BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

According to Shaping Europe’s digital future”Digital technologies-actions in response to coronavirus pandemic”(EC, 2020), digital technology is a key component of our collective effort to tackle Covid-19’s negative socio-economic impact and ,support our new ways of living and working reality during this exceptional time. During the current Pandemic,with high street shops in lockdown and businesses and consumers under social distancing restrictions,e-commerce sales became a real opportunity for both, existing traditional businesses and new digital enterprises, while one trend has become clear: digital adoption has been vastly accelerated. In fact, unique digital shoppers increased in most countries, with a few exceptions where lockdown policies restricted all types of economic activities, including e-commerce. In 2020, it was estimated that more than 7 out of 10 internet users from the 12 months prior to the survey (E-commerce statistics for individuals – Eurostat, January 2021) made online purchases in the same period. Overall, the share of e-shoppers among internet users is growing rapidly, with the highest proportions found in the both age groups 16-24 and 25-54 (each 78 %). Moreover,if we consider the raise in recent years of popular platforms such as Amazon, Shopify or Alibaba(among many others),that create an immediate opportunity in starting and growing online sales for present and future entrepreneurs.

In this context we can therefore see how the project eU-COMMERCE: “Promoting a new European e-commerce educational pathway to increase levels of skills for employability and sustainable business creation” (which is a 2 years Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships in vocational education and training) will play a key role in becoming a European new educational benchmark within the e-commerce and online sales industry, hence bridging the gap between the needed digital and online sales skills of entrepreneurs (as well as “wannabe entrepreneurs”) and, the actual long-term sustainability benefits of their businesses, while contributing to accelerate the process of digital transformation, also for social enterprises.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES & RESULTS

The project eU-COMMERCE” aims at promoting an innovative VET training methodology specifically designed for creating and run effectively online sales businesses, by developing a flexible learning offer and e-tools, adapted to the learning needs of adult learners as well as VET Trainers when it comes to navigate the online world, while improving levels of skills for employability and new business creation (including social entrepreneurship) and thus, increasing the general sense of initiative and entrepreneurship within the online sales and the e-commerce sector. Throughout 2 years of project implementation, the Partnership set the following results and outcomes to be achieved:

• A multi-level project website available in 7 Programme languages & Social Media pages available in EN/HU/IT/NL/EL/PL/ES

• Project Result 1 (PR1): eU-COMMERCE’s Competency Framework – Partners will develop a customized e-commerce Framework of Competences for present and future digital entrepreneurs (also valid for VET Trainers/Educators), focusing on the necessary set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, needed to master effective online sales techniques and utilizing the correct e-tools and digital platforms. Based on the developed Framework the following 2 Project Results will be developed.

• PR2: e-learning platform & eU-COMMERCE’s Online Course – an interactive and cutting-edge Online Course for Digital Entrepreneurs and VET Trainers, willing to gain/improve their digital skills, while learning the most effective online sales techniques, e-tools and relevant platforms needed to boost their online businesses and sales – the online course will be made available for free (in EN/HU/IT/NL/EL/PL/ES) and a minimum of 150 participants belonging to the project target group that will register and benefit from it. Partners will also develop an Open Badge system which will allow participants to the online course to be awarded with an Open Badge after successfully completing each module and, a final Certificate at successful completion of the entire Online Course.

• PR3: eU-COMMERCE Educational App for Gamification: a multi-level educational app, with the aim of engaging, connecting and empowering digital entrepreneurs, while promoting a more active participation and European citizenship via gamification (min. 100 downloads)

• National Focus Groups: with the aim of pilot testing the Project Results while capacity-building participants on their effective use, benefits and transferability potential, throughout which Partners will involve 5 VET Trainers/Educators and 5 experts (digital entrepreneurs) per Country (60 participants in Total).

• Multiplier Events in each Country: Partners will organize an informal offline and/or online dissemination activity and a final dissemination event in each Country, including a Final International Conference in Italy at the end of the project, to reach at least 150 attendees in total.

TARGET GROUPS

eU-COMMERCE will involve in the different set of activities that will be implemented, the following mix of complementary Target Groups (participants) of any age group 18+:

• Present & future Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneurs, Unemployed VET & Adult Learners, creatives, digital artists & designers,community managers, artisans,etc. In those including also Learners with fewer opportunities;

• VET Trainers & Educators, Partner organisations & their Staff;

• OTHER STAKEHOLDERS:SMEs, Start-ups, non-per profit organisations, active in the field of VET, non-formal education and online presence/sales, but also public bodies and VET Centers as well as, policy makers and HEIs, working in the aforementioned sectors and willing to test and incorporate the new training curricula into their educational offer.

Furthermore, “wannabe digital entrepreneurs” and any other party not directly targeted by the project, will also be able to benefit first hand from the project online training methodology and e-tools, which will eventually lead to a multiplier effect and, an actual widespread positive socio-economic impact in Europe and beyond.