Solutions to age related issues in education sector

Our application for this project was motivated by the recognition of workforce ageing as a significant concern throughout the EU. The necessity we aimed to address was twofold. First, at an organizational level within the education sector, we sought to create a practical instrument to aid those charged with employment responsibilities. Our goal was to facilitate effective age management, ensuring that the ageing of the school workforce is handled adeptly and that age does not become an impediment to employment opportunities. Second, we were committed to establishing a robust age management framework, to ensure that the human resources we engage with remain competent not merely in the present but also for the foreseeable future. From an educational perspective, age management involves a series of strategic actions tailored to meet the requirements of individuals across various age brackets, not just older employees. In addressing these needs, our project specifically targets school staff, with a particular focus on VET teachers and trainers. The CPD program developed within our project ambit is intended for the professional development of teaching staff, mirroring the current imperatives of an ageing educational workforce.

The primary aim of the project was to craft a comprehensive set of practical instruments for educators across all levels, with a special focus on VET providers, to adeptly handle age management within the educational sphere. This toolkit comprised a collection of best practice examples addressing age-related challenges in schools, a comparative study with case analyses providing educators guidance on selecting effective age management strategies, and curricula for training select school personnel on age-related topics. Furthermore, it included a model for an initial training program – a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program specifically tailored for VET teachers and trainers, alongside a web platform to disseminate all these resources publicly. To achieve the main goal, the project set subsidiary objectives: establishing and enhancing a professional network in this domain, integrating age management trainers from VET institutions into the training modules, and propagating the project's outcomes within the partners' professional circles.