<< Background >>Rural communities are small in size, sparsely populated, distant from population concentrations, and do not offer enough educational opportunities or practice (traineeship, learning by doing…). Classes in rural schools are relatively small, and teachers tend to report satisfaction with their work environments and relatively few problems with discipline.Students' motivation to learn is low because they do not have confidence in their future, do not have enough positive role models through learning and possibilities for traineeship or learning by doing. They have to work hard and make sacrifices just for the opportunity of an education.Teaching methods are more diverse, but new approaches that encourage participation and active learning are not widely spread. The project’s main objective is to use the opportunity that digitalizion offers, and to equip teachers from rural areas with techniques and skills for more participative teaching and the use of the innovative methodology of a digital traineeship. Through an innovative model of Digital Traineeship, schools will now include mentors (entrepreneurs and managers) into the mentorship work with students. These entrepreneurs will help the student learn skills they need but also give them empowerment so that they can explore more opportunities for themselves.What is really important is that these needs come from all sides, employers, students and teachers. -Employers are having problems finding qualified workers. -Students are not motivated for learning because they don't see a point of what they learn. -Teachers try to show them as realistically as possible what their job should look like, but they are not really in a business environment. Traineeships are extremely important to the development of a young person’s career and their personal progression. The Traineeship programme includes a work placement, work preparation training, on the job training with the employer and under some circumstances a vocational ‘taster.’ Through traineeship, students can work on their communications skills and relationship building with their mentor. This relationship will help them develop active listening and attention to their co-workers that will benefit their personal and professional growthWe see Digital Traineeship as a perfect solution for the students in remote (rural) areas. -The trainee is not required to attend the physical location where they work, but rather work on a specific project, related to the study and requirements of the company providing mentoring.-On the other hand, mentors will have an opportunity to help young people to gain skills that the labor market needs, without leaving their offices.With new teaching methods and more practical work, students will be better prepared for the labor market.<< Objectives >>In the past, there has been a significant divide between those who live in rural areas and those who live in urban areas. For example, studies have shown that children from non-urban populations are less likely to be enrolled in higher education programs like vocational schools. This is largely due to the fact that these students often lack access to accurate information about their educational options as well as difficulties transporting themselves and their families long distances for school visits. In some countries, especially in Eastern Europe, even if usually the educational levels are quite high, there is still a problem of illiteracy that affects mainly rural areas. Moreover, the quality of education is lower in rural areas due to both education infrastructure and level of qualification of staff. Many schools need rehabilitations and building endowments, also according to didactic needs. Usually ICT is very scarce and equipment for vocational and apprenticeship education is obsolete or missing in rural schools. Project will introduce innovative approaches that go beyond the formal education sector and improve the quality of VET in rural areas.Our vision is to raise the competences of VET students in remote (rural) areas through developing mentoring and traineeship systems in the digital environment.By implementing the project, we will achieve at least 2 highly important objectives for VET schools in European rural areas. By the end of the project, further results will be achieved:-Developed and implemented Digital mentorship/Traineeship that encourage participation and individual development of VET students in rural areas-Increased community and business sector involvement in VET education for more practice and learning by doing approach in rural areas-Improved inclusiveness of students from rural area and make VET system more sustainable<< Implementation >>Here are the steps for the development of the project:S1:Research and gathering of good practices, available options and curricula under digital mentorship and traineeship strategies. This initial research will involve exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory study using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The Qualitative method that will be employed includes interviews, while the quantitative approach will involve both students and teachers to express their views.S2:Analysing the data collected, listing the key findings to form a consolidated report and analyse the identified gaps. This will be the base for developing the processes needed in schools and mentors to support all steps required in digital form. Processes are required by implementing the Mentoring portal and developing the Competence and Skills matrices of target groups involved.S3: Based on the findings, we will develop a Skill Matrix for all three target groups. These results will be evaluated in focus groups with the help of external experts and finalised in the final DigTrain methodology.S4: Skill matrices will define the structure of Digitrain educational content, educational goals, and topics to form the base structure for the development of the program. Data collected from previous steps will be utilised to create a draft. Again, focus groups of experts will check the structure and give feedback before developing content and teacher training programmes for teachers, students and mentors.S5: All prepared materials will be supported with a training preparation set: surveys, checklist, assessment tools, feedback forms, described methodology, training plans, lessons, guidelines and other didactic tools to allow easy implementation in any VET organisation. S6: Meanwhile, the development of the mentoring portal is already in effect, implementing all prepared processes into digital form, easy to be used by VET schools, mentors and students. Portal will be put in the first test phase with some initial projects, repairing all bugs and then put into the actual pilot phase.S7: Prepared methodology and training materials will be checked on LTT in Porto, Portugal. Here we will educate country promoters who will later organise pilot education phases and help in implementations. Participants will also provide feedback for improvement. S8: Pilot testing phase of teacher training, students training and mentors training. This piloting will test the training programme, skills of the country promoters educated in the LTT and give feedback for improving the training programme.S9: Pilot implementation of the digital traineeship portal and all involved processes in VET schools, mentors, organisation, and VET students. It will take ten weeks and will be an important test for the project. In this period, mentors will need to submit their small projects for students, students will be applying and be involved in traineeship under the mentor's guidance, and all documents will be signed.The pilot implementation of a digital traineeship portal and all the processes involved in VET schools will be put to the test. Mentors from both private and public institutions need to submit their small projects for students, while students should select projects and apply. The 10-week test pilot will be an important milestone. All documents are signed between mentor//student with guidance from the respective school's facilitator or VET teacher.<< Results >>Outcomes of the project: • More chances for students from the rural area to become a skilled worker and to improve their future possibility to learn and work • Elevated competencies of VET students in remote (rural) areas through digital mentoring and traineeship system developed by the project • Improved teachers' competencies to improve students' mindset and motivate proactiveness in everyday life, starting with traineeship searching. • Improved digital competencies of teachers • Implemented systems of digital mentoring and traineeship, helping in small steps to the digital transformation of VET systemsTangible results of the project: • State of the art analysis of good practices of digital mentorship in Europe • Developed competence matrices of VET teachers, students and mentors in companies for the implementation of sustainable digital mentoring systems • Developed methodology for digital mentorship • Educational content designed for upskilling students, teachers and mentors based on the competence matrices • The developed teacher training program, mentoring training programmer and students lessons • Guidebooks for teachers, students and mentors • The online digital mentoring system will allow VET schools, VET teachers, students and mentors from companies working togetherResult 1 - Digital mentoring and traineeship methodology development In this PR, partners will analyze prior research, praxis and case studies about VET education in rural areas and digital traineeship possibilities. Examples of good European practice will help them get better insight into this complex problem. PR will be developing the processes required to find mentors, negotiate on mentorship, sign contracts, deliver offers for mentorship on the designed portal for students to find them and create Competence and Skills Matrix, presenting skills needed to complete any given task. Developed content will be checked and commented on by the experts in the field and academics, giving us feedback and proposals for improvements. These necessary analyses will allow us to finally create digital mentorship processes and prepare the final methodology.Result 2 - Development of educational content about Digital mentorship and traineeship based on the developed competence matrixThe goal is to prepare educational content based on prepared competence matrices for all target groups. Ready content will be checked in focus groups by field experts and then finalized by all partners. Prepared content will be used to prepare the Train the trainer's program for teachers, prepare student lessons, and prepare training programs for Mentors. This content will be checked on LTT in Cyprus.Results 3 - Guidebooks for VET schools, VET students and mentors in companiesWhile teachers, trainers and students understand better opportunities for cooperation on raising students skills, motivation and working together, they still need precise instructions on how to implement it. The general goal of this PR is to prepare convenient manuals on using our methodology, different good practices, techniques and approaches for all our target groups.Results 4 - Online digital mentorship, traineeship and talent searching portalPR will develop and implement a Digital mentorship portal, which connects all three target groups into one seamless process. Based on existing developed methods and training material, the partnership will do a user's needs analysis to build the portal. Here companies can post small projects for a traineeship program targeting students with skills in demand by industry partners. Student applicants are responsible for submitting an application form inviting them to submit their resume and any required documents from VET schools. The automated workflow is designed so every documentary requirement is fulfilled before accepting applications, making it easy for each applicant to find what they need without hassle!

Creative businesses, which have shown strong resistance to the crisis, represent around 3.5% of all products and services made in the EU each year and employ 6.7 million people, i.e. 3% of the European workforce. Creative businesses have demonstrated to have an important role to play in generating growth and occupation and fighting unemployment while strengthening social cohesion, particularly for young people, but also for those adults who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, who can transform their creative skills into their own business. In order to help the creative sector unlock their potential for growth and the transnational circulation of creative works and their ability to operate transnationally and reach new audiences in Europe and beyond, the EU responded with the Programme “Creative Europe”, considering the lack of efforts in providing aspiring and practicing creative people with knowledge and skills that increase their capacity to create and lead their creative entrepreneurial ventures. The general aim of the “Creative Talent factory” - CTF project is to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship in the creative sector. To achieve this goal, the CTF project has defined four objectives:•to provide digital learning opportunities for adults, including with disadvantaged background, supporting their motivation and empowering them towards access to upskilling pathways for creative entrepreneurship;•to assess and monitor learners’ achievements in order to ensure the transparency and recognition of their creative entrepreneurial competences and skills;•to provide the innovative easy-to-learn pathway for upskilling the creative entrepreneurial competences and skills needed to set up or improve the creative business;•to extend and develop educators’ competences needed for effective running the training of adult learners, including with the disadvantaged background, to become the successful creative entrepreneurs.The components of the creative sector included in the CTF project are visual and performing arts; craftsmanship; art and antiques market; fashion; music and dancing. 90 adults - learners seeking to set their own businesses or improve it in the creative sector, including adult from disadvantaged background and 30 adult educators-facilitators will participate directly in the projects piloting activities. 135 representatives of associated partners and other the stakeholders will participate in six multiplying events. In order to achieve the defined objectives, four intellectual outputs will be produced: For adult learners: •Set of OERs “Creative Entrepreneurial motivation and empowerment”;•Self-assessment Tool to assess the competences and skills of the creative entrepreneur;•E-training programme “Creative Talent Factory“;For adult educators: •E-toolkit for Adult educators “How to run “Creative Talent Factory“”.The general methodology to all four intellectual outputs is based on Open Educational Resources in order to promote the open access to developed educational tools. However, each outcome is based on the specific to this outcome methodology, including reversed training methodology with the flipped classroom learning approach; innovative concept for the training course based on easy-to-learn Bite-size Learning methodology, assessing of the competencies and skills method with providing learners with the digital badge “Creative entrepreneur”. The attractive and learner-friendly methodical approach, based on Creative Entrepreneurial Local Workshop as an innovative upskilling pathway, includes organic using of all three intellectual outputs, developed for adult learners for motivating, empowering, training and assessing their creative entrepreneurial competences and skills. The positive impact of this new upskilling pathway is expected on the participatory approach by increasing learners’ involvement to the training on creative entrepreneurship. Thus, the project contributes to achieve benchmark of 15% of learners’ participation in lifelong learning as defined in European agenda for adult learning. The impact is expected on development of competences and skills on creative entrepreneurship: 85% of learners will increase their creative entrepreneurial competencies and skills for at least 40% after the finalising the training course, and the measure of this impact will be ensured by the assessment tool. It is also expected that at least 60% of learners will show their immediate interest to develop the Action plans for establishing the creative business. The general impact is foreseen on better integration of this target group to the labour market and society, and it will contribute to the achievement of ET 2020 benchmark of increasing employment rate by 75%.

<< Background >>Green entrepreneurship can represent a great potential to mobilize youth to engage in efforts to achieve major social objectives, including employment creation, poverty reduction, inclusion and integration. Dedicated to serving the common good, green enterprises established by young people can directly contribute to the achievement of a number of Sustainable Development Goals. Green entrepreneurship is the activity of consciously addressing environmental and social problems and needs, and coming up with new, innovative entrepreneurial ideas that will bring a solution to them. Youth unemployment represents a relevant social problem, which is expected to be enhanced as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. As youth vulnerability continues to increase as a result of the crisis, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly Roma, are in even worse position. Even before the pandemic, there were large discrepancies between young Roma and their non-Roma peers with regards to unemployment rate, with Roma in some European countries to be five times more likely to be unemployed than non-Roma. Most importantly, the highest differences between these two groups are their NEET rates and their rates of early school leavers, where Roma are around five times more likely to be NEET and almost seven times (in some European countries) more likely to leave school early (ERGO Network, Investing in our future: What work(s) for young Roma?, 2017).The proposed project is based on the assumption that disadvantaged young people can benefit greatly from support in starting their own businesses. The GEA project is seeking for common and innovative solutions to make young entrepreneurs more competitive and capable of facing economic challenges through the COVID crisis. GEA is also promoting green business which has no negative impact on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy.<< Objectives >>The GEA project is seeking for common and innovative solutions to make young entrepreneurs more competitive and capable of facing economic challenges through the COVID crisis. GEA is also promoting green business which has no negative impact on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy.The main goal of the project is to enable young Roma and non-Roma from disadvantaged communities to learn about green entrepreneurship, the latest technologies in green business and apply their knowledge in developing sustainable businesses with impact in their communities.The project will also capacitate the young people with entrepreneurial and digital tools for boosting their capacities to do business in the green sector.ObjectivesO1. To provide youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds with training and mentoring on green entrepreneurship and digital tools in order to support them develop, start and promote their own green companies.O2. To improve aspiring green entrepreneurs’ digital skillsO3. To provide good practice/methodology for youth educators who support the green business sectorO4. To raise awareness of young people across Europe on green entrepreneurship through intense dissemination activities and an online campaign.<< Implementation >>The following activities will be organized in the frame of the project:A1. Developing learning materials for aspiring entrepreneurs in green business. The learning materials will aim to support prospective green entrepreneurs in learning about the concept of green entrepreneurship, but also track receive practical guidance and advice in the realization of their entrepreneurial activity. The materials will focus on supporting the development of soft skills necessary to become green entrepreneurs such as: the key characteristics of green businesses, pitching an idea, writing of business plan, identifying funding opportunities, European and international opportunities for green entrepreneurs.A2. Creation of an online platform where aspiring entrepreneurs will reach the learning materials, test their newly acquired knowledge, share ideas and experiences with their pairs through a dedicated forum, and watch learning materials-educational video articles. All learning materials developed in the frame of the project will be disseminated through the online platform. Secondly, the platform will aim to disseminate information regarding training opportunities (organized both in the frame of the project but also training opportunities offered from other parties), as well as funding opportunities (programs, calls for proposals, etc.). Thirdly, interested visitors of the platform will be able to register their information in the frame of the digital forum featured on the platform, and engage in networking, exchange of information, experiences and problems with their colleagues and peers.A3. Piloting of the online platform. 10 young aspiring entrepreneurs will test the online platform, and provide feedback for its finalization. The testing will be done online, and the partner organizations will provide the testers with the necessary equipment and Internet access. A4. Developing of a training methodology for educators and organizations which support entrepreneurship. The methodology will contain online training modules to be implemented by experts in order to train step-by-step the young participants for the improvement of entrepreneurial skills in green business and digital tools.A6. Developing a collection of good practices for entrepreneurs and for youth educators (e.g. successful entrepreneurs in the green sector/online businesses share their stores).A7. Organization of a series of multiplier events (one in each partner country) to present PR3 and PR4 to stakeholders, business incubators, youth educator, associations which work with youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds.A8- Final Conference (in parallel with final translational meeting) will be organized to present project results and invite the best 5 young participants (one per partner country) who in the project developed the best green business ideas to share their stories.A9. Learning & Training activity: 2 youth educators per country will join a 3 day learning activity in Palermo, hosted by CESIE. Here they will learn more about green entrepreneurship to be started by youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds, and improve their skills to support and guide these youngsters to boost their motivation and start their own business and successful green businesses (the participants will go to Palermo and be trained by CESIE experts.<< Results >>The project aims to achieve the following outcomes:Outcome 1. Strengthened provision of educational opportunities on green entrepreneurship for young Roma and other disadvantaged youth. The project will support the attainment of this outcome through development of educational resources (training methodology and learning materials) which will be offered to relevant stakeholders (non-formal educational providers, business hubs, youth workers and organizations working with young Roma and other disadvantaged youth) to introduce/update learning programs in the scope of their work. Furthermore, at least ten educators/youth workers will be supported through training in implementing the training programme, thus directly contributing to the increase of provision of quality capacity-building on green entrepreneurship in the target countries. Furthermore, the project will directly support entrepreneurial learning, through distance learning opportunities on the web portal on green entrepreneurship established in the frame of the project.Outcome 2. Learning and networking among young green entrepreneurs supported.This outcome is based on the assumption that peer-to-peer learning and exchange of information can have a positive impact on the success of the entrepreneurial endeavors by the project target group. To this end, a project web portal will serve as a learning platform and space for exchange of experiences and relevant information, with the potential for development of national and transnational cooperation and partnerships. The following direct outputs (project results) will be produced:PR1. Learning materials for aspiring entrepreneurs in green business produced and disseminated.PR2. An online platform for aspiring entrepreneurs developed and functional.PR3. Training methodology for educators and organizations which support entrepreneurship developed and disseminated. PR4. Collection of good practices for entrepreneurs and for educators produced.