Following the core process proposed by the Upskilling Pathways guidelines (Council Recommendation on Upskilling pathways, 2016), the project actions focused on competences assessment and flexible learning opportunities on Personal, Social and Learning to learn competence (PSL) and other Key Competences for lifelong learning (literacy, numeracy, and digital skills).
The main methodologies developed and the MOVE-UP results are available for any stakeholder engaged in adult learning activities, employment and career guidance services and generally services supporting women to re-enter education and the job market, including the MOVE-UP Outreach strategy, the Selfassessment and evaluation toolkit and the MOVE-UP Training plan.
The comprehensive approach of the MOVE-UP initiative underscores the importance of reversing the narrative about motherhood by promoting a cultural change and addressing both internal and external barriers to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for women re-entering the workforce.
The MOVE UP initiative’s emphasis on inclusivity, empowerment, and community building created a supportive learning environment that led to positive changes in the participants’ self-perception as well as on their employability prospects in general. The recognition and validation of competences and skills acquired through their experience of motherhood provided a foundation for long-term personal and professional growth. By addressing the unique challenges mothers face, the project helped them build confidence, acquire new skills, and find their place in the workforce.
The main achievement of the MOVE-UP initiative is to have proven the value of empowering groups of citizens at risk of exclusion from education activities and from re-entering the job market and of promoting gender equity in the labour market, as well as the importance of a competence-based approach in terms of job market access.
The MOVE-UP experience and the continuous exchange of partners with national and international stakeholders have also provided a set of emerging future directions, that can serve for continuing this substantial work in fostering gender mainstreaming and inclusivity in general.
Among these future directions, we can observe the fundamental role of policies and strategic planning to support the overall ecosystem that includes adult education, employment and career services, supporting and conciliation services, employers and social partners.
The integrate of gender equality and intersectionality aspects should encompass all policies and strategic planning and this should be supported by continuous awareness activities, across institutions and networks, which aim at tackling stereotypes and supporting positive models of the role of women and mothers.
Policies and structural funding should also facilitate and support the development of collaboration, partnerships, and joint strategies, among education, employment and welfare services and employers and local businesses, including for example the development (and maintenance for the long term) of integrated schema for social aid and (individual) financial support and of reconciliation strategies, to make educational initiatives more accessible.
Finally, a clear call for action for policy makers and funders is to support and promote (financially and policy wise) initiatives that embed as key actions strong motivators for adult learners and women to join and re-join education and labour market, such as competence assessment activities and recognition, flexible training opportunities, mentorship and tutorship programs, development of support networks, and learning communities, and modules on PSL (including a focus on confidence-building, negotiation skills, and self-advocacy).
These activities become more and more core steps in a successful flexible pathway toward a fulfilling development at personal, educational and professional level, rather than mere supporting measures.
Read the MOVE-UP final brief for an overview of the future directions!
Text: Viola PinziPhotos: MOVE-UP project