FlexWork - Practical e-Training of FlexibleVocations for Supporting Home BasedWorking of InactiveWomenas Self-employed
Project Title: FlexWork - Practical e-Training of Flexible Vocations for Supporting Home Based Working of Inactive Women as Self-employed
Project Code: 2019-1-TR01-KA202-076888
Funding Programme: ERASMUS+ KA201
Start and End Date: 01/10/2019 – 30/09/2021
Link to project website: www.Flex-Work.eu
Download the application: FlexWork
COORDINATOR:
Ankara Hacı Byram Veli Üniversitesi – AHBV (TR)
CORE PARTNERS:
Fondo Formacion Euskadi SII (ES)
EBL Elektronik Bilgi Bilisim ve Mesleki Egitim Hizmetleri Ltd.Sti. (TR)
Institutul National de Cercetare Stiintıfica in Domeniul Muncii Si (RO)
Protectiei Sociale (RO)
Tum Avrupa Kadinlari Kulturel Isbirligi Ve Dayanisma Dernegi (TR)
Wyzsza Szkola Ekonomii iInformatyki w Krakowie (PL)
Zdruzenie aktivnych a talentovanych zien realizujucich fungujucu karieru – ZARIF (SK)
ENAIP VENETO IMPRESA SOCIALE (IT)
Project
In recent years, the virtual form of a business activity has notably increased. The importance of this form is growing, because the nature of the enterprise, which becomes a place that combines a variety of ideas, concepts, designs and technologies, is changing. This is particularly important in micro and small enterprises. The creative and entrepreneurial potential of women is a latent source of economic growth and new jobs and should be encouraged by creating favourable conditions, support facilities and mechanisms and providing them with relevant e-training opportunities. One of the best ways to stimulate business development and personal growth is through "virtual working".
"Virtual working" means that a worker does not necessarily go to her/his job site or to a place where particular a service is needed.
Delivering possible virtual services is possible through “home based" micro entrepreneurship. On the other hand, inactive women, who represent around 26.7% of the European population, are not sufficiently addressed with an offer for cloud-based training and virtual working/employment.
Hence, this project will both spotlight possible employment fields where someone can actually talk about “an advantage of being at home in this unique virtual business channel” and develop an efficient as well as effective e-Training model and material for inactive women to become “home-based entrepreneurs”.
The FlexWork model will directly link e-Training to e-Working. It will definitely help inactive women to start/go back to working life. To this purpose, nine partners joined from six countries. Their main fields of activity vary from HEI, ICT, e-VET, R&D and women NGOs, in order to have all aspects and perspectives included in the development of the FlexWork project idea.
Target
The project addresses two groups of women who wish to (re-)enter the labour market;
- The first group includes women with insufficient qualifications and no or limited former work experience, but with talent, some basic skills and, above all, strong motivation for self-training. These women, who will run their future virtual home-based offices, are the FlexWork "start-ups";
- The second group includes women who can be either inactive or still working. They may already run a home office, or have experience in a specific field of interest for FlexWork, and business-oriented background. These women are the FlexWork "guides".
Activities
FlexWork plans to:
- Furnish a methodological e-training framework for both mentioned groups, so that the guides will support and lead the start-ups to the launch of their virtual home-based offices;
- Establishing flexible working opportunity for both parties;
- Market oriented e-Training will be developed following the state of the art need analysis targeting women who could represent start-ups and guides and also considering the market players – i.e. companies that may search for virtual work. The so defined e-Training will be applied to target groups through the FlexWork portal and will also be supported with an associated mobile app, with the further aid of an e-Handbook;
- Field tests will be carried out in parallel to exploitation activities and dissemination-oriented multiplier events. The results will be released as a model report based on comparisons of initial survey results with feedback received during the trials;
- Possibility and applicability of academic courses targeting "virtual working" will be investigated/discussed during activities and events for preparation of recommendations for HEI.
Objectives
FlexWork wants to demonstrate that flexible virtual work can contrast women’s inactive condition. In the mid-long term, this model will be able to reduce women’s inactivity problem in EU, on consideration of the concurrent technological developments. Knowing that either robots or artificial intelligence platforms will replace many conventional job positions, virtual working based on home offices is deemed to increase and become more common.