Training of disadvantaged groups, e.g. marginalized low qualified adults ex prisoners and ex offenders that has never seen their competences certified due to not completion of any kind of training is becoming increasingly important. These target groups, by their nature or because of the life paths they've done, show some difficulty in attending “standardized” training courses. Lack of appropriate vocational and social skills increase their social exclusion since they are at high risk of long lasting unemployment, social marginalization, or deviancy. The INforEx Project is Project will reach its objectives by realising an integrated working methodology that combine theoretical analysis with qualitative research and hands-on activities, based on a participative and bottom-up approach, which means active involvement at any stage of all the relevant actors, either project partners or external stakeholders. INforEX will develop a training model which will be performed on the job and not in classrooms through practical, interrelations activities thanks to entrepreneurs (small, sole proprietorship) becoming adult trainers and supported by experienced tutors. The project will also develop a new EU skills certification based on an innovative evaluation model in line with ECVET system requirements, awarded at the end of the training path. To achieve these results INforEX will elaborate a state of the art analysis and a training need assessment among 90 stakeholders in 6 EU countries. After the provisional draft of the training model and the certification system their contents will be transmitted to 90 adult trainers which later will perform the pilot training with 72 final beneficiaries. The feedback collected by adult trainers performing the pilots will refine, finalize the two outcomes published as handbooks.Dissemination activities will make INforEX known by the widest possible audience and its results integrated into policies and practices of the field in several countries. This purpose will be achieved by realising 6 workshops/seminars with other institutions of adult education as well as by making local public bodies in every project country signing an agreement letter which will state their intention to incorporate INforEX products within their educational plans. General public will be reached through a project website, an online newsletterers delivered to thousands of addresses, multilingual press releases and media events organised by partners in every project country. Indicators, and at the same time milestones, will be: workshops registration lists, agreement letters signed, website hits, newsletters sent, publications of articles about the project, TV/radio interviews realised.
Training of disadvantaged groups, e.g. marginalized low qualified adults ex prisoners and ex offenders that has never seen their competences certified due to not completion of any kind of training is becoming increasingly important. These target groups, by their nature or because of the life paths they've done, show some difficulty in attending “standardized” training courses. Lack of appropriate vocational and social skills increase their social exclusion since they are at high risk of long lasting unemployment, social marginalization, or deviancy. The INforEx Project created an integrated working methodology that combines theoretical analysis with qualitative research and hands-on activities, based on a participative and bottom-up approach, which means active involvement at any stage of all the relevant actors, either project partners or external stakeholders. INforEX developed a training model which was performed on the job and not in classrooms through practical activities thanks to entrepreneurs (small, sole proprietorship) becoming adult trainers who were supported by experienced tutors from partners' organisations. The project also developed a new EU skills certification method based on an innovative evaluation model in line with EQF requirements. To achieve these results INforEX elaborated a state of the art analysis and a training needs assessment among 103 stakeholders in 6 EU countries. After the provisional draft of the training model and the certification system their contents was transmitted to 15 adult trainers from partners' organisations who later performed the pilot training with 73 employers who became trainers of (ex) offenders. After the training of trainers, on the job training was organised for 108 (ex)offenders. Dissemination activities contributed to making INforEX known by the widest possible audience. This purpose was achieved by realising 5 workshops/seminars (with 190 participants) and final conference (107 participants) with other institutions of adult education as well as by signing agreements with local public bodies which stated their support to the project, its activities and interest in project results. During the project implementation 3 main intellectual outputs have been created: 1) On the job training and certification methodology for low qualified (ex)offenders (accompanied with workbook and materials for their initial training); 2) Materials for the Training of Trainers (tutors, training organisers); 3) Guidelines for Employers (to successfully implement the on the job training). The created methodology was validated in Cyprus and tested in Lithuania with another low qualified group (long-term unemployed). General public has been reached through the project website (www.inforexproject.eu), EPALE platform, www.erasmus-plius.lt , regional media (etaplius.lt, Madrid Diario, Signalive websites), 4 online newsletters delivered to thousands of addressees and other events organised by partners in every project country.