What is MOVE-UP?
Skills and competences developed in the roles of mothers and caregivers are diverse and transversal as well as useful and transferable to a variety of activities, for other personal and professional paths. However, in most EU countries and more structured contexts (for example formal and non-formal education and work environments), these prior competences are not always accurately assessed and valorised for future development.
The MOVE-UP approach offers the opportunity of discovering, assessing, recognising, possibly validating, and further developing the competences acquired thanks to the motherhood experience, therefore mostly through informal learning and daily activities. The outcome of this process is thus the opportunity to make value out of these competences to facilitate participation in training and possibly in the labour market, and at societal level. The focus of this path for upskilling is on the Personal, Social and Learning to learn competence (PSL), that has already proven to be an effective driver for developing other Key Competences for lifelong learning (literacy, numeracy, and digital skills) and improve employment opportunities, through women involvement in more formalised training.
The initiative offers professionals in Adult Learning and Education, employment and social services the opportunity to share their experience and insight on how to design and improve tools to better match real needs of both practitioners and learners. On the other hand, women from partners’ countries, with experience of motherhood and finding themselves unemployed and with the wish to participate in more education activities and work, can join upskilling pathways and to directly contribute to designing and tailoring the activities, sharing their understanding of the needs, expectations and challenges that they are facing when (re)joining education and work.
Why to get involved in the project?
As an organisation working on ALE, employment and social sector, you can contribute and access a collection of good practice on outreach strategies for adult learners and of methods for assessing and validating prior learning related to Personal, Social and Learning to learn competence (PSL) and a new adapted method to use in your own activity. If you work in one of the partners’ countries, you can also get in contact with the national partner to join the Peer Learning Activities and National and International MOVE-UP Alliances, as an external expert or as speaker in events and webinars.
If you are a woman experiencing unemployment, you can join the national activities to participate in a collaborative process, to make value out of the competences gained thanks to your experience as mother, and in training and education activities to get new skills, more oriented to what is now needed in the job market, such as digital and personal and social skills. The initiative also offers the opportunity to participate in groups activities to share your experiences and to get and give support, with other learners, to progress in your learning and to get (back) to work.
Who is behind MOVE-UP?
Beyond EAEA, MOVE-UP is organised by an international partnerships of 6 well experienced organisations from Italy, Greece, Portugal and Austria (FORMA.AZIONE, RIDAP – Rete Italiana Istruzione degli Adulti IT, APEFA – Associação Portuguesa para a Educação e Formação de Adultos, Academy of Entrepreneurship -AKEP, Die Berater Unternehmensberatung).
The project is also supported by a group of 10 Associated Partners, representing policy makers, labour market, educational and Civil Society organisations (UIL – Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Forum del Terzo Settore, Università degli Studi di Udine, Confindustria Udine, Municipality of Tripoli, Cruz Vermelha, Centro Qualifica Litoral Cávado, Associação Social Recreativa Cultural e Bem Fazer Vai Avante, ÖJAB – Österreichische JungArbeiterBewegung, Plattform für berufsbezogene Erwachsenenbildung).
Other articles
We suggest you also read this article on Integrating caregiving, parenting and lifelong learning: reflections for an ageing Europe.
The MOtherhood Valorisation and Empowerment for professional development – Upskilling Pathways / MOVE-UP project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Text: Viola PinziPhotos: MOVE-UP project