About the project

OUR GOAL

‘KEEPING EMPLOYEES ON BOARD’ aims at producing tools and methodologies to facilitate the transition from the work environment into a learning environment, this way upskilling pathways for 55+ employees into workplaces requiring 21st century skills.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Addressing digital literacy (computational thinking skills, basic ICT skills, media literacy, information skills); workplace culture
(communication, collaboration, self-regulation, social and cultural skills) and innovation and adaptation (problem solving, creativity, critical thinking). In doing so we aim at :

instigating a dynamic in the workplace: a shift of view that puts the workplace forward as the micro-society that it is
making learning opportunities more accessible for employees aged 55 and above
giving employers and employees tools and methods to ‘keep employees aged 55 and above on board’, meaning: keeping the same job with the same employer; or job-creating a new job with the same employer; or making a meaningful transition into a new employer

TARGET GROUPS

employees aged 55 and up (primary target group)
employees under the age of 55
employers

HOW DO WE facilitate the transition from the work environment into a learning environment?

By sensitizing on the fact that 21st century skills are already present among employees.
By establishing the ground for the empowering dynamic of employees both being teachers and learners.
By breaking down the 21st century skills into 3 manageable clusters of skillsets.
By supporting doable and durable implementation of lessons learned.
By disseminating lessons learned in the field through digitization into freely accessbile webinars.
The quality of the train-the-trainer modules assessment is based on the EQAVET principles. These principles also guide us towards standardisation and maximalization of dissemination of learning outputs.
By embedding dissemination in the process : offline as well as online output is made available in 4 languages and is actively promoted through newsletters; stakeholder meetings; the conference and an online inspiration toolbox.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

online the train-the-trainer courses; guidelines; accessibility on an online platform
online learning material for 5 intensive courses
- vital craftmanship and mental retirement (protocol for the creation of support for learning opportunities)
- digital inclusion as a gateway to enhance 21st century skills
- course design & course build
- the employer’s side of the story
- efficiency in adult learning and training
two international stakeholder meetings (April 2021, Belgium – May 2022, Austria)
one international conference (May 2023 – Slovakia)
communication strategy template
an impact measurement tool
translation of all gathered material in the inspiration toolbox
course: jobcrafting, an introduction
an inspiration toolbox (in the form of a website with content in different languages + links to the developed online courses in the Future Learn Platform)

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES

Enhanced access to training and qualifications for all, with a particular attention to older employees.
New training content.
Increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.
Increased level of digital competence.
Greater understanding and responsiveness to social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity.
Improved levels of skills for employability and job crafting.
Increased opportunities for professional development.
Increased motivation and satisfaction in daily work.
Improved provision of basic and transversal skills, particularly: entrepreneurship, social, civic, intercultural and language competences, critical thinking, digital skills and media literacy

INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES

Methodologies for unlocking 21st century skills at work.
Improve and extended supply of high quality learning opportunities for adults at the work place.
Increased access to upskilling pathways for adults allowing for enhancing literacy, numeracy and digital competences, as well as other key competences.
More positive attitude towards the European project and the EU values.
Better understanding and recognition of skills and qualifications in Europe and beyond.
Better understanding of interconnections between formal, non-formal education, vocational training, other forms of learning and the labour market.

METHODOLOGY

This project entails following methodologies: service design, co-creation, skills’ web, learning from the emerging future, learning by doing, blended learning, peer learning, storytelling, theory of change, jobcrafting.

CONTEXT

Society is ageing rapidly: across OECD countries the ratio of elderly people (65 and over) to people of working age (15-64) is projected to rise from 1 in 4 in 2015 to 1 in 2 in 2050. Governments and stakeholders urge for measures to keep people professionally active for as long as possible. The statutory retirement age is rising. But the employment rate for workers aged 55-64 is low. The accessibility rate of learning opportunities for older employees is of the lowest. Adding to this, with age comes physical vulnerability, which can play a role in various jobs. The workplace and job content should at least not amount to aggravation. Workability is decreasing instead of increasing, which is alarming when considering that we are actually expected to continue our working careers longer while mental fatigue amongst employees is rising, well-being at work is declining, learning opportunities are not equally accessible and work-life balance is hard to manage.

The challenges and opportunities for employees aged 55 and up, are embedded in a global society that is dealing with an increasing degree of digitization. A substantial percentage of European citizens are at risk of being digitally excluded. In the digitizing society, this means that they are also socially excluded, thereby compromising access to social rights.

The 21st century skills are an adequate frame for addressing durable employability of employees aged 55 and up.