The GAME of PHONES project seeks to develop a compendium of educational materials and resources to support adult educators address the needs of the most difficult to access ‘Sustained’ NEETs who might be characterised as the 'don’t want to learn, unable to learn' sub-set. The GAME of PHONES consortium believes that if the most difficult to reach target groups can be re-engaged by the approach and resources developed then it is fair to assume that the ‘easier’ target groups will also be re-engaged. Partners are committed to addressing disadvantage, combating failure in education and enhancing pedagogic and didactic approaches in adult education.Digital technology enriches education and offers new learning opportunities by enabling access to additional learning environments and resources that can be used to attract and integrate reluctant learners. The primary objective of the project is to design and develop a bespoke challenge-based educational intervention aimed at re-engaging NEETs and supporting them to build skills and competences to assist their reintegration to education or employment. The proposed resources will be developed as webquests which will be designed and produced for access on smartphones. These resources will use inquiry-based and project-based learning embedding the acquisition of key competences into the individual webquests. To ensure that this approach is sustainable partners will also develop a bespoke in-service training programme to support adult educators to harness the full potential of this compendium of new mobile learning resources and integrate the new resources into their everyday activities. In-service training will place a significant emphasis on online learning and exploring the roles of educators in these dynamic environments ensuring that they are comfortable working with the new resources in these non-traditional learning environments; fully bought-in to the benefits that online learning can bring for working with marginalised target groups; and aware of the risks that pertain when working in online environments.For the partner organisations involved, namely Meath Partnership, Callidus, FFE, StorytellMe and CARDET, the intellectual outputs of the GAME of PHONES project will have a positive impact on the skill sets of adult education staff involved who will considerably improve their service offering for NEETs and enhance their awareness of the potential of dynamic online learning environments and bespoke challenge-based learning resources for re-engaging marginalised young people. The organisations involved will be afforded the opportunity to build a reputation for being at the cutting edge of analysis and understanding of the evolving digital society we live and work in. GAME of PHONES is a win: win project that will produce positive impacts for different people, for different groups of stakeholders and for partners both individually and collectively.

Skill IT is a transnational European adult education innovative strategic partnership which aims to develop, design and implement inclusiveness strategies for enhancing basic skills, in particular digital skills for specific adult groups -– adults with low level or no qualifications, those in low skilled occupations, unemployed, migrants and economically inactive, older people and least skilled. Skill IT will:a) address the issues of low levels of digital literacy and competency amongst adults who are disadvantaged and at risk of exclusionb) address stagnating participation in adult learning in EU countries through inclusive strategiesc) strengthen the partnership between local and regional organisations in partner countries working with the target groups of adult learners; d) increase digital competence and literacy amongst the hardest to reach groups in 7 partner countries using an innovative transnational approach involving local and regional adult education organisations, teachers, trainers and the adult learners themselves;e) improve and extend access to learning opportunities in accordance with Europe 2020, ET 2020 and Erasmus+ goals. Skill IT transnationality allows adult learners from different target groups and staff from partner countries to cooperate innovatively in order to design and develop an innovative ICT Education Model which will be tested within the 7 partner countries: Northern Ireland; Turkey; Czech Republic; Italy; Greece; Spain; Croatia.Partners will be involved in identification of the needs of their target groups-adults with low level or no qualifications, those in low skilled occupations, unemployed and economically inactive, migrants/refugees, older people and least skilled in terms of digital skills. ICT modules will be developed is response to these needs. Implementation and delivery of the ICT modules will involve the use of peer mentoring and partners will be involved in the identification of peer mentors within their target groups to complete a peer mentoring training course. All partners will be involved in the implementation of the ICT education model. Skill IT will be produced in an online tool box for future use by teachers, trainers, organisations and adult learners.The overall results of the project are:- Development and implementation of effective strategies to meet the digital needs of disadvantaged adults- Enhanced adults learners' ICT literacy and competencies- Promotion and cooperation between adult educators to increase disadvantaged adults participation in lifelong learning- Enhancement of transnational cooperation and networking between partner organisationsThe Skill ITproducts are:1) A Digital Needs Analysis Report of adults form the target groups within partner countries - 2) A ICT Competency profile in a table detailing the expected knowledge, skills, competencies and learning outcomes of the ICT educational model.3)Peer Mentoring Training Course for adults based on the competence profile including curriculum, course design and implementation 4) Production of ICT educational model - curriculum, course design and implementation.5)Skill IT Toolbox with guidelines, methods, training modules to enhance disadvantaged adults digital literacy and competency6) Promotion of exchange of experiences, further adapations of the innovation and transnational networking by integrating the local stakeholders of each partner in the project7) Skill IT website with all productsThe Skill It project will enhance the digital skills of adults who do not traditionall engage in ICT Training through lack of skills, fear or ability and are at risk of exclusion. Skill IT will create new inclusive opportunities for increased participation in lifelong learning activities. Skill IT will reconnect groups at the risk of exclusion to learning, to the labour market, to public services encouraging them to become more active citizens within their countries.

"In society today opportunities to harness the pervasiveness and potential of media applications for developing key competences of marginalised groups are plentiful. What stifles the development of new educational interventions, in many cases, is the unpreparedness, even reluctance, of educators to engage in new environments that undermine their perceived role as educators. There are now a wide range of ubiquitous learning environments that are accessible and user-friendly and offer potential learning opportunities for marginalised groups that are attractive and engaging. In this evolving education landscape the old 'sage-on-the-stage' model of institutional based provision is no longer the only educational act in town. Adult and community education programmes, free from the shackles of institution based provision, are often places where real educational innovation takes place. These programmes differ significantly from formal education and according to the Eurydice Report in 2014 ""adults are much more likely to participate in non-formal learning activities than in formal education and training...the take-up of non-formal education and training is nearly six times higher compared to formal education"". There is a significant lack of appropriate in-service training to support the CPD of educators and nowhere is this more apparent than in the adult and community education sector which is traditionally the poor relation where investment in CPD is concerned. Although there has been significant progress in the last 5 years ESL remains a significant problem in many Member States. Research shows that the prospects for early school-leavers throughout the remainder of their lives are bleak. They face significant difficulties in finding work and are more often unemployed and dependent on welfare benefits. There is also a cyclical element to early school-leaving with children of parents with low levels of educational achievement more likely to leave school early themselves without appropriate qualifications The DIME consortium has: - developed a bespoke in-service training programme for adult and community educators that supports them to use digital media production and digital media platforms as robust, pertinent and highly attractive learning environments - developed a comprehensive suite of digital media embedded learning and enquiry-based learning key competence resources for use with marginalised young adults in formal and non-formal settings. - provided a series of virtual learning and collaborative environments that bring adult and community educators in 8 countries and young marginalised adults in 8 countries together to support exchange of best practice, stimulate collaborative endeavors and raise awareness of cultural diversity. The key target groups were adult and community educators for whom a bespoke in-service training programme was developed and the young marginalised adults they work with to develop key their key competences.24 adult educators completed the in-service training programme at the transnational training event in Italy. A further 80 adult educators, 10 per partner country, completed the first iteration of the in-service training programme developed. A minimum of 20 marginalised young adults in each country were engaged in the audio-visual production training to develop their key competences before the end of the project life-cycle. This resulted in 160 marginalised young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been distant from education and training being re-integrated into lifelong learning. The Dime consortium held 8 Short Film Festivals, 8 National Campaigns and held a Final Conference in Belfast.Social networking sites are the new ‘street corners’ where young people hang-out and digital media has filtered right down through the ranks of young people regardless of their social, economic or educational status. Providing appropriate training for adult and community educators to support them in harnessing the interest in digital media among their marginalised target groups is an innovative and worthwhile pursuit."

The Youthcoach project is a transnational European VET partnership which aims to transfer, adapt and implement innovative projects and products which a) strengthen the partnerships between education and employment in initial VET, b) help reduce the high number of drop outs in VET, c) develop basic and transversal skills especially entrepreneurial skills with young VET learners and d) validate skills and competences of these young learners in accordance with Europe 2020, ET 2020 and Erasmus + goals. The project addresses VET dropout prevention from a multidimensional point of view, involving companies, VET organisations and VET teachers and trainers by focusing on capacity building in both VET teachers and trainers and young VET learners. The project aims to establish better measures of support for young people in VET by bringing together different concepts, amalgamating them into a comprehensive competence profile and curriculum for competent Youthcoaches and producing a toolbox for youthcoaches. The consortium exists of four key partners (from Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Austria) and four transfer partners (in Croatia, Spain, Greek and Italy), among them non-profit and private VET-training providers, counseling organisations - some of them directly connected to social partners and enterprise associations – and a regional network. The key partners provide good practice concepts and products from their own country experiences, particulary the concepts of Vocational Training Assistence, Toolbox, Youthcoaching and EBC*L enterprise, and adapt them together with the transfer partners to the specific needs of their countries. On this basis they develop together a train-the-trainer-course and pilot this course with local stakeholders in their regions. A common transnational workshop in Croatia with selected participants of the pilot training promote exchange of experiences, the feedback/evaluation and adaptation of the program and ensure the transnational dimension and networking.The products of the project include a needs analysis report of the partners, which is developed via desk research of the partners and interviews of local stakeholders. The train-the-trainer program is based on a common competence profile (defined in terms of learning outcomes and provision of ECVET) and a curriculum with training material, translated in all partner languages. A toolbox provides further tools, instruments and methods for VET-teachers, -trainers and social workers who work with young people with disadvantages in order to avoid their drop-out from VET. They focus especially to - work with companies in bridging gabs between VET and the world of work- promoting intercultural competences - enhance personal development- the promotion of competences related to entrepreneurship (EBCL)Further products of the project are the transnational workshop with selected participants from the pilot trainings and the common final conference in Spain. The overall results of the project can be defined in- Increased knowledge and competences of the actors who deal with the different target groups in order to prevent drop-out from VET- Transfer, adaptation and implementation of best practice in other European regions- Promoting joint programs of public and private stakeholders on local/ regional level to prevent drop-out from VET- Enhance transnational cooperation and networking in this mannerThe project has several impacts on - young people with several disadvantages (increased capacities and promotion of personal, social and methodological competences),- VET-teachers-, trainers-, -instructors and social workers (better guidance and coaching and increased capacities to develop entrepreneurial skills, personal and intercultural competences of youngsters) and - companies (better cooperation with VET institutions and local stakeholders). Furthermore the project contributes to - increase the capacities of training providers (new concepts, tools and train-the-trainer courses) and - of regional/local stakeholders (increased capacity for joint drop-out prevention). In the long-term the project contributes to promote cooperation in VET and employment for young people with disadvantages and a better matching on European`s labour markets.