This Erasmus+ - MOOCs IN BASIC SKILLS TRAINING - is based on the valuable experiences gained through a previous Erasmus + project - BASIC SKILLS IN WORKING LIFE (2016-1-NO01-KA204-022071). The new project is a continuation of this project with the same partnership.The partnership consist of FONIX from Norway (leade partner), BEST from Austria, STEP from Slovenia, CITEVE from Portugal and CONFAPI from Italy.One of the main outcomes the Erasmsu+ project BASIC SKILLS IN WORKING LIFE consisted of a large number of quantitative and qualitative data collected from eight different branches in six countries. All results and reports are thoroughly documented on the project's website: http://www.basicskillsinworkinglife.no/From the data collected, we observed that across all countries and branches the need of soft skills was more valued than the need of technical skills. By soft skills, we defined the “character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships with other people, they are to do with who people are, rather than what they know. Therefore, they encompass the character traits that decide how well one interacts with others. In workplace they are considered a complement to hard skills”. In this new project MOOCs IN BASIC SKILLS TRAINING we plan to take these findings to a higher level and take into account for further discussion and development the following issues: 1. Soft skills are more needed than occupational skills in the “new” industry. The question is how these will enhance low skilled employees, and how we can prepare a curriculum for better training for the target group. 2. If common training framework for low skilled employees is to be put in place; how to accommodate all partners’ needs?To answer these questions we will conduct a project that produce curriculums for practical training courses on the most important social skills in working life, supporting digital learning maps and combined and incorporated with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The target groups in the project MOOCs IN BASIC SKILLS TRAINING are low skilled workers with a demand for new skills and / or formal coalification in terms of soft skills in working life. In this project, we are specially aiming for employees in companies / branches where the demand for the new skills are generated as a result of technological changes and / or new digitalized production methods. The project MOOCs IN BASIC SKILLS TRAINING will work in three phases that each are covered and defined by an Intellectual Output:IO1 First we will create concrete curriculums for training courses based on the results from our previous Erasmus+ project. We have a lot of materials since we already explored and developed this with practical training and pilots in each partner country, as well as a Teacher-Training-Event in Portugal in 2017.IO2 Secondly, based on the curriculums we will produce digital learning maps in accordance with each curriculum for employees with low basic skills. The learning maps will both function as individual “skill checkers” and important motivation tools as well as concrete learning material for online courses.IO3 At last – and as the major output from this project - we will produce three different Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to support the online training. The main outcome of this project is practical focusing on producing minimum three MOOCs that can be presented and distributed on many different platforms throughout the partner countries. Each MOOCs will be minimum 30 minutes long and will be produced in English with subtitles in each countries language. The MOOCs can also be linked to “classrooms” inside the companies as well to other national and international digital learning platforms that are used by providers all over Europe.This offers a multi-perspective and practical view on how and why providers should implement basic skills training in communication and soft skills as an important strategy for training for employees in a modern working life.

Textile industry is facing major challenges. It is one of the most polluting industries, and consumers, as well as European regulations, are pushing for change. Indeed, global demand is changing, and consumers tend to expect more sustainable and smart textiles. Moreover, the EC is committed to a green and digital transition and needs to be more competitive globally. In this context, UPWEARS aims to contribute to structural resource efficiency and a sustainable economy by unlocking the potential of a new generation of biobased and hybrid fabrics for e-textile. UPWEARS e-textile will feature high performance, cost-effective multi-functionality, such as functionalized yarn and fibre, biomimetic fabrics, imbedded electronics and energy sensors. Partners will ensure a reduced environmental impact on the manufacturing value chain and end product – a country cycling suit – fully recycled. UPWEARS development will minimise manufacturing waste thanks to artificial intelligence technology and multiscale testing. It will also reduce chemical utilisation thanks to enzymatic & eutectic green solvents. For this, UPWEARS will: -Create an innovative & sustainable value chain from the native fibre to functional device end-of-life; -Switch from a traditional towards a modern textile fabrication process supporting the textile industry's digital and sustainable transformation; -Eco-design an e-textile for high added-value sportswear applications meeting European consumer's demand and contributing to EU competitiveness. UPWEARS implementation and exploitation will have many environmental, societal and economic impacts. It will contribute to EU policies like the EU Green Deal since it combines electronic devices and natural fibres and works on circularity. Finally, UPWEARS consortium covers the full value chain: formulation, functionalization; e-textile design & production; digital transformation; reliability & durability; industrial validation and recycling & additive manufacturing

TexMaTer aims at producing novel cellulosic fibres and bioformulations for textiles’ finishing using under-utilised biomass resources and wastes from agricultural practices and micro- and macroalgal production (typically rich in cellulose and other bioactive compounds) and post-consumer home textiles (as an extra source of cellulose). These functional and sustainable solutions will be further used in prototypes for fashion and home textiles’ markets. The project covers all steps required to produce novel cellulosic fibres and functional textiles for the envisaged markets: from the obtention and transformation of raw materials for application in textile production processes, to fibres/yarns production and bioformulations development (at laboratory, pilot and industrial scales), ending with eco-design and prototypes manufacture. To ensure recyclability and circularity of the developed solutions, and an efficient uptake of the products by the consumer, the development of TexMaTer products will be designed considering promising End-of-Life (EoL) alternatives and also functionality, safety, environmental sustainability and social and economic benefits for consumers. Consumer behaviour studies and raising-awareness actions are also planned, thus contributing to increase consumers’ acceptance for the developed products. By incorporating bio-based resources and promoting the upcycling of post-consumer textiles, TexMaTer will increase the competitiveness of the textile & clothing industry (T&CI), significantly reducing the negative environmental impacts commonly associated to this sector: 1) the intensive use of synthetic fibres, virgin cotton and wood-based cellulose (whose production is responsible for high CO2 emissions, water consumption and contamination, and inappropriate forest management, respectively); and 2) the overutilisation of synthetic dyes and chemicals in textile finishing processes (which are typically rejected in textile wastewaters and recalcitrant).

PENGUIN aims to develop sustainable materials for outdoor garments. Its highlight lies on cellulose-based fibres for producing sustainable insulation material that mimic the way penguins protect themselves against cold and moisture on land. The goal of PENGUIN is to ensure Europe's role as a world-leading technology provider and research leader in the textile sector through collaboration between Europe's leading experts in advanced material value chain and reduce the environmental impact of the outdoor garment industry and address sustainability and ethical concerns of consumers. Specifically, PENGUIN aims to develop sustainable and recyclable textile fibres based on wood cellulose with enhanced hydrophobicity, adhesion, and tailored morphology to create ethically responsible and sustainable insulation materials for textiles. PENGUIN will develop fabrics that incorporate advanced biomimetic functionalities and digital tools for optimal performance. The reuse and recycling plan together with developed recycling technologies will ensure that the end-product is disposed of responsibly, further contributing to the circular economy. Furthermore, PENGUIN aims to ensure that the developed textile materials are safe and sustainable; low-cost and low-resource; and gain market adoption and stakeholder acceptance for the new products. PENGUIN will achieve these objectives through innovation activities and partnerships, optimizing, developing and validating new materials and production methods. Overall, PENGUIN has the potential to transform the textile industry by creating sustainable, efficient, and high-performance textile materials. PENGUIN will contribute to industrial leadership, increased autonomy in strategic value chains, and security of supply in raw materials for resilient industry.

Fønix AS in Norway has been the coordinator of an Erasmus+ KA2 project: Basic Skills in Working Life. The project has involved partnership from Norway (Fønix AS), UK (The Manchester Colle), Portugal (CITEVE), Slovenia (STEP Institute), Austria (BEST) and Italy (CONFAPI). This has been a good working partnership since it represented both adult learning organizations with a good working relationship to basic skills in working life (Fønix, The Manchester College and STEP Institute), and representatives from different business branches with a good working network to relevant companies (CONFAPI and CITEVE).The project included 5 Intellectual outputs, 1 Teacher Training Event in Porto; Portugal and 1 Multiplier Event in form of a two seminars in Rome, Italy A summary of the project results are as following:•A qualitative report regarding what the future may look like for the low skilled and low educated workers in the perspective of formal vocational education end certification in each of the partner countries.•An identification of critical factors/success criteria to succeed with basic vocational education/training and certification in different types of branches/companies in each partner country. •Practical training/pilots in some dedicated companies/branches in three of the partner countries – Italy, Slovenia and Portugal.•A lot of good examples from «lessons learned» from the pilot projects together with the practical outcome from the multiplier event with the teachers/trainers and the evaluatorsOne of the main outcomes of the project consisted of a large number of quantitative and qualitative data collected from eight different branches in six countries. All results and reports are thoroughly documented on the project's website: http://www.basicskillsinworkinglife.no/In the Basic Skills in Working Life project, we specially targeted for companies / branches where the demand for new skills was generated due to technological changes and / or new digitalized production methods. From the data collected, we observed that across all countries and branches the need of soft skills was more valued than the need of technical skills. By soft skills, we defined the “character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships with other people, they are to do with who people are, rather than what they know. Therefore, they encompass the character traits that decide how well one interacts with others. In workplace they are considered a complement to hard skills”. The major findings from the project can be summarized as the following:•There is a recognized demand for more basic soft skills in companies.•The three most recognized demands can be summarized as:The ability to adapt to change at workThe ability to maintain trustful relationship with customers / colleaguesThe ability to work autonomouslyThe main target group in our project was teacher / trainers that was working with employees with low basic skills in working life. This was a main target group from the beginning of the project and did not change during the project period.The project was successful by reaching a significant number of teachers / trainers, especially in Norway, UK and Portugal. In addition to this we also reached a number of leaders / representatives from companies from different branches in each of the partner countries.We also reached a large number of leaders / representatives form international and Italian companies during the two end seminars in Rome, Italy.The results from the Basic Skills in Working Life project is taken further in a new Erasmus+ KA2 project that was granted in the 2019 round. In this new project MOOCs IN BASIC SKILLS TRAINING we plan to take the findings to a higher level and take into account for further discussion and development the following issues: 1. Soft skills are more needed than occupational skills in the “new” industry. The question is how these will enhance low skilled employees, and how we can prepare a curriculum for better training for the target group. 2. If common training framework for low skilled employees is to be put in place; how to accommodate all partners’ needs?To answer these questions we will conduct a project with the same partnership that produce curriculums for practical training courses on the most important social skills in working life, supporting digital learning maps and combined and incorporated with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).