The EwasteR – “Designing and Testing new management skills for the development of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling and Re-use System in Europe” is a Sector Skills Alliance project in the “Environmental technologies” sector.The EwasteR project developed an innovative European competency Framework - new high-quality interdisciplinary VET Curriculum and professional profile for “E- waste Reuse and Recycling Specialist”, working through the production and the waste phase of a product, increasing the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship as well as the quality and potential of employability and mobility and bringing to award new Qualifications to be transferred into NQF-RQF, becoming accessible to a broader audience. The three years EwasteR journey, undertaken through a series of nine closely related work packages, developed and established the partnership as a collaborative high performance team. The EwasteR project addressed the increasingly relevance of the Electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) sector in Europe which is currently the largest growing waste stream. Recycling of WEEE is a specialist part of the waste and recycling industry. Indeed, waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as computers, TV-sets, fridges and cell phones is one the fastest growing waste streams in the EU, with some 9 million tonnes generated in 2005, and expected to grow to more than 12 million tonnes by 2020.WEEE is a complex mixture of materials and components that because of their hazardous content, and if not properly managed, can cause major environmental and health problems. Moreover, the production of modern electronics requires the use of scarce and expensive resources (e.g., around 10% of total gold worldwide is used for their production). To improve the environmental management of WEEE and to contribute to a circular economy and enhance resource efficiency the improvement of collection, treatment and recycling of electronics at the end of their life is essential.The main beneficiaries of the project are young aspiring workers/technicians and entrepreneurs (learners) wishing to work in the weee recycling and reuse management sector, but the project also provides substantial benefits to the organisations working in the circular economy area using VET as a tool to increase employability chances for those learners at the European level.The aim of the EwasteR project has been to emphasise the relationship between waste creation and resource management and to demonstrate the need for skills, competence and experience of entrepreneurs and specialists in devising a solution and/or an appropriate intervention. The project had four concrete key objectives, including:-Overcome the challenges of vocational skills mismatches in the WEEE re-use sector and give supportto it;-Contribute to the development of new solutions in VET system;-Ensure the highest possible relevance for all targets groups and stakeholders involved;-Create new conditions for providing employment and training opportunities and supporting national Qualifications award in the sector with growth potential (green jobs).The future for the practice that has been developed in EwasteR depends on three key factors and these have been the focus of the exploitation strategy. These factors are:-Evidence of the demand for the recognition and validation of new professional qualifications in WEEE recycling and reuse management sector to implement the NQF and RQF of different Countries across Europe;-The development of new European initiatives that enables the development of a strategic sector skills alliance for VET providers and professionals, employers, experts, and stakeholders concerning Circular Economy system and sustainable development across Europe;-The potential to encourage training-exchanging experience across Europe and to work for an effective impact in the VET and labour systems at all levels.
The EwasteR – “Designing and Testing new management skills for the development of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling and Re-use System in Europe” is a three years Sector Skills Alliance project funded by ERASMUS + programme (2014-2020). The EwasteR project sector in the SSA framework is “Environmental technologies”. EwasteR was primarily concerned with the vocational education and training (VET) dimension of the WEEE reuse and recycling management systems. The EwasteR project developed an innovative European competency Framework - new high-quality interdisciplinary VET Curriculum and professional profile for “E- waste Reuse and Recycling Specialist”, working through the production and the waste phase of a product, increasing the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship as well as the quality and potential of employability and mobility and bringing to award new Qualifications to be transferred into NQF-RQF, becoming accessible to a broader audience. The three years EwasteR journey, undertaken through a series of nine closely related work packages, developed and established the partnership as a collaborative high performance team. The EwasteR alliance consists of four different countries (Italy, UK, Poland, and Cyprus) and thirteen organisations from different sectors as requested by the Sector Skills Alliance action. i) Public or private entities that provide VET, higher education; ii) Public or private entities that have sector specific expertise and represent or are active in a given sector (at regional, national and/or European level); iii) Public or private entities that have a regulatory function for education and training systems (at regional, national and/or European level). The EwasteR project addressed the increasingly relevance of the Electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) sector in Europe which is currently the largest growing waste stream. The main beneficiaries of the project are young aspiring workers/technicians and entrepreneurs (learners) wishing to work in the weee recycling and reuse management sector. The EwasteR Consortium has been collaborating for three years achieving a comprehensive series of inter-related results to address these issues, specifically: •Mapping of the current qualifications routes across Europe relevant to this field of UEEE/WEEE reuse and recycling and producing a final Research Report •Collaboratively designing and developing a joint professional training curriculum for “E- waste Reuse and Recycling Specialist” with a strong package of “VET” Units - combining: i) management skills area and ii) vocational skills area - tightly connected to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF Level 4) and experimenting the EU Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) •Designing and delivering National PILOT training activities through an integrated blended approach including: career guidance, classroom, open management schools, labs shadowing and LOs assessment, and involving young and well-motivated aspiring technicians/specialists, learners, experts and VET providers. •Designing a joint Handbook including the final transparent recognition and validation process for the assessment of learning outcomes •New EwasteR Qualifications awarded at National level (Italy) and transferred into NQF-RQF and new processes for awarding and transferring (Qualification designed or part of it) started and implemented in the other Countries in compliance with each National legal-framework, increasing the employability-occupation chances in the sector across Europe. •Providing new mobility opportunities in EU for aspiring entrepreneurs in the wee recycling and reuse sector through the EYE programme •Defining a multi-actor approach to undertake a comprehensive raising awareness programme about the SSA framework, VET dimension of the WEEE recycling and reuse across EU, through robust dissemination activities