The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows

Sydney J. Harris

 

Adult educators are core actors for up-skilling / re-skilling of those affected by unemployment, restructuring and career transitions. Their activity makes an important contribution to social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development. Adult educators play a substantial role in enabling adults - in particular the low-skilled and older workers - to improve their ability to adapt to changes in the labor market and society thus contributing to social change of adult employment. It is the professional development of teachers, trainers and other adult learning providers that is considered of key importance ensuring quality and relevance to nowadays educational demands. To transform EU policy into workable decisions and models, it is necessary for all teachers and trainers to have access to high quality initial and continuing professional development and support. That is why, providing new opportunities for education of adults is the focus of the project “Eco-friendly ICT-based training outcomes for adults - ECO-Train”. The projectmatches the policy for strengthening the recruitment, selection and professional development of educators providing new prospects for access to high quality training.

A particular area that needs filling of an existing educational gap of adults is the innovative eco-friendly technologies. Green technologies use environmentally sensitive approaches and provide opportunity for social and economic progress. They are considered of primary importance for the modern-day society well-being. The inadequate exploitation of natural resources and the gap in technological advancement coupled with environmental care create a considerable health and economic burden to the society. It demands learning providers, better equipped with knowledge and skills that promote implementation of ecofriendly technologies. As more people improve their understanding of innovative eco-friendly technologies and more businesses increase their use, needs have emerged for provision of better knowledge and training to adult educators. The ECO-Train project satisfies these demands establishing facilitated links between the adults and the education sectors and contributing to the enhancement of quality of training that directly impacts the learners’ realization. The customized training opportunities offered by the ECO-train project are oriented towards gaining new and upgrading the existing competences by adult educators.

The 21^st century is the century of digital communications. ICT innovations emerge at an increasingly faster pace and need designing of innovative and engaging learning environments. To successfully adapt educational and training systems to 21^st century needs, the ECO-Train project develops new educational tools, online Training Pathways, and offers a new, least-cost form of training widely accessible to trainees. It promotes CVET using new, digital-based training methods (e-learning/blended learning) that encourage the transition from managing jobs to managing the skills allowed by digital tools.