CARE4U Erasmus Project

Project Title

CARE4U

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Health and wellbeing; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Europe is currently under an ageing population stage and this, together with the reduction of public spending on health, causes the need of more home care services. Caregiving has appeared as an emergent job where more and more workers are demanded all across Europe. Even though the employability level, the majority of home care workers don’t have adequate training in the tasks they are regularly required to carry out as they receive more theoretical classes than daily practices training in the home care sector. Moreover the training has not taken into account the differences regarding health protocols and best practices in the different EU countries, limiting the caregivers’ capacities and opportunities.

CARE4U objectives are to provide innovative approaches based on practice (better than theory), and to focus on the individual needs and expectations after their first approach to the labor market. CARE4U offers a participatory method supported by ICT-based methodologies, using an online learning tool with different ICT technologies that will provide to the participant the training in their preferred format.

The majority of home care workers don’t have adequate training in the tasks they are regularly required to carry out, as they receive more theoretical classes than daily practices training in the home care sector. In consequence, adequate training is required in the home-based sector for two reasons: on the one hand, it is recognized that adequate training attainment improves the employability of people and, on the other hand, because better and more innovative training programs are required in order to avoid that under-qualified people carrying out works where the lack of qualification could be translated in risks for those who require their services.

To tackle with this, CARE4U provides an online learning platform which fosters knowledge and training exchange for those people who, in spite of their training through educational courses, need additional practical knowledge for the achievement of relevant and high quality skills and competences in the home care sector. CARE4U allows experienced people to share the knowledge they own after several years of working in a bilateral learning/training process where all the sides involved are benefited: either for learning a new skills, sharing experience or gaining new contacts and opportunities.

In order to share this knowledge in the most proper and suitable way, a set of methodologies for teaching/learning (i.e., video, tutorials) will be defined based on the user’s preferences: moreover specific training CVs will be defined, based on the needs identified by the caregivers and the specificities of each country, and generated, creating proper training material to cover them.
So, CARE4U provides the training and mutual learning on the topic, preparing better those who are already active as caregivers, allowing those who are unemployed to acquire skills which can help to open up a career in the care sector at home. In consequence, the bank of knowledge that CARE4U will own, will be focused on caregivers. Thus, our main direct target groups are:
• Non-experienced caregivers that are trained by experienced caregivers in a trustworthy space.
• Unemployed caregivers that seek for adequate training or learning a new skill in order to increase the possibilities of employability.
• Formal and informal caregivers that require committee by professionals about a certain topic.
• VET and higher school professionals when reaching the labour market as a training guide for practical knowledge.

Patients and the care sector as a whole will also benefit from the personalized and adequate training provided by CARE4U constituting the indirect target group of CARE4U. The project will generate a community which will help to enhance cooperation among caregivers across the continent. In consequence, CARE4U will put in contact qualified and non-qualified caregivers located in different parts of Europe so the knowledge could be exchanged between them, creating a definite benefit to the home-based care sector of Europe. The initial approach will be applied in the participating countries and it will provide a solid base for the knowledge community that will be progressively extend to the rest of Europe.

Not only different target groups will be approached but also different stakeholders groups. For the different stakeholders to understand the CARE4U scope, objectives and content, different handbooks and guides targeted to each of them will be created. These guides will include the results and findings, the training approach and content, the channels, learning activities and learning objectives. In total 5 handbooks will be created for the following stakeholders:
· Caregivers and consumers of care
· Health and care institutions
· Health and care training and educational centres
· Policy makers
· Project partners

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 165578 Eur

Project Coordinator

HI IBERIA INGENIERIA Y PROYECTOS SL & Country: ES

Project Partners

• BRAIN INJURY MATTERS (NI)
• Fundatia Centrul Educational Spektrum
• EOLAS S.L.
• BEST INSTITUT FUR BERUFSBEZOGENE WEITERBILDUNG UND PERSONALTRAINING GMBH