The availability of information across Europe about certain economic sectors’ and companies’ demands is a complex, but key area when facing youth unemployment, low employability or mismatches between supply and demand. The European Commission has presented a package of concrete measures to promote the recovery of employment in Europe including a number of recommendations for member states to mobilize all available resources to emphasize job creation by strengthening the link between education and work. In response to this there is clearly a key role for labour market observatories throughout Europe to better coordinate strategies between employment and training policies and economic and territorial development strategies, and further there is a need to understand how more resources and tools could be made available for them. SIMOVET was conceived to tackle the mismatches in the supply and demand of qualified people by supporting the decision making process in order to better adapt the vocational training offer. This has been achieved by improving the current information systems responding to companies’ and economic sectors’ quantitative and qualitative demands. Established as a strategic partnership of 5 expert institutions in the field of labour market monitoring and the provision of support to the formation of training and employment policies, SIMOVET is grounded in the exchange of know-how and the implementation of pilot projects intended to improve the current labour market information models. The project’s target audiences are the policy makers involved in the decision-making processes in the area of local, regional, national and European VET systems, as well as training providers, job seekers, workers, youngsters needing career advice, and so on. As shown on its website, among other results of the project, the “Database of best practices” and its “Evaluation report”, include 26 useful information tools for labour market analysts to use due to their practical approach, focused in future implementations by the participants themselves or other organisations. Combined with the “Lessons Learned” report, they are key assets for VET policy makers.SIMOVET has developed 5 “Pilot Projects”, which implement new information methods based on the good practices gathered beforehand and adapted at a regional level. The “Case Studies” showcase the projects and explain the main results and impacts. The projects are the start of a new working method in each region and its impact can be appreciated in the application of this information in the decision making process in the area of vocational training.The project has also shown the benefits of involving key agents to promote essential changes, since “Regional Working Groups” have been created in each region involving labour market experts, training/educational experts and policy makers. The workshops have demonstrated the opportunities of the information tools and the growing need of establishing long term links between the vocational training system and the labour market. At the same time, these links have been strengthened by the final events which have taken place in each of the beneficiaries’ regions and where other relevant economic agents have participated.Moreover, SIMOVET has developed 4 “Career guidelines” which include everything from the explanation of how regional labour market information systems work to sectorial information related to the description of skills and occupations. It is estimated that this product will reach tenths of thousands of users, in the form of training providers, career advisors, job seekers, workers, young people, and so on.Since all partners are active members of the European Network of Regional Labour Market Monitoring (ENRLMM), this cooperation has enabled the transfer of knowledge to around 28 countries, nearly 600 institutions, as well as European organisations active in VET policies: European Parliament, DG Employment, DG Education and Culture, CEDEFOP, etc. This transfer of knowledge to other European regions will have a direct impact in the applicability of these practices, and other observatories and organisations will be able to put into practice these improvements in their own labour market information models. At the same time, it will help to improve the employability of youngsters and to build more competent and skilled workers across Europe achieving a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity, competitiveness and social cohesion, in accordance with Europe 2020 Strategy.

The COVID-19 crisis has heavily impacted education and training and has accelerated digital transformation providing a glimpse into the Future of Work. Moreover, the impact of COVID- has forced the majority of companies and organisations, of all sizes and across all industries, to accelerate -or rapidly implement processes for their digital transformation. The world has turned digital overnight and workers need to adapt rapidly to a new reality, which included a need to reduce all face-to-face exchanges and keep physical contact to a minimum, and large-scale adoption of remote ways of communicating.The ACSOL project (Acquiring crisis-proof skills through online learning) addresses two service sectors which have been very hardly hit: 1) Social care and 2) Arts, entertainment and culture. Analysis of labour market intelligence indicates low-skilled workers in these sectors tend to lack skills to easily adopt the digital transformation of their jobs, and that that they often lack the necessary skills to access the more complex online training formats to equip them with these skills. ACSOL offers these low-skilled workers the opportunity to train themselves in essential digital skills in order for them to gain access to further digital training and to be better prepared in their job.The ultimate aim of the ACSOL project is to expand adult digital skills training provision through online learning which would have significant advantages for workers in social care as well as entertainment, arts and culture. In particular, online learning on digital skills could help reach a much bigger number of learners on these sources in the context of the COVID‑19 crisis but it is crucial for our transnational project to make online learning more inclusive and more effectively convey the relevant meaning in the target group, with a training adapted to the profile of the low-skilled workers and key digital skills for challenges and opportunities on jobs related to digital transformation on both sectors.We propose to design and develop an eLearning toolkit that will boost the digital literacy skills and specific skills of current low-skilled workers, through continuing VET, so that they are able to both face the crisis provoked by COVID-19 and to increase their opportunities to improve their job and working conditions.To do so, we will first carry out a thorough labour market statistical analysis of online vacancies in the occupations on social care and arts, entertainment and culture activities to identify the impact of COVID-19 crisis on jobs and the evolution of digital skills demanded by labour market, which will be completed with a survey to micro companies, workers and users about the degree of digital transformation and will help gather ideas for business transformation and digital skills for workers and occupations on these sectors.Then, the identification of opportunities, needs and risks of digital transformation as well as key digital competences and proposals for involving our target groups will be presented and discussed in sectoral triple helix working groups established in each region, and integrated by business, vocational training providers and policy makers. The goal will be to develop a regional proposal at sectoral level with recommendations on topics such as the hybridization of jobs and embracing digital skills with recommendations for the adoption of eLearning-strategies that will be presented to the Annual European Network on Regional Labour Market Monitoring Conference – to achieve a common European vision. Therefore, a transnational perspective for a research and implementation project is proposed. The transnational nature of the project ensures learning from different settings and supports the exchange of good practices, success factors and lessons learned.Finally, we will create new eLearning materials that will embrace the topics that workers with low qualifications and employed in micro companies need to acquire for both confronting the current crisis and more generally to adapt to a changing world of work. The online learning toolkit will include a wide range of solutions such as online courses, educational resources, video content, mobile learning, etc., both formal and non-formal.The ACSOL products will be available online in 5 different European languages and will be tested with workers for their feedback in each region to get conclusions and improvements for the tool which will be incorporated.The ACSOL intellectual outputs and activities will have a series of long-lasting impacts and there will be especially significant impact on the target users of the Toolkit. The low-skilled European workforce of the social care sector and the culture sector, will be benefitting from our toolkit because it will help them acquire the digital skills they need both to access online, distance or blended training, and to maintain or transform their jobs in these sectors.

REPLAY-VET was specifically conceived to strengthen key competences in VET curricula and provide more effective opportunities for the low- skilled or low educated people in order for them to acquire or develop those skills through VET. REPLAY-VET responds to Europe’s pressing need to tackle replacement demand caused by new technologies, an ageing workforce and a persistently low level of skilled workers affecting many economic sectors. In Europe, there remains a large volume of population with low skills for whom there will not be employment opportunities. The project used a network of expert labour market analysts to explore what new policy and practices will need to exist if Europe is to tackle replacement demand priority new and in the future. The project focused on groups with low skill/qualification levels, those economically inactive and often outside of the employment (e.g. workers, long-term unemployed, young people, migrants, etc.). The work resulted in a series of workshops and stakeholders’ exchange events (with involvement of Employment and Training and other Social Policy-Makers, Education and Training Providers, Career Guidance Professionals, Employers, Public Authorities and Agencies, Workers and Trade Unions) and written output such as national and sectoral reports, ‘How To’ guides and a toolkit.At the end of 2015, there were 43,802,200 low- skilled people (Eurostat). REPLAY-VET tries to enhance the access, participation and performance of these disadvantaged learners and facilitate their transitions between different levels and types of education and training; from education/training to the world of work; and/or from one employment to another.The outputs of REPLAY-VET contributed to these issues by: - highlighting lessons for across the EU based on the REPLAY project’s findings in different national/regional contexts;-recognising the critical importance of reinforcing links between education, training with the changing world of work, in promoting effective labour market policies, such as the inclusion of low skilled and other people from disadvantaged backgrounds;-presenting recommendations highlighting opportunities and constraints related to professional training and qualification of low-skilled groups in a cross section of employment sectors: construction, early learning and care, home care, logistics, manufacturing, metallurgy. The project delivered innovative policies and practices that all regions can learn from:• The occupational toolkit (www.replayvet.eu) designed to provide VET providers, employment services and policy makers with how-to-guides and best practice examples responding to needs and challenges regarding the employment and training opportunities of the low-skilled people. The kit gives access to inspiring solutions structured by key themes and the users will find the keys for successfully training low-skilled people to prepare them for the job vacancies that are arising as people leave work in an aging society.• The European Strategy highlights lessons and recommendations on improving the current and future labour market participation of low-skilled groups of workers across the EU. These include: reducing barriers to vocational training; improving the attractiveness of jobs, careers and labour conditions associated with the sectors in which low-skilled/low-qualified people work; and advancing professionalisation in these sectors. REPLAY-VET, through its 3 outputs and 2 multiplier events, contributed as well to enhance access to training and qualifications for all through VET, in a life-long learning perspective, notably by increasing the accessibility of C-VET for low- skilled workers and providing efficient and integrated guidance services for low- skilled people.Thanks to REPLAY-VET, a significant step in the right direction has been taken to improve the employability of low skilled and at risk of exclusion to be active agents in the labour market, increase their social cohesion and achieve a society with less inequalities.The partners of the REPLAY-VET project, 8 entities from 6 different countries: Prospektiker (ES), University of Exeter (UK), IWAK (DE), CRISP- University of Milano Bicocca (IT), Narodní Vzdělávací Fond (CZ), University of Stirling (UK), CEREQ (FR) and Lanbide (ES), have promoted through the development of the project, a structured inter-regional and cross-border cooperation enhancing the commitment of local and regional public authorities through the participation of public bodies active in the labour market as well as knowledge organisations active in innovative practices.

ContextEurope is facing a demographic crisis, with a shrinking workforce coupled with increased demands for social services. The labour force in Europe is projected to decrease by an average of two million people every year until 2030. This represents a loss of 1% of its current size each year for the next 10 years. Yet, in many countries, most workers still retire (relatively) early. They often do so not because they want to, but because they feel compelled to, or that they do not have other options. Solutions need to be found to make work more sustainable, and to extend working lives in order to avoid old-age poverty and to reduce state expenditure on pensions and welfare. (Changing places: Mid-career review and internal mobility, Eurofound Report, 2017)Recent OECD research has highlighted that there are many millions of adults in Europe with low levels of functional literacy and/or numeracy skills and that the majority of these are in employment (OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) 2019). This has negative implications for their employment potential and longer term career prospects. The concept of the Mid Life Skills Review is gradually gaining favour in many countries and the role of social partners in both lobbying for and delivering elements of this can be critical to its success (Eurofound 2017). The Learning and Work Institute and the TUC can take some of the credit for their campaign for everyone to have this mid-life entitlement at 50. Indeed, the recent (John Cridland) report on pensions in the UK included a recommendation to have a mid-life 'MOT' at 50 for, amongst other things, skills. This is the perfect time for this project, which can make a real and lasting impact.Our recent ERASMUS+ Project developed the Value My Skills tool that takes users/learners through steps with clear instructions to identify and rate their skills, keep reflection notes, design an action plan and record their progress. The tool is best used in partnership with a learning coach - so that the learner can discuss their findings in a safe and supportive environment. The tool is freely available in several European languages.AimWe aim to add value to the already much used Value My Skills tool that was developed by the Mid Life Skills Review ERASMUS+ Project which successfully launched in 2019 and is hosted by the TUC. The potential benefits of our additional work in this field emerged from the evaluation of the Mid Life Skills Review ERASMUS+ project. We will extend the tool to new countries and boost functionality.InnovationsOur project will develop a suite of innovative new materials to support the delivery of the Mid Life Skills Reviews. These include new Quick Win online modules that will enable learners to see positive impacts from returning to learning - vital given our target audience is hard-to-reach low skilled adults in the workplace. We will also build new online materials to help boost the support for the critical role of the skills coaches. To help with mainstreaming and wider adoption we will design new National Delivery Models, bespoke for each partner country. In addition, we will develop - an Occupation Profile Tool - that will enable the users/learners to see how their skills match with the skills needed for different occupations. This will be done by linking to the EU ESCO skills classification system. The user/learner will also able to see where a skills boost (via the Quick Wins for example) could lead to routes into other occupations. As the Value My Skills Tool uses workplace coaches to work through the Tool with the learners - the coaches from across the partnership will be encouraged to become ‘mid-life skills champions’, with the support of a virtual e-network. This network will support its members and share ideas and experience.Finally, in keeping with the European priority for promoting the recognition of skills and qualifications, we will accredit the learning through the use of new online Digital Badges and will enable links to be made into the Europass CV Programme. Badging of this kind is increasingly valued and is an innovation which the lead partner has considerable existing expertise. ImpactsWe will gain sustainable impacts by: delivering a series of events in each partner country to highlight the new materials and support available; using social media to disseminate the positive outcomes from the mid-life skills reviews e.g. progression, promotion, career change etc; and ultimately through boosting the skills of hard-to-reach older workers within the labour market, benefiting themselves, their families, their employers and European labour markets. The partners have been selected as all have existing close working relationships with employers, policymakers and trade unions and all have significant experience in working in the adult education and skills sector and together we have the expertise to carry out all of the activities required within the project.