The EU 2020 strategy sets out a target to reach a 75% employment rate for 20 to 64 year olds across Europe, however the stark reality is that Europe currently faces a unemployment crisis with around 23 million people unemployed, from those 5 million young adults, in the EU-28 area in January 2015. The number of young adults in employment has fallen by three times more than that for adults and with 7.5 million young Europeans between 15 and 24 not employed, not in education and not in training, the trend looks set to continue. Adult Education Organizations have been long identified as having a important role in reversing this trend. According to trends, in recent years employers are increasingly looking for people who have obtained not only academic qualifications but who can also demonstrate that they have a wider range of practical skills that cannot all be learned in formal education. These ‘soft skills’ cannot easily be ‘taught’ in formal education because they are learned through ‘hands-on’ practical experience and thus are much more effectively gained in non-formal environments. Adult education and lifelong learning organizations across Europe are working tirelessly to make a positive change for adults. However based upon the research and experience of the consortium; if such organizations developed their core administrative and counseling activities, they have the capacity to have a significantly higher impact. Adult education and lifelong learning organizations are managed by highly competent staff with a desire and vision to make a difference, however in many cases, have little financial, administrative and management capabilities. In order to strengthen the work of current and even new adult education or lifelong learning organizations there is a need to have concrete administrative, counseling and even management processes. In doing so such organizations will be able to reach a wider scope of beneficiaries, develop the effectiveness of their activities, and gain increased recognition and confidence from other sectors, which in turn will help to develop the recognition of non-formal education on the whole. Therefore there is a need for adult educators/teachers/mentors/peers of existing and new adult education and lifelong learning organizations to have access to a recognized iYOT mobile guidance counseling system, that is specifically relevant, offers concrete outcomes in sense of Certificate for non-formal knowledge, and is furthermore mobile and flexible to fit around an already busy schedule of many adult organization staff and members. The project involves 5 partners, from Slovenia, Austria, Sweden, Portugal and Spain. Each partner will have a dedicated project team who will take the lead in researching, developing, and publishing one module for Training of Mobile Guidance Counselors and 1 module for iYOT mobile application. Each partner was intentionally selected according to their specifics and expertize so we will combine wide scope of European framework. The aim of this project is to increase the capacity of adult educators and staff of adult education organizations offering different courses, trainings, lifelong learning activities and counseling services to adult participants with fast and effective access to counseling and information. The main purpose is to develop user friendly distant guidance counseling service to follow adults interest, skills, personal and occupational developments according to available time of interested user (In Your Own Time), realized in a web-based mobile support system with innovative mobile software - iYOT. Furthermore project aims to increased involvement of adults in guidance counseling through innovative mobile application iYOT for counseling over distance and in users own time with Certificate for non-formal knowledge, thus increasing their capacity to undertake new learning, mobility or working opportunities. In order to meet this aim, the following objectives have been set: - Develop a iYOT mobile guidance counseling service (Guidelines) that meets the counseling, informational and lifelong learning needs of adults in education or lifelong learning - Bring together and utilize specific skills and expertise from different sectors to develop Guidelines for mobile guidance consulting material - Create a system for validation and recognition of non-formal knowledge and skills for the iYOT mobile application users - Develop an e-learning platform in order for the iYOT Guidelines, mobile application and materials to be an open access resources - Train a team of Guidance Counselors to implement the iYOT mobile guidance counseling in practice - include at least 25 x 20 guidance’s (each counselor executes at least 20 guidance’s in own country in pilot implementation) - organize 5 x 2 informational seminars/events (each partner with estimated 50 participants)
Adult Education Organizations have long been identified as having an important role in reversing the trend of adults not being employed, not in education and not in training. In recent years employers are increasingly looking for people who have obtained not only academic qualifications but who can also demonstrate that they have a wider range of practical skills that cannot all be learned in formal education. These ‘soft skills’ cannot easily be ‘taught’ in formal education because they are learned through ‘hands-on’ practical experience and thus are much more effectively gained in non-formal environments. Adult education and lifelong learning organizations across Europe are working tirelessly to make a positive change for adults. However based upon the research and experience of the consortium; if such organizations developed their core administrative and counseling activities, they have the capacity to have a significantly higher impact. Adult education and lifelong learning organizations are managed by highly competent staff with a desire and vision to make a difference, however in many cases, have little financial, administrative and management capabilities. In order to strengthen the work of current and even new adult education or lifelong learning organizations there is a need to have concrete administrative, counseling and even management processes. In doing so such organizations will be able to reach a wider scope of beneficiaries, develop the effectiveness of their activities, and gain increased recognition and confidence from other sectors, which in turn will help to develop the recognition of non-formal education on the whole. Therefore there is a need for adult educators/teachers/mentors/peers of existing and new adult education and lifelong learning organizations to have access to a recognized iYOT mobile guidance counseling system, that is specifically relevant, offers concrete outcomes in sense of Certificate for iYoT counsellors, and is furthermore mobile and flexible to fit around an already busy schedule of many adult organization staff and members. iYOT project addressed exactly this area – to answer the need of adult educators (and participants in adult education) for common counselling digital system. Therefore, we produced the 3 main deliverables: iYOT Guidelines, iYOT Curricula and iYOT mobile application to equip the guidance counsellors with innovative and modern digital tool to support their counselling work. Not only that: the iYOT mobile app is also tailor-made for learners and users in education, counselling or mobility that now have an option to be in regular contact with educational or guidance counsellor over distance and in any time. The project involved 5 partners, from Slovenia, Austria, Sweden, Portugal and Spain. Each partner had a dedicated project team that took the lead in researching, developing, and publishing one module for Training of Mobile Guidance Counselors and 1 module for iYOT guidelines, each partner participated in devepomnent of iYOT mobile app . Each partner was intentionally selected according to their specifics and expertize so we have been combining expertize and wide scope of European framework. The aim of iYOT was increasing the capacity of adult educators and staff of adult education organizations offering different courses, trainings, lifelong learning activities and counseling services to adult participants with fast and effective access to digital counseling and information exchange. Partners developed user friendly distant guidance counseling service to follow adults interest, skills, personal and occupational developments according to available time of interested user, realized in a web-based mobile support system with innovative mobile software - iYOT. Furthermore project increased involvement of adults in guidance counseling through innovative mobile application iYOT, because with achieved (and even overachieved) results project partners prooved that the decision for implementation of iYOT project was the right one. With direct involvement of more than 7000 direct users, participants at multiplier events and informed via different media we increased their capacity to undertake new learning, mobility or working opportunities. The following iYOT objectives have been set and achieved: - Developed iYOT mobile guidance counseling service that meets the counseling, informational and lifelong learning needs of adults in education or lifelong learning - Developed iYOT Guidelines for mobile guidance consulting implementation - developed iYOT Curriculla for implementation in the classroom and e-learning online version - Developed open access e-learning platform iYOT - Trained team of Guidance Counselors for counselling over distance - over 500 mobile guidances provided during project lifetime - 10 multiplier events organized in 5 countries with over 400 participants