AgeQual - In-company continuing training for older workers in SMEs
In-company continuing training for older workers in SMEs and the development of regional support structures (Leonardo da Vinci-project)
The share of older workers in the workforce will grow in the wake of current demographic developments. At the same time, it is likely that the number of years that individuals work in the course of their lives will increase and the age of retirement will be raised.
This project is aimed at fostering vocational training for older workers in small and medium-sized enterprises with an eye to stabilizing employment among this group. The project also views fostering continuing vocational training as a regional structural development task. Due to this, the project is being conducted in one region in each of the five participating European countries. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training is a project partner and co-coordinator.
The other institutions participating in this Leonardo da Vinci-project are:
- University of Erfurt, School of Education, Vocational Education and Continuing Vocational Education Department, Continuing Education / Adult Education Unit
- 3s Research Laboratory (Vienna, Austria)
- Research Centre for Entrepreneurship (Studiecentrum voor Ondernemerschap, SVO), EHSAL-K.U. Brussels (Belgium)
- Center for Labour Market Research (Center for arbejdsmarkedsforskning, CARMA) at the University of Aalborg (Denmark)
- Knowledge Centre for Vocational Education & Labour Market (Kenniscentrum beroepsonderwijs arbeitsmarkt), Nijmegen (Netherlands)
The project's four most important objectives:
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Conduct international comparisons of employment structures, measures and regional structures in model regions.
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Conduct international comparative regional analyses of endogenous and exogenous causes for under-investment or abstinence in continuing vocational training in SMEs that participate only to a small degree or not at all in continuing vocational training and in the target group of older workers.
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Develop instruments and measures that are suitable for reducing current deficits. These include instruments for self-evaluation that can be used in collaborative activities with regional facilities and for developing target-group-specific measures.
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Develop regional support structures for vocational training for older workers in small and medium-sized enterprises: regional networks that are comprised of firms, education providers, management and labour and identify training needs.
