Digital technologies are profoundly changing our daily lives and permeating all aspects of it: from the way we communicate to our work environments; how we interact with our surroundings; accessing information, products, and services; etc. Education is a key element in the European Commission’s vision towards a green, digital, and more resilient Europe, preparing citizens for current and future challenges in fast-growing economies is essential. on one hand, the project aimed at equipping individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for industry 4.0 and the future demands of the market. On the other hand, the initiative supported adults in the journey of taking responsibility for their own learning and career development: empowering them to be actively involved in socioeconomic transformation and to be capable of creating new jobs and opportunities that the current market might be missing. In other words, it encourages entrepreneurial and enterprising behaviour to hence innovation.
According to the annual Education and Training Monitor: in Cyprus, digital education is a policy focus but implementation needs to be improved; in the Netherlands, digital education is above the EU average, however, there is still a need for further improvement of quality of VET; in Spain, teachers’ digital competences need to be improved and there is a high need for career guidance and orientation to reduce skills mismatches; in Italy, the transition from education to work is especially difficult. The project centred its focus on adult education/training for empowering people with low skills, in response to related challenges: the lack of correspondence between education preparation and professional demands in terms of capabilities and competences; the passive role of adult learners, who solely rely on existing job offers in the labour market; exclusion and unequal access to educational and professional opportunities, among others. In order to keep up with this transformation, the project aimed to contribute to up-skilling pathways and high-quality learning opportunities for adults, by advancing entrepreneurial transversal competences and planting seeds for new job creation.