SEERC initiates a new project that will help social and health care workers improve their skills and qualifications and their job status in an aging Europe.
The world is in a constant state of change and the latest trends reveal a shift in the world’s population structure. According to projections, by 2050 one in every five people across the globe will be aged over 60 with a life expectancy of 76 years. Next to the societal challenges this leads to multiple challenges for social and health care workers in formal or informal settings. Particularly evident is the demand for more social and health care workers to support the aging population given that most EU countries will face this challenge in the near future. HELPcare (Healthcare Workers Employability Learning and Professionalization) a project led by the Management School of the University of Lancaster aims to develop a framework for improving the profession of healthcare workers in relation to their training and qualifications as well as their professional standing. It aims to create new pathways for continuous professional development (CPT) by developing online training courses (MOOCs) and a pan-European network to support their professionalization.
The partners’ kick-off meeting of HELPcare was on the 28th of January in which Dr. Lambros Lazuras and Dr. Antonia Ypsilanti from SEERC participated as project managers.
Dr Antonia Ypsilanti said: “One of the main strengths of this project is that social and health care workers will be directly involved in the development of this framework and act as co-researchers in collaboration with the experts of each partner country. By doing so, we are one step closer to narrowing the distance between workers, researchers and policy makers to a joint objective that will improve the conditions in this sector”
Partner countries include Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Greece and the UK. Everyone is looking forward to a project with great impact to the society that could possibly alter the way social and health care workers are perceived and valued in Europe.
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