Think Global, Act Local

Think global, act local

Source of funding:
Erasmus+

In a Covid-19 impacted economy any strategic interference of the teachers and trainers operating in the area of business support vocational education and training to implement appropriate talent management strategies is crucial for the future success and resilience of the talented individuals. Workforce diversity is a key asset that could be used by many companies if there are diversity management strategies in place. The EU has been increasingly emphasising on the workplace diversity through initiatives like the Diversity Charter and the annual European Diversity Month, both aimed at promoting diversity among the workforce within the EU.

However, the European SMEs that actively implement programs focused on diversity and inclusion remain at a very low level and lag behind the USA and other countries. Through the Think Global, Act Local project we aim to change this by promoting the use of the “storytelling” practice in order to share values, knowledge, experience and common sense between cultures to provide a more diverse and inclusive working environment.

The project brings together 8 partner organisations from Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Portugal and Cyprus who will provide a holistic training package that could change the attitudes and promote the creation of diverse and inclusive workplaces within the SMEs in several Member States. The partnership consortium will also use the power of “storytelling” to inspire both the managers and employees to change, motivate and engage themselves, as well as to become aware of the values and culture of the company where they work.

The VET teachers and trainers could play a key role in filling the gap between the intention and the actual practices for diversion and inclusion. The Think Global, Act Local project will contribute to building on VET teachers and trainers’ skills and competences necessary for the learning and application of the “storytelling” techniques in order to be able to study the diversity management and cultural changes within the SMEs. The VET teachers and trainers will work with the companies to help them make the next step to transfer from the intention to do something to the implementation of actual activities for creating diverse and inclusive jobs.

The Project will develop a curricular for lifelong professional development of VET experts, as well as a set of tools for “storytelling” designed for trainers, managers, company owners and employees and organised in themes related to diversity management. All training materials will be available free of charge through a dedicated e-platform which will be developed within the project.

Implementation period: 01.09.2022 – 31.08.2024