"As a result of the researches conducted and the postgraduate thesis on “glass ceiling syndrome”, “BIG CEFA” Project is planned based upon the low rate of women administrators and the problems they encounter. Heading up from the fact that the situation observed decreases the possibility of women to become administrators, the project is prepared to be implemented in 5 countries where the rate of women administrators is extremely low.So as to be able to cope with such problems as gender discrimination and lack of communication with their fellows that they are faced with advancing in their careers, women administrators and women manager candidates who are exposed to glass ceiling syndrome need guidance, social support and motivational services. Within this context, this project is in line with the objective of ""improving the demand and take-up through effective outreach, guidance and motivation strategies"", which is of the priorities of European Commission in the field of adult education. Besides, it is aimed to minimize the problems faced by women administrators by improving the management skills and competencies and mentorship skills of them. With this objective, the project is in line with the priorities of European Commission with the objectives of ""Extending and developing educations competences"" and ""Achievement of relevant and high quality skills and competences"". Within this framework, it is thought that the findings and results obtained from this project can draw attention to the importance and seriousness of the matter and taking action to overcome glass ceiling barriers.Taking these priorities and objectives into consideration, main target of the project is women administrators and administrator candidates in educational organizations. Project’s Intellectual Outputs were created suitable for this target, which are:1-Situation Analysis Report (IO1): Report contains knowledge about Glass Ceiling Syndrome given in related literature. It aims to put forward the currents situation of Glass Ceiling Syndrome and Glass Ceiling Barriers that women administrators face in Turkey, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany. The report has 3 main parts. Problem Situation, Method, Findings and Discussions and Results and Suggestions. The report holds current situation of women administrators in terms of glass ceiling experiences comparatively in partner countries of the project.2- Women Administrators Training Program (IO2): The training program aims to give information about glass ceiling issue in administration. It was prepared according to results of IO1. It has three modules which are Administrative Training, Coping Skills Training and Glass Ceiling Training. They can be used both together and separately by the one who interested in. According to training evaluation results and participants' feedbacks, it is seen that training program is valid and applicable. 3- Women Administrators Mentorship Training Program (IO3): The program aims to develop women administrators' administrative skills and their mentorship skills. It was prepared according to the results of IO1 and evaluations of IO2. It has 5 modules which are Time Management Training, Decision Making and Problem Solving Training, Communication and Motivation, Gender and Awareness and Mentorship Training. The modules can be used together or separately by the ones who are interested in.Thus, we aim to minimize the glass ceiling barriers that women administrators experience, to let them develop skills in order to be able to cope with these problems and to develop their mentorship skills. According to training evaluation results and participants' feedbacks, it is seen that training program is valid and applicable.The situation analysis report (IO1), women administrators training program (IO2) and women administrators mentorship training program (IO3) will be available for use with a free access in many countries around Europe.Therefore we aim to reduce gender discrimination at the management level, break the prejudices and stereotypes directed to women administrators and administrator candidates, inform them in advance about glass ceiling barriers they may encounter and thus to develop their ability to cope with these barriers, improve the work conditions of them, give mentorship training to women administrators for make them guide other women administrator candidates.By taking all these priorities, intellectual outputs, short and long term aims into consider this project aims women administrators to develop better social skills and right decision-making skills and to gain motivation to overcome glass ceiling barriers in their career planning. In the long run, this project will inspire and contribute future projects related to gender inequality, social stereotypes against women in work life and developing administrative skills of women. And it will serve as a practical project with its products to overcome gender inequalities in work life."

CONTEXT: The EU Logistics sector, including transport and supply chain industries, is one of the largest and most developed in the world: fast growing and constantly adapting to new technologies and global business practices. In recent years, the spotlight has been shone on gender diversity across all sectors of our economy, especially the relative lack of women in senior positions in the scientific and technical sectors. Yet in this aspect, the logistics industry is consistently falling behind. The sector is believed to only have 10% of women working at board level, and female participation across the industry currently runs at less than 25%. This is of significance to Poland where the transport and logistics sector is a €56.9 billion industry, making it the biggest market in Central and Eastern Europe, and the seventh largest in the EU. A 2017 Polish market survey to assess confidence and expectations in the sector, establishes human resources development and retention of human resources as a key challenge to continued growth in the sector.OBJECTIVEFor these reasons, the objective of Wil Power is clear: to develop innovative vocational education and training that will assist women working in transport and logistics to progress to leadership roles within their companies and organizations. ACTIVITIESTo achieve this, we develop and deliver three Intellectual Outputs: IO1: Training Course for Women in Transport and LogisticsThe course will target women already working in the sector and includes the development of a unique curriculum, materials development and transfer to a digital platform for standalone online delivery. IO2: Professional Women in Logistics Network Will use the principles of women-in-business networks and mentoring programmes, which have been proven to be highly effective, to boost skills and confidence of potential female leaders.IO3: Good Practice Toolkit for promoting Female Leadership in Transport and Logistics Aimed at Transport and Logistics companies directly, this resource presents practical opportunities for companies to encourage equal opportunities and diversity in the workplace.NEEDS & TARGET GROUPSThe project addresses the needs of three target groups: 1. Women working in the transport and logistics sector Women of all ages in the sector, want to progress but face internal and external obstacles to career advancement. They need guidance on the knowledge and skills needed to progress; this includes industry-specific know-how, a fast track to update skills and knowledge that currently enable career progression, but also the soft skills relating to confidence, leadership and self-efficacy in a male dominated industry. VET Providers Vocational training providers, especially membership organisations, have long catered to the industry-wide needs of their members, but this has been gender-blind. They need to develop new gender-aware approaches to VET that better serve female participants in VET. Transport & Logistic companies The transport and logistics industry needs a more diverse workforce, not only because of ethical or moral drivers, but because it will improve business performance. Many HR departments recognise they suffer from poor perceptions about career opportunities and poor support for female staff. They need support for the recruitment, development, retention of talented female staff but lack knowledge and budget to invest in bespoke solutions. RESULTS during the project’s lifespan: 4 Female Network Clubs will be established across partner countries, engaging 64 women in the Transport and Logistics industry and upskilling them in line with desired leadership qualities. At least 320 women will access the WIL POWER Online Training Course via our online platform and be equipped to become leaders within their field.At least 600 Transport and Logistics companies will engage with our bespoke Toolkit, resulting in a shift in their mindset about gender equality within the industry.IMPACT: The Transport and Logistics’ sector organisations and those who support them will for the first time have access to education on the benefits of female leadership within the industry. By showcasing positive examples of women working in management and leadership roles WIL POWER hopes to create an enthusiastic response from these organisations and incite change within their practices. Updating their practices and policies in line with EU standards can have a positive impact on staff morale, in addition to this business will be viewed as progressive agents for change. There is also the economic benefit which stems from equality in hiring and promoting female individuals. By utilising practical examples, we engage these organisations in a way that they can understand and relate to, by helping them to overcome risk factors and by showcasing the success of others in the industry.

CONTEXTGiven the growth that SMEs are encouraged to follow and strong public policy on the importance of digital technology, it is not surprising that business leaders are generally pro-technology. However, growing scientific evidence shows that unconstrained use of digital devices can have negative consequences for businesses in terms of productivity/performance and employees’ mental and physical health. Multitasking and the constant stream of notifications are associated with lower levels of creativity and concentration, and higher stress, while the google effect causes decreased memory efficiency. Collectively called “technostress” these issues are caused both by the technology AND by organisational expectations. The “always on” culture of checking emails at home or on holiday leads to worsened emotional states, poor work-life balance and burnout.Many large corporations are already addressing digital overload, via wellbeing policies within their HR/CSR work. In a 2018 study of 500 senior HR executives from global organisations, 70% stated that policies to promote digital wellbeing were important. A similar study, though, found that 82% of SME employers do NOT have any digital health or wellbeing policies nor plans to introduce them. Moreover, our own research showed the issue is so new that no enterprise development or business training providers currently offers structured guidance on the topic: they too are unaware and unequipped.OBJECTIVE Therefore, the objective of our project is to design, develop and implement a new approach to train European SME managers in employee digital wellbeing. In doing so we meet the needs of the following target groups:PARTICIPANTS & ACTIVITIESSME MANAGERS. Numbering hundreds of thousands in each of our countries, they need greater awareness and knowledge of this challenge and to develop the digital and entrepreneurial skills to lead change in company policy and practice.ENTREPRENEURSHIP (BUSINESS) EDUCATION PROVIDERS. They are a trusted source of training for SME managers and have ample access/geographic coverage to mainstream it, but they need knowledge of the subject matter AND suitable teaching resources. EDUCATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS. As policy makers and funders of subsidised training for SMEs they need greater understanding of the relevance of this topic, so as to be able to focus and design greater support for digital wellbeing competences.-SME EMPLOYEES are indirect participants and beneficiaries: thanks to the introduction of improved digital wellbeing policies and practices, they will be encouraged to strengthen their own competences regarding a balanced use of digital technology and digital self-care.RESULTSWe will produce two Outputs and the following resultsO1: Digital Wellbeing Pathway Creator. An interactive online tool enabling SME managers to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in relation to employee digital wellbeing and to determine a suitable pathway through the subsequent learning materials (O2). 36 Business Advisors will help us test the Pathway Creator with 120 SME managers. A further 300 Advisors and SMEs will use the Pathway Creator during the project lifespan.O2: Digital Crossroads Training Programme. A complete set of learning objectives, training materials and case studies providing SME Managers and business advisors to gain the knowledge, skills and self-belief required to implement an in-company programme to prevent employee digital overload. 16 business advisors will use the Training Programme with 48 SMEs (4 each) during the project. A further 240 individuals, mostly business advisors but also stakeholders and SME managers, will download and use all or part of the OERs during the project lifespan. IMPACTWe’ve designed Digital Crossroads carefully to ensure our final goal: enabling SME managers to improve the digital wellbeing of their employees. LOCAL IMPACTSince the majority of SMEs and entrepreneurs access training and support from entrepreneurship VET providers close to home, the impact will first be felt on a LOCAL level: more businesses leaders will have the digital and entrepreneurial competences to lead change in their companies, having a positive knock on effect on employee wellbeing and productivity. Over the medium term, these benefits will become evident as improved growth and employment in the local economy. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL IMPACTAt regional and national level, the project will demonstrate the need to broaden our approach to digital skills’ competences in the SME and entrepreneurship education sectors, in line with Frameworks such as DigComp and the JISC approach.EUROPEAN IMPACTAt European level, the main contribution of the project will be to highlight the work that still is required to translate Dig Comp (and to an extent DigCompOrg) into SME training and entrepreneurship education, and to provide scalable response as to how to achieve this.

<< Objectives >>The general objective is to address the digital innovation of the Small and medium-size enterprises towards a long-term social responsibility. The specific objectives are:To boost the awareness and responsiveness of SMEs about their responsibility in implementing their digital transformation having as goal not only the profitability but also the social well-being and a global sustainability.To cover the lack of knowledges, skill and resources in DRP emerged in SMEs<< Implementation >>Research activity to collect good practices in DRP and define the guidelines for a training addressed to SMEsLocal training activity with selected SMEs Virtual international mainstreaming meeting Implementation of a DRP model Implementation of a self-assessment tool<< Results >>- improvement of knowledges skills and capability in Digital Responsibility- Improvement of valuable training opportunities and tools on DR policy topic- Improvement of synergies among SMEs and stakeholders- boosting SMEs competitiveness and reputation- improving the community well-being- improving a sustainable and ethical digital transition

CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transition within VET, leading to a steep rise in online/remote teaching. Despite the many positive aspects of this catalytic change towards digitalization, the speed of the transformation has left little time to address the risks involved. Teachers in particular face a higher risk of digital overload or burnout than ever before. Long hours sitting in front of artificially lit screens, improvised home settings, the challenge of communicating effectively online and the constant flow of communications from bosses, colleagues and students present them with a radically new set of challenges. Growing scientific evidence from workers in digital environments has shown that unconstrained use of devices can have strong negative consequences. Multitasking and constant notifications are associated with lower levels of creativity and concentration, the difficulty of effective interpersonal communication causes higher stress, while heavy screen use is linked to eyesight problems and headaches . Collectively called “technostress” these issues are caused both by the technology AND by organisational expectations, and lead to deterioration in productivity/performance and in employees’ mental and physical health. Our Partner organisations report VET schools suffering staff shortages and increasing levels of absence due to digitally induced stress and it is not surprising that as far back as 2016 the influential JISC framework placed five other digital capabilities within the overarching capability of digital identity and wellbeing. TARGET GROUPS / NEEDS For this reason, Digital Balance targets two groups a)VET teachers. In 2019 only 39% of teachers in the EU felt well prepared for using digital technologies in daily work and the EC’s recent consultation on Digital Education Action Plan showed that more than 50% of respondents plan to further enhance digital skills in response to the Covid crisis.b)VET management and department heads (often teachers themselves). Their work is diverse but they share a common challenge: how to optimise digital teaching and the use of technology without compromising staff’s performance and wellbeing. They need greater awareness and knowledge to lead change in organisational policy and practice.OBJECTIVES & ACTIVITIESWorking with these two groups, our objective is clear: design, develop and implement a new approach to train VET teachers, leaders and managers in digital wellbeing. The end result will be to improve educators’ own digital competences, while also boosting the capacity of VET institutions to manage the digital transition in a way that marries high quality teaching with the wellbeing of those involved. Our specific objectives are: a)Produce 3 new resources that enable the integration of policy and practice to support digital wellbeing for teachers and encourage proactive behaviour at personal level. Namely; IO1 Digital Balance Analysis Report, IO2 Digital Wellbeing Resource Park, IO3 Digital Balance Empowerment Programmeb)Rigorously use, test and refine the resources in collaboration with 72 managers/department heads and 96 teachers, optimising their effectiveness and readying partners for immediate implementation.c)Ensure strong uptake of the resources with a persuasive dissemination campaign so that 840 VET managers, department heads and teachers use the resources in the project lifespan, with hundreds more after completion.IMPACT:Digital Balance will boost the capacity of VET institutions to manage the digital transition in a way that marries high quality teaching with the wellbeing and long-term productivity of those involved.The project makes a clear contribution to targeting organisational level change across a wide range of different types of VET organisations and the dissemination strategy will target regional and national stakeholders and policy makers. For this reason, we are sure that Digital Balance can contribute to substantial change in our wider VET systems at regional and national level AND ensure that VET is not left behind by other sectors which are more digitally competent.At national and international level, Digital balance is a very timely and relevant project in light of the Digital Education Plan, especially components of digital readiness, and in light of the ongoing work to define, build and evaluate digital competences in education. Dig Comp, Dig Comp Edu and Dig Comp Org have been circulating as frameworks for competence development for many years now, but their impact has been limited, especially in VET. Recently digital pedagogical competences have been advanced, but wellbeing and professional digital competences are often left out. Digital balance will address this gap and enhance the practical value of the frameworks to the lives of teachers and VET institutions.