StartCraft
Summary of the project
Entrepreneurship is a significant part of the economic growth, product improvement, and promotion of innovative technologies for a country’s labor market. Especially SMEs are the most important form of business organization in Europe. Many of these enterprises, mainly from the craft and artisan sector, employ around 1/3 of the European workforce. The craft company plays a fundamental role in people’s quality of life and it can have an impact on the stability and cohesion of society; it is undoubtedly an indispensable part of the future.
StartCraft is a 26-month project which aims to point out the training needs of craft entrepreneurs, develop and deliver training and practical entrepreneurship education among an innovative training course for the management of crafts businesses and will moreover, serve as a guide to solve the special needs for crafts entrepreneurs and nurture their business activities. StartCraft is a project that promotes a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action and it includes creativity, innovation, and risk-taking as well as the ability to plan and manage projects.
The project will be made by a consortium consisting of 7 partners, from 5 different countries. StartCraft is an EU partnership designed to develop core and innovative learning methods that best encourage success in business activities, answering the need for education and training thanks to an innovative proposal based on participation and ICTs.
The StartCraft project’s objectives are:
- the creation of a complete set of educative materials for crafts entrepreneurs, including an e-learning platform, a market training tool, as well as teaching notes.
- the improvement of the entrepreneurial competencies, and thus better efficiency and success in the launch of activities
- the development and strengthening of the craft’s entrepreneurial quality
- the encouragement of an economy based on creativity and sustainability, thanks to better-prepared crafts entrepreneurs contributing to the development of qualitative open educational resources.
The project is addressed to:
- Craft entrepreneurs
- wanna-be craft entrepreneurs
- VET trainers/ providers
StartCraft Outputs
IO1:
An innovative mobile report about craft entrepreneurship teaching and crafts entrepreneurial skills. This mobile report will have a form of interactive resource which will allow for searching and filtering the answers using various criteria. The expected impact of this intellectual output is to help educators and craft learners in profiling their entrepreneurial education as well as impact many new/young entrepreneurs who are used to using mobile apps in all spheres of their lives.
IO2 is an Online Training Package, that will be a collection of tools regarding the main entrepreneurial and soft skills needed by craft entrepreneurs. To make it a self-understanding set, the package will have a section for the methodology and structure of contents and will be developed in a moodle open learning environment. The result will be a mixture of methodologies in training crafts entrepreneurs: a mix of theoretical lessons, practical activities, assessment tools, practical experiences/business models, etc. This approach helps the new craft entrepreneurs to grasp all aspects of crafts’ key entrepreneurial skills and also adapts easily to a target group that could not be used to sitting in a classroom. Through this platform, the trainees, crafts entrepreneurs will have the chance to obtain and strengthen high-quality work-based skills and competencies in order to comply with the determined Competency Profile.
IO3 is the Market training tool, an interactive online tool available on the StartCraft platform. This tool will give the opportunity to the craft learners to simulate their business idea in a reality-based market context and will help them understand their economic environment and evaluate the chances of success of a craft idea, learning some key concepts linked to the development of a business plan.
The main product of IO4 will be teaching notes. These notes will help crafts relative VET students, new and future crafts entrepreneurs to complete the online training with recommendations and pedagogical content to increase the benefits to the final user. The notes will be made of two main parts:
– First, it will include a mix of useful resources for trainers that are complementary to the course, including references to methodologies taught, bibliography, VET best practices, link to other projects and business support programmes, etc.
– Then, it will include specific recommendations established on the basis of the course’s different modules and foreseen competencies, as well as for the market training tool for better exploitation of the materials offered.
The Partnership
CHAMBRE OFFICIELLE DE COMMERCE D’ESPAGNE EN BELGIQUE ET AU LUXEMBOURG – applicant, Belgium
The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg is a non-profit association and plays an important role in trade and economic relations between Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Its main objective is the development of trade and investments between Spain and the states within its territorial jurisdiction. It provides essential information about the different markets in Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg as well as professional contacts in its business area community. The Chamber is publicly recognized as one of the most prestigious dialogue tribunes between companies and European Institutions, based in Brussels and Luxembourg. The Chamber is part of the Federation of Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe-Africa-Asia-Oceania (FEDECOM) and maintains a permanent link with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation, which provides members the ability to benefit from the Official Chambers network around the world. The Chamber is supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government and collaborates in the Internationalization of Spanish economy Plan.
KAINOTOMIA LLC2- partner, Greece
KAINOTOMIA provides business consultancy to companies & supporting services and consulting support services to trainees to facilitate their (re) entrance into the labour market. KAINOTOMIA has participated in several national projects, offering a high degree of expertise regarding training in contemporary fields, matching them with those that have a high demand in job’s market, in order to develop trainees’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards their integration in the labour market. KAINOTOMIA has been participating in co-funded national projects under the name of “local development plans and entrepreneurship for unemployed based on specific local needs and growth potential”.
Asociación Valencia Inno Hub – partner, Spain
Valencia Inno Hub (Innohub) is a Spanish non-profit organization that aims to promote entrepreneurship through actions supporting an innovative and technology creation environment, together with a special focus on disadvantaged social groups and their economic and social inclusion. Innohub supports entrepreneurs, Start-Ups, and individuals from disadvantaged groups facing different factors of exclusion. Today, Innohub collaborates together with a wide range of economic actors, both public and private. The association has strong cooperation with actors supporting young and adult entrepreneurs from the Valencian region.
Smooland di Dell Osso marco – partner, Italy
Smooland’s team started out with handmade design items from little elements giving importance to the team’s creativity and Smooland blossomed its range and expanded the members of the team. Smooland’s goal is to create a workspace of shared expression of the individual, unite people’s passion, and bridge it towards common goals as well as promote a sense of belonging.
Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Promocji Kultury i Rzemiosł Dawnych “Wici” – partner, Poland
The Association for the Promotion of Old Crafts and Culture “Wici” or simply “Wici” is a project by a group of enthusiasts of culture, arts, and crafts and aims to promote and educate others about old and in many cases long-forgotten techniques for production, arts and crafts. Through the actions with and for local communities “Wici” wants to arouse curiosity about the creative use of knowledge from the past. The main inspiration for the actions made comes from old crafts and industries that are no longer exist but have impacted the way cities and communities have developed. “Wici” also runs an online store with handcrafted items.
MARKEUT SKILLS (MEUS) – partner, Spain
MEUS is a private organization based in Valencia, Spain, aimed at bettering people´s capacities in their environment, both at professional and private levels. Thus, it focuses on the skills development of the individuals at each stage of their life, from school to adult education.
In line with the European strategy related to education, MEUS works on the development of new training materials and methodologies adapted to different target and market needs, so improving the integration on the labour market. It also encourages the development of new business projects, offering assessment and training to entrepreneurs, supporting them in being creative, innovative, and successful in their initiatives.
MEUS explores and promotes sustainable business models, seeking the implementation of best practices of CSR. MEUS strongly supports new and growing sectors of the economy, and is attentive to societal changes, this is why we are particularly engaged in issues such as the green economy
(and green skills), the orange economy (culture), ICT, adaptation to the aging population, and new demographic features generating higher demand in-person services, etc.
STOWARZYSZENIE CENTRUM WSPIERANIA
EDUKACJI I PRZEDSIEBIORCZOSCI (CWEP) – partner, Poland
Centrum Wspierania Edukacji i Przedsiębiorczości (CWEP) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization founded on 30.06.2004 by a group of entrepreneurs, teachers, social activists, and IT specialists from Rzeszow, Poland. The CWEP association works in the field of youth, cooperates with businesses, universities, schools, enterprises, and educational institutions operating as the associated partners. CWEP has experience in organising complex support for individuals at different stages of their lives, from childhood to elder age. It promotes entrepreneurship among young people at school, as well as to those who already run their businesses. In 2015, CWEP was appointed as the Intermediary Organization for the centralised programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, coordinating and supporting in this respect both starters and experimented
entrepreneurs from Poland. It also serves as an accredited EVS local contact point. CWEP association’s mission is to increase the quality of education training at all levels and in all its forms, as well as to promote entrepreneurship in order to foster the integration of any social group regardless of gender, age, and ethnic origin. CWEP has also competencies in the IT area and experience in the creation of various IT solutions: websites, e-learning platforms, and web applications.
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Co-funded by the «Erasmus+» Programme of the European Union
