now Green Merge Networking Platform (R4), allowing for a long-lasting exchange between professionals and experts on local, regional, national, European and international level and providing a Green Policy Paper to political decison-makers and public and educational bodies to accelerate discussion on multiple levels.<< Results >>(R1) Research ReportGathering relevant national information about the target group - low qualified young people - and the professionals who work with them, is necessary for providing tailor-made further results. This will help the project consortium to understand the perspective, needs and awareness of low qualified young people concerning topics such as climate change, sustainability, and their self-efficacy. Additionally, professionals working with the target group in the context of e.g., VET, youth coaching, counselling, will be asked as well. The project consortium will need to meet low qualified young people in VET and VET professionals alike at their current state, to create a deeper understanding of their situation and perspective. All project partners will conduct desktop research concerning existing activities/measures on national levels in the context of climate change and sustainability. The Transnational Research Report will serve as an important basis for the following project results. Video summaries will be available in all partner languages.(R2) Methodological CollectionBased on the findings and conclusions of R1 the project consortium will implement a collection of activities and measures for raising the motivation and awareness of low qualified young people regarding climate change. This can be used and implemented by VET professionals who support the target group. Due to the implementation of feedback loops with the target groups and further developed as an opportunity to motivate the youth for taking action. The main purpose of this project step will be to nominate one role model per country for the further project process. These will help the project to create a new approach for counteracting climate change. Raising self-efficacy and social responsibility of the role models will help spreading the idea of climate-awareness through peer-groups and will be ensured that not only professionals will motivate low qualified young people, fostering awareness, participation, and acting in a sustainable and self-efficient way by implementing motivational workshops in all partner countries.(R3) Action plan for Eco-Pro’sThe findings of (R1) and (R2) will be compiled in a guidebook that will help and support professionals to integrate climate change activities and measures into their work with low qualified young people. They will learn how to motivate them to become active and to take their societal role in counteracting the negative environmental results. The Action Plan for Eco Pro’s will be the core output of the project and will include practical advice and case studies. The result will include the important findings and conclusions of (R1), but also on the other hand recommendations and guidelines for a step-by-step implementation of the defined activities and measures of the result for professionals. Role models will be consistently included to offer a deeper understanding of the target group and their motivating factors and barriers regarding the topic and together with them custom-tailored ways in peer-group settings will be developed and implemented to reach the target group.(R4) Green Merge Networking PlatformAs the European Union underlines the importance of exchanges beyond experts, the project partners will elaborate the structure of setting up an online platform. This will include the creation of the design, the functions and an easy-to-handle user interface. It will provide free access to all results and findings collected in the project, and the Green Policy Paper. In addition, professionals, experts, stakeholders and interested parties will have the opportunity to get in touch with each other and exchange views on the content and practical implementation. In this way, the results will even be more spread and accelerated across borders, bringing together interested experts and will therefore create international impact and good opportunities for a follow-up even after the projects end.

"VET training especially for low-skilled young learners and people with socio-economic disadvantages is a European VET priority and, as such, is certainly seen as one of the most important factors to tackle youth unemployment throughout the European countries. It is part of a quality initiative for the VET systems accross Europe. VET provision for low-skilled young learners is, however, a complex pedagogical challenge. Quite frequently, the current offers from the European VET systems in terms of content, methods, approaches, tools, skills, and competences miss their recipients. VET teachers/trainers report that they find it hard to reach the young peoples with classical methods, theoretical topics. In addition, the complexity of professions and professional competences in many sectors is steadily growing, which adds to the complex and challenging situation of VET training and its processes.If we want to improve the quality of the VET learning process for young (low-skilled) learners and add to the professionalisation of VET teachers/trainers, taking a closer look at the communication habits and processes of young people can help: text-based communication involving reading and writing of complex texts tends to disappear; communication tends to focus on key words, slang words, shortcuts, emojies, etc, thus getting shorter and shorter; communication and interaction processes are becoming fast and immediate; communication and interaction have become digital to a high degree. According to recent youth studies, indicators clearly show that if VET training for young people wants to be successful, it needs to make full use of the digital tools available and used by the target group. So far, paper-based, presentation-based, traditional teacher-/trainer-centred, offline-based, theory-based, and, even, classical e-learning-based VET training has not been able to enter in and utilise the young learners' every-day communication channels. Often, VET learning processes run parallel to core communication processes of the target group, which then can have negative consequences in the teaching/training process. Usually, the technical infrastructure and its availability is not the reason. It is, however, a matter of comepetences of the VET teachers/trainers on how to make full use of their learners' ""smart"" and IT-based communication tools and embed them in VET didactics and training processes and plans. It is all about truly bringing the ""e"" into learning - the main objective of the PROMOVET project. Therefore, the main aims of the PROMOVET project were:(1) the implementation of an investigative research with young low-skilled VET learners, VET teachers/trainers and relevant education stakeholders and decision-makers;(2) the development of a web-based compendium of ""smart"" ICT-based tools and platforms to be used by VET teachers/trainers in VET training;(3) the development of a training programme for VET teachers/trainers on the didactically valuable use of ""smart"" ICT-based tools and platforms, their advantages and impact and their selection, particularly for teaching/training processes with low-skilled young learners;(4) a general improvement of quality and professionalisation for VET teachers/trainers through a well-selected involvement of ICT in the VET training process; and(5) the realisation of a participative ""inclusive"" VET training approach, where young learners become their own teachers'/trainers' teachers with regard to the use of modern ""smart"" ICT-based tools in the learning process.In order to reach the project aims, the partnership developed three intellectual outputs: (IO1) PROMOVET Investigation Research on modern ""smart"" ICT- and social media-based tools frequently used by young (low-skilled) learners. (IO2) PROMOVET Web-Compendium of modern ""smart"" ICT- and social media-based tools featuring, amongst others, a description of their advantages and disadvantages and videos to demonstrate their potential for use in VET didactics. (IO3) PROMOVET Curriculum, a 36-hours' training programme for VET teachers/trainers on how to include modern ""smart"" ICT- and social media-based tools in VET didactics for young low-skilled learners and featuring an inclusive training approach. These outputs were supported by a multiplier event, a transnational learning/teaching/training activity and pilot courses in all partner countries.The project partnership consisted of seven organisations from six European countries (AT, CY, ES, FI, IE, IT), mainly VET training centres, expert organisations in IT-based didactics and research and large European networks. The main target and impact groups were VET teachers/trainers, young low-skilled learners, labour market authorities, social partners and VET policy-makers on local, regional, national and European levels."

<< Background >>For many people, digital working became a reality, especially last year through on-the-job training during the pandemic. Students were home-schooled,companies and offices operated in distance working. However, unemployed (young) people, school leavers at the transition to work, not embedded in a supportive institutional framework, widely missed this capacity building opportunity.They now need to become familiarised with forms of new digital professional life, as dealing with these new digital job realities is assumed by potential employers.<< Objectives >>This project aims to close precisely this gap of digital divide during job onboarding for vulnerable target groups, especially young unemployed people without academic educational backgrounds. Together with partners from Cyprus, Finland, Italy and Czech Republic theAustrian lead FH JOANNEUM, University of Applied Sciences, plans to develop a training program and evaluate its application within the frame of work-related sustainability projects. These projects, having both strong relations to sustainability, digitalisation and innovation, which are defined by the participants during the training under the supervision of partner Fondazione Fenice Onolus are an important part of the training for several reasons: First, in order to practice what they have learned in the course modules, second to support self-management and independent and team work, third as basic sustainability knowledge is now also a must in every job profile – not only because of the Green New Deal wave.<< Implementation >>The activities in the project will be1) Study to get the big picture about the situation in the partner countries2) Development of a training course to make young people fit for the digital job market3) Run the training with at least 40-60 participants4) Conduct five multiplier events to inform our target groups including multipliers5) Dissemination of information and discussions about the project in our national and international networks, offline and online6) Secure long-term use of project results by anchoring them in several ways also beyond the consortium and the partner countries<< Results >>The following major results are planned: 1. A study on (new) digital professional life and the current situation at working places,the needs of employers and employees, available as White Paper 2. Curricula and content for a training program targeted especially at the 18- to 25-year-old unemployed youth consisting of 5 modules: a. Digital Tools b. New forms of work and work organisation c. Personal work life d. Professional social responsibility in social media e. Security aspectsHere we want to add significant resources with this innovative, multi-disciplinary, combined approach, that is – compared to other initiatives - not only focusing on the technical digital skills, but aiming to support a smart and “healthy” digital transformation. Healthy for humans and for the planet, with a view on all relevant aspects: the technology, the context, self-management, legal and ethical and security aspects, sustainability, theory and practice. 3. Implementation in the form of eLearning with links to physical learning (blended learning), suitable for learning at home but also in the context of the workplace. 4. Training program successfully applied by 10–15 young people in four partner countries during 12-16 weeks work-related sustainability projects with a weekly workload of 10–15 hours Dissemination measures such as a website and platform, social media activities, multiplier events (1 per country with approx. 50 participants), networking and publications as well as conference participation will expand the number of young people enrolled in the training at least once by the end of the project to a total of around 300 and other people personally and provenly reached in principle to around 600.