“When we have all the answers, the questions change”. Not within recent history, has this quote been more pertinent than it is now. At the time of writing this application, COVID-19 is our new reality. It is ravaging global health services; forcing global citizens into lock-down; seen business, schools, universities, and the majority of public services close their doors, with some in both the public and private sectors remaining closed indefinitely. Across Europe, as well as these issues we have seen a ban on non-essential travel, as COVID-19 calls into question the ideals of open borders and the free movement of people, amongst other emblems of the European vision. The level of economic downturn and the surge in unemployment figures are unprecedented. Experts estimate that an economic depression, akin to the Great Depression of the 1930s, is around the corner; as society has been shut so too has our economy and we do not know how or when it will recover. “When we have all the answers, the questions change”. Just as we were beginning to see the progress from our economic recovery following the crisis in 2008; now we find ourselves with the need to plan a new economic recovery; but this time in a very changed world. Remote working is not just a topic that has emerged because of COVID-19; but the pandemic has brought into focus the potential for more employees to work remotely; and has also given insight into the personal, economic and environmental benefits work pursuing remote working policies. In terms of the personal benefits of remote working to employees, 77% of people say that working from home has improved their overall health and wellbeing (FlexJobs, 2018). This is supported by statistics which show that workplace stress and anxiety in the UK alone, cause a loss of 15.4 million staff days each year (UK HSE, 2018). It is no wonder then, that 20% of people would be willing to take a pay-cut of more than 10% in order to work remotely (Owl Labs, 2019); and 21% of people stating that they would do away with annual leave days, to be able to work remotely at least part-time (FlexJobs, 2018). Studies have also shown that employee productivity increases with remote working, on average by working 1.4 more days every month, resulting in more than 3 additional weeks of work per year, per employee. In a survey of 7,000 workers, 65% felt they were more productive in remote working environments due to reduction in stress from commuting, fewer interruptions from fellow employees and even a break from "office drama" (Owl Labs, 2019). Remote working is the labour market model of the future. By 2025, 75% of the workforce will be made up of Millennials and Generation Z employees; both of which are more environmentally aware and are committed to saving the planet and both of which also prefer flexible working patterns. In order to attract the top talent from this next generation of employees, employers will have to be willing to accommodate remote working or flexible working patterns. Remote working provides many benefits to employers, employees, governments and society in general. However, in order to be adopted en-masse so that it can support our economic and environmental recovery, it needs to be supported by tailored education and training materials that will build key skills and competences in employers and employees so that they can adapt to remote working. The REMOTE CTRL project aims to develop bespoke training resources that will address the needs of employers, employees and VET tutors in a remote working environment. The REMOTE CTRL project proposes the following outputs to reach these objectives: (1) REMOTE CTRL Masterclasses and Manual for Employers – comprising a comprehensive training programme that will be delivered through a series of time-bound master-class sessions to support managers to adapt their management style for a remote working environment. (2) REMOTE CONTROL Toolkit for Employees - aims to develop the remote working literacies of employees so that they can manage successful remote careers. (3) In Service Training Programme for VET Tutors – this programme supports VET tutors to get the most out of both the toolkits, thus, providing support to employers during their remote working journey. (4) MOOC - The MOOC houses all of the materials created during the lifetime of the project under the one roof. It is free for anyone to use, and can be accessed remotely, from anywhere in the world. The MOOC is fully optimised across all devices and platforms. (5) Policy Recommendations Report - The consortium is aware that the model proposed in this project has the potential to yield significant policy-learning across the participant countries. As such, a policy paper was a key publication at the end of this project to allow partners to reflect on the lessons learned, to make policy recommendations and influence labour market and VET policy on a national and European level.
The overall aim of the REMOTE-CTRL project is to develop a set of bespoke training resources that will address the needs of employers, employees and VET tutors in a remote working environment. The key objectives of the REMOTE-CTRL project include: (i) develop resources for employers which will support effective management of remote and hybrid working in the future; (ii) develop materials and resources for employees, and those looking for employment, which unpack the knowledge, behaviours and skills required to work remotely; (iii) develop resources for VET professionals which demonstrate how to tailor training for online learning environments; and (iv) develop a virtual learning environment/MOOC which supports access to materials, tools and discussion of the project outputs. In so doing, the project will: (i) enable business leaders and managers to access a set of resources to support effective remote working amongst staff; (ii) equip employees with the understanding and skills to work remotely and enhance the effectiveness of their productivity; and (iii) prepare VET tutors for remote teaching and facilitation, so that they can integrate digital learning resources and tools into their work with employers and VET learners.
Whilst the concept of remote working is not new, with businesses supporting staff to work remotely since the early 1980s, it had not been implemented widely until 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an overnight transition for many millions of workers to remote working. Employers and employees across Europe moved to remote working in line with the public health recommendations and as a means of ensuring business survival. There had not been an opportunity to fully understand and explore remote working and help both businesses and their staff, as well as those searching for work, to effectively manage remote working. The pandemic has shown that there is a strong demand, particularly from employees to work flexibly and emerging evidence shows that remote working brings wider benefits including improved wellbeing and that employers who do provide remote working opportunities are rewarded with lower levels of sickness as well as improved levels of productivity. However in order for these benefits to be fully realised, it needs to be supported by tailored education and training that will build key skills in employers and employees so that they can continue to adapt to remote working. The REMOTE-CTRL project seeks to address this gap.