Strengthening emergent professional profiles in the third sector – a way to foster innovative bridges to work and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups Erasmus Project

Project Title

Strengthening emergent professional profiles in the third sector – a way to foster innovative bridges to work and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Organisations from this partnership have lengthy experiences in training, consultancy, research, networking and lobbying in the fields of third sector and social enterprises, especially WISE – Work Integration Social Enterprises. We are: A3S Association, a Portuguese research & development association on social economy and social entrepreneurship (coordinator); Arbeit Plus, an Austrian national umbrella network of WISE; SCF a regional Italian training centre dedicated to the qualification and innovation of their member (social cooperatives/WISE), SEE, a social enterprise based in the UK, dedicated to developed and managed training programmes in Europe, Asia and Africa; ENSIE the European Network of Social Integration Enterprises, based in Belgium.
We are members of ENSIE, sharing a common mission of social and professional integration of disadvantaged groups. Partners share concerns on the persistent challenges of labour and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, the economic sustainability of social enterprises and social innovation. These are forcing changes in the skills profile required from WISES human resources, from the bottom level of the daily activity (catering/gardening), to the daily follow up of disadvantaged people in integration pathways and to the top management level.
The labour inclusion field has been widely developed in the last decades in Europe through the initiatives of social enterprises, also fostered by Active Labour Market Policies promoted by the different states. A wide range of integration models have been developed: therapeutic or occupational schemes; professional training; class room training interchanged with real work context; sheltered work; transition schemes or permanent subsidised jobs.
By giving a step forward from previous projects in the field of lifelong learning (namely Grundtvig), partners aimed to establish a comprehensive approach to the European context of the changes in the sector professional profiles and the challenges of its human resources skills development. More than mainly mobility and mutual learning projects we wanted also to work in a more deep level and produce outputs together. Outputs that enable partners and other key stakeholders to go furthers in the training, advocacy and lobbying in the field of work integration of disadvantaged groups.
EPP three specifics objectives were: i) to identify commune needs and challenges of training, qualification and certification of skills of professionals working in this sub-sector of social enterprises in EU, ii) to create instruments for intervention in the field of professional qualification of WISE and iii) to lay the foundation for a structured and strategic intervention of medium and long term partnership for advocacy and lobbying on the qualifications of WISE professionals
To accomplish these objectives we have developed a work stream methodology were all partners have their own assignment role in a set of articulated activities, producing their own outputs and contributing to the output produced by the other partners.
EPP produced 4 intellectual outputs: 1 exploratory study on the coaching and marketing functions in WISE in five European countries (A3S); 2 training packages addressed to the professionals carrying out coaching and marketing duties (Arbeit+ and SCF); 1 report to support European and national advocacy and lobbying activities in the field of WISE’ human resources training and qualification (ENSIE). Additionally to the initial plan, the UK partner produced an essay on Professional Development in WISE.
The outputs production was based on a methodology of action research focused in ten case studies and in the sharing and debate of the interim results with the key stakeholders, through multiplier events (workshops, professional training and final seminar).Transnational meetings have also played an essential role by providing study visits to the case studies in the five European countries and by providing mutual learning with partners and with national stakeholders.
Beyond the intellectual outputs, other important results were achieved by EPP. At the project’ staff personnel and professional level, at the level of partners organisations, at the level of the partnership and at the European level.
The direct benefits are the strategies that are being followed after the end of the project such as advocacy and lobby meetings in Austria, training plans in Portugal and Italy, the creation of new section of tools in a web learning platform in the UK or the EPP dissemination by ENSIE. There are also new ideas for European projects to continue EPP work, strengthening ENSIE projects and positions on the WISE human resources qualification and certifications.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 147368 Eur

Project Coordinator

Associação A3S & Country: PT

Project Partners

• SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INTERNATIONAL LTD
• SCUOLA CENTRALE FORMAZIONE ASSOCIAZIONE SCF
• arbeit plus – Soziale Unternehmen Österreich
• European Network of Social Integration Enterprises