About the project

Background

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At first glance, the demographic situation in Europe seems to be hopeless. The importance of Age Management for economic growth and development is widely recognized as well as its importance for competitiveness of the economy. In addition Age Management concept provides opportunities for individuals to enrich their working careers and increase their personal wealth.

Adult learning community and universities consider seniors as crucial participants in lifelong learning because their learning is more than gaining of knowledge: when older people are provided with learning opportunities, they are able to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, to actively participate in society and thus to combat negative stereotypes and social exclusion. For this reason and since many adult learning communities and universities are working with senior learners, are deeply committed to active ageing.

The proposal is in line with:

World Health Organization: Strategy and action plan for healthy ageing in Europe 2012–2020

The EU initiatives and policies:

1. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) launched in 2012; (https://ec.europa.eu/eip/ageing/home_en)
2. “More Years, Better Lives”, the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) which enhances coordination and collaboration between European and national research programmes related to demographic change; (http://www.jp-demographic.eu/)
3. Horizon 2020, the EU Research and Innovation Framework programme, in particular funding under Societal Challenge 1 for innovative ICT solutions for active and healthy ageing;
4. The Active and Assisted Living Programme, where Member States in cooperation with the European Commission fund projects on applied research for innovative ICT-based products, services and systems for ageing well. (http://www.aal-europe.eu/)
5. OECD Recommendation of the Council on Ageing and Employment Policies (http://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Ageing-Recommendation.pdf)

National strategies:

AUT: Austrian Occupational Safety and Health Strategy 2013-2020 (more information)

PL: Assumptions of the Seniors Long-Term Policy for Poland - 2014-2020 (more information)

CZ: Ageing Policy in the Czech Republic (more information)

SVK: Národný program aktívneho starnutia na roky 2014 – 2020, Uznesenie vlády č. 688 zo 4. decembra 2013 (more information)

Furthermore, in March 2017, in response to the challenges deriving from demographic change, the European social partners agreed on the European social partners´autonomous framework agreement on active ageing and an inter-generational approach (more information).

This general action oriented framework is aiming at:

• Increasing the awareness and understanding of employers, workers and their representatives of the challenges and opportunities deriving from demographic change;
• Providing employers, workers and their representatives at all levels with practical approaches and/or measures to promote and manage active ageing in an effective manner;
• Ensuring and maintaining a healthy, safe and productive working environment;
• Fostering innovative life-cycle approaches with productive and quality jobs to enable people to remain in work until legal retirement age;
• Facilitating exchanges, mutual cooperation and fostering concrete actions to transfer knowledge and experience between generations at the workplace.

Our aim

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We aim to extend and develop educators' competences that they will be able to fullfil above mentioned goals (goals of European social partners), therefore the objective of the project is to create Age Management Curriculum (for both formal and non-formal education systems) which graduates become Age Management Advisors.

The most relevant topics for the project are:

• New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses
• Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning
• Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment

The proposed curriculum (Age Management Advisor) will not aim to replace existing courses for HR specialist, lecturers, trainers. It will complement them as stand-alone or alongside module of Age Management that can be applied within a wide range of legislative and service provision frameworks. We are adding and improving, not replacing.

In a nutshell, we will create an Age Management Advisor qualification curriculum that focuses on the ‘active skills’ that make a difference to clients. It will identify and exclude common practices that are ineffective or even damaging. The project will not teach administrative or management skills, which are already well covered elsewhere.

It will integrate with existing legislative environments (which differ markedly among various EU member states) and with formal and nonformal education settings, while offering opportunities for reviewing and improving provision by using the effective and essential skills contained.

Innovation and extension of previous work:

• extends partners’ and other work by application of scientific evidence alongside feedback from service users & service providers,
• incorporates curriculum design and skill-learning methodologies

The goal is to make the ultimate beneficiary labour-market competent. To summarise the research findings, such competence rest upon:

• individual awareness and decision making capacity
• ability to make realistic personal choices in the labour market
• ability to find job opportunities in the specific sector and occupation of choice
• capacity to compete for relevant work
• ability to retain employment

and developing these requires guides who can:

• enhance self efficacy
• enable decision-making and progress through choice to action
• support progress and resilience
• develop connections with employers.

The Project builds on work done within:

“Active, competent, creative 60+” – 2014 – the project’s goals were connected with gaining new competences by the participants, strengthening their independence and self management.

"Strategy of Age management in the Czech republic " - transfer of innovative tools for the dealing with issues bounded to the focus group 50+ on a labour market and application of the concept Age management to the Czech republic. This project won the price National price for support of age management in the Czech republic in 2012. Partner for this project was Finnish Institute for Occupational Health.

"Implementation of Age management to the Czech republic" - creating of the tools for the dealing with issues bounded to the focus group 50+ on a labour market. Partner for this project was organisation Blik op Werk from Netherland.

The project will deliver intellectual outputs (Scientific Review What Works in Age Management, Age Management curriculum,Course materials for blended learning, Qualification standard of Age management Advisor, Accreditation of adult education course in CEE countries, Guidelines of Age Management Curriculum Implementation) for Austrian, Czech, Polish and Slovak lecturers, trainers in formal and nonformal education.