GrowINg – SME’s Growth and Innovation through Learning at the Workplace aims to create, test and mainstream innovative solutions for lifelong learning of adults at the workplace, allowing the assessment and development of employees’ entrepreneurial skills through a holistic approach to career guidance strategies in SMEs. Through GrowINg, an experienced partnership, together with stakeholders and end-users, will:

• collect and create in-depth knowledge on the current landscapes of SMEs’ regarding installed policies, strategies and practices in the field of career guidance and adult learning at workplace as well as on employers’ needs related to development of transversal competences and untapped entrepreneurial skills;
• develop and test effective methodologies and tools to be easily transferred to the SMES’ human resources’ policies, strategies and practices, especially those related to career guidance and provision of continuous training to foster employees’ skills and meet current and future needs;
• support policy making in education and training, highlighting and showcasing the benefits of promoting and supporting adult learning at the workplace at different levels, from individual growth to companies increased competitiveness.

The project is built-on a “bottom-up” approach, involving the employees, employers and business associations around a comprehensive process covering the components of analysis, practice and policy making. During 24 months, partners, participants and potential end-users will embark into a challenging journey that will start with the research of current policies and practices of SMEs’ related to career guidance and learning at workplace and the co-creation of the GrowINg approach, further reflected in the (co-developed) Entrepreneurial Tools for SMEs. Practice-related activities will then be collaborative promoted and supported by capacity building actions, that will enable SME’s to exploit the potential of the GrowINg resources. Mainstreaming will be encouraged by a white paper on career guidance and capacity building in SMEs as well as showcase of the positive effects generated through the piloting of the activities in real settings and the catalogue of entrepreneurial winning ideas translating the unleashed potential of employees’ entrepreneurial skills.

See the project promotion video here and visit project website here.

Project outcomes:

1. Career Guidance and Learning in SMEs -  this is the final report of the results of the research held by the consortium involving representatives from SMEs and adult education organisations from Portugal, Greece and Cyprus.  It is available in English and Greek Languages.

Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained here.