Partners
- Vsi Inovaciju Biuras (Lithuania) – coordinator
- Future In Perspective Limited (Ireland)
- Acumen Training Sp. Z O.O. (Poland)
- Ustanova Za Obrazovanje Odraslih Dante (Croatia)
- Solution: Solidarité & Inclusion (France)
- Reintegra, Z.S. (Czech Republic)
- Centre For Advancement Of Research And Development In Educational Technology – Cardet (Cyprus)
- Rightchallenge – Associação (Portugal)
What is the project about?
In December 2018 there were 17 million unemployed men and women in the EU-28 with almost half of those out of work classified as long-term unemployed, having been jobless for more than a year.
With the economic impact of COVID-19, research reports show that in Europe today there are an additional 1.8 million long-term unemployed people than there were two years ago. Of those who are long-term unemployed in this category, i.e. not including furloughed workers, many were low-skilled workers, engaged in low-income jobs that may not return in the post-pandemic economy (Euler Hermes, 2021).
The reason being that many of these jobs were in hospitality, retail, and service industries, which have seen the most significant upheaval to their revenue streams during COVID, with some businesses and sectors not due to return to pre-pandemic levels for quite some time. For these unemployed adults, it is a case of ‘first out, last in’. Research tells us that most workers that lost their jobs due to COVID-19 in 2020, or were already unemployed before that, and so will struggle to
return into employment in the near future (Euler Hermes, 2021).
For those long-term unemployed over 35 years old the task of finding new employment is extremely difficult as even ‘old’ jobs now require ‘new’ skills.
While many of this categorie have been outside the education system for over 15 years and more, in the knowledge-intensive economy it is one’s present disposition towards continuous learning that counts most.
Lifelong learning is the key to the modern era, and it is more important to start learning today than reflect on why you didn’t start 5 years ago.
In today’s market place the most sought-after skill sets are the latest skill sets so any learner who starts alearning journey today can achieve inclusion quickly.
Objectives
The overall objective of the project is to provide access to lifelong learning for the most vulnerable groups of adult learners, especially those lacking basic skills or having low level or no qualifications and to make education work for the most disadvantages groups to support their inclusion in society and economy. A secondary objective of this project is to support adult education professionals, the key intermediaries in supporting low-skilled adult learners to re-engage in adult education and to re-enter the labour market, to develop their digital and pedagogic skills so that they can provide more accessible and flexible entry-points to low-skilled adult learners to engage in adult education. These objectives are directly linked to our selected priorities: improving accessibility and increasing take-up of adult education; inclusion in all fields of education and improving availability of high-quality learning opportunities for adults.
Resources
- ONE-STEP-UP Educators’ Toolbox – Micro-learning Resources to Re-Engage Low-Skilled Adult Learners in Education and Training
- Professional Development Training for Front-line Adult Educators Promoting the ONE-STEP-UP Micro-learning Resources through Community
- Learning Festivals
- ONE-STEP-UP Policy and Practice Recommendations Report
