GENDER GAP can be defined “as the differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes” (dictionary.com) or as “the discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women.” (Oxford dictionary).Despite a general trend towards more equality in society and the labour market, progress remains slow and significant gender gaps persist. Economic independence is a prerequisite for enabling both women and men to exercise control over their lives. Gender mainstreaming can make make a real difference in closing gender gaps by integrating the gender perspective into all policy areas and identifying, addressing and monitoring impacts on inequalities.However, and after several strategic attempts to overcome the gender gap, the different between men and women persist. Global Gender Gap Report (WEF, 2014) analyzed gender gap in 142 countries, through the assessment of 4 variable related to the women participation and visibility in the society. Economic participation and opportunity; Educational Attainment; Health and Survival; and political empowerment. According to the results, disparity between European countries is too great. Five European countries (Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark) lead the ranking. On the contrary,other five European countries are in bottom of the ranking (Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus and Czech Republic). But, if we analyze more in detail each variable,gender gap in Economic participation and opportunity in some European countries is higher than in others, meaning that those countries theoretically don’t spend too many resources to promote the gender equality. Having said that, European countries countries have achieved gender parity in education attainment, but women remain severely under-represented in key, growth-enhancing fields of education such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Labour markets also exhibit many “gender gaps”. Women are less likely to work for pay, and are more likely to have lower hourly earnings, do more unpaid housework than men. The proportion of female entrepreneurs, at 33% (Labour Survey 2013) (30% in start-ups), is some way short of optimum and most women still do not consider entrepreneurship as a relevant career option. The implementation of European directive on self-employed women should remove a major barrier to female entrepreneurship. But the difference still. In this sense, Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015 proposed:- Support the promotion of gender equality in the implementation of all aspects and flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy; and- Promote female entrepreneurship and self-employment. Fostering entrepreneurship is a key policy goal for governments of all countries which share the expectation that high rates of entrepreneurial activity will bring sustained job creation and boost the development of new products, processes, and organisational innovation. The report “ENHANCING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP” (OECD 2014) highlighted the importance to train women on entrepreneurship to empower collective and help overcome unbalance of gender gap in Europe.Thus, TRAIN THE GAP is aimed TO DEFINE AN EUROPEAN LEARNING PATHWAY ON RURAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS THAT IMPROVES ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCES AND SKILLS EMPOWERING WOMEN OF RURAL AREAS. In order to obtain this main objective, project sets the following operational objectives:- To define a European learning pathway on rural women entrepreneurship according to EFQ;- To develop a course for women to promote basic and transversal skills to be entrepreneur;- To define a training methodology that improve the learning process;- To develop facilitators teaching skills to motivate women's participation;- To involve trainees and trainers in learning process; and- To provide an environment that promotes the knowledge management, exchange and creation on social entrepreneurship.TRAIN THE GAP partnership is formed by five different institutions coming from four European countries (Spain, Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden) and each of them representing different actors in the project: women association, training providers, university and innovative social research.Project is addressed to different collectives as follows:- Women of rural areas- Facilitators, literacy tutors and basic education teachers/trainers- Adults education professionals- Researchers on competences development- Researchers on gender- Educators- Social workers- Psychologists, career counselors and pedagogics- Instructors- Expert on training/activities- Policy makers- StakeholdersTrain the Gap project duration will be of 24 months, staring in October 2015 and ending in September 2017.

<< Background >>TrainChain(Blockchain Training for Start-Ups) is a response to the needs of early-stage companies to provide training and development opportunities to their, often young and inexperienced, staff. The number of Start-Ups in Europe is increasing (Start-up Hubs Europe: in 2018 investment was more than €10 billion, vs. €3 billion, 2014), and so is the young people working at them (over a quarter of employees in young firms are under 34). However, there's less job security and the year company survival rate in Europe was lower than 50% in 2018; there are rarely formal qualifications offered, and no plan or budget for professional development and training, which can prevent young people to move jobs and thus, widen the skills gap in the job market (Eurostat). In this context, numerous studies and international initiatives (e.g. Startup Hubs Europe, EC) have stated the need to promote entrepreneurial and business-related competencies in VET centres and companies to address these challenges. This need is also supported by the findings of an initial study carried out by the partner organisations involved in the project, through which members of the target group were consulted SMEs confront several problems in the business economy, many of them face barriers in entering trade markets, transactions, data storage, cash flow and security but also for efficiently protecting IP. When it comes to data storage, many companies use the Internet of Things but don't have enough information. Blockchain technology can offer a solution to these challenges for cheaper data storage and improvement of privacy and security and IP management.The international consortium of TrainChain aims to create a personalized environment that will deliver strategies and actions that need to be adopted by learners to learn how to effectively use this technology. The actions will be focused on two main fields that blockchain technology that could be used; IoT and finances.<< Objectives >>The need for innovative methods for including newly created techniques and training tools is affecting the whole European Union, making necessary a change in the transmission of the information and training of the SMEs in new and trendy topics. In line with the EC objectives and priorities to support digital development and inclusion in the companies and SMEs and integrating blockchain on their procedures (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/blockchain-strategy), the TrainChain project aims to have an international impact. Building a pan-European public services blockchain, promoting blockchain for sustainability, cybersecurity, legal certainty, interoperability or data protection are some of the core contents of the project, coinciding with the European needs, highly necessary to all the countries equally.TrainChain aims to give a response to the necessities of the target groups in Europe as well as to impact positively in the SMEs and international reality.<< Implementation >>All major expected results are listed & detailed in the Results of the TrainChain project (please refer to the section of Implementation) and are part of: • TrainChain Programme• TrainChain Trainers' Guide• TrainChain Trainers Induction• TrainChain Blockchain Training Tool• A dedicated virtual space (TrainChain Academy) including all of the project's results, and an infrastructure to support synchronous (live help, chat, live video assistance, Skype, go to meeting/webinar) and asynchronous communication (email, online forms channelling tickets to the appropriate persons, forum, FAQ section, integrated Ffora engine), with all those wanting to use the project's outcomes. The infrastructure wills support the sustainability of the project by allowing TrainChain's learners to be informed about the project’s results after the end of its funded life. Additionally, the TrainChain project foresees a set of management, dissemination, monitoring & evaluation and coordination results, namely: 1. Project Management: - Project Roadmap, which will include the partnership agreement, detailed work plan (including information about project meetings, project activities and tasks), detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of each partner involved, and listing of project indicators and impacts to be achieved; - Project Management Handbook which will compile all necessary management and reporting tools to be used by the partners, including templates for quarterly reporting, contacts from the Staff team allocated to the project, guidelines for management, administrative work and financial control; - Interim and Final Reports: following the format requested by the Executive Agency, the Interim and Final Reports will be written by the coordinator with the support of all partners and will be submitted to the National Agency.2. Monitoring and Evaluation - Quality Management Plan, which will describe the quality-check procedures that will be implemented to ensure high quality of the project achievements (project results namely) and consistency of the work performed within the project. It will also include a description of the actions that will be taken to guarantee the efficiency and quality of the project outcomes and procedures; - Coordination and Partnership Quality Reports will be tools for assessing and monitoring the quality of the project activities and results according to defined methodology and strategy;3. Dissemination - Dissemination & Communication Strategic Plan: it will outline a set of dissemination activities including (i) Project dissemination strategy addressing the best way to promote the project; (ii) Project dissemination materials inspired in the technical proposal and on the intermediate project results; (iii) Definition of channels for communication and establishment of a differentiated mailing list of target groups of stakeholders and interested parties. All partners will be invited to either contribute to the list or to take care in forwarding project communication to their contacts. The partners will also perform “project networking” on a continuous basis<< Results >>The main objectives are the following: 1. Identify the training and development areas that will deliver the greatest impact 2. Design content for our target group and their organisations, focusing on the blockchain concept 3. Create the infrastructure that will enable and empower start-ups to provide training for their teams 4. Pioneer the in-house training model for start-ups 5. Build, test and release excellent resources that generate real value for the start-ups 6. Assist SMEs to improve their place in the business economy 7. Promote the use of new technologies in SMEs 8. Empower managers/entrepreneurs with the essential skills and knowledge regarding blockchain technology to help them run and manage their businesses successfully 9. Develop strategies and actions that present an innovative approach to blockchain technology education The results will be achieved through the consecution of the intellectual results of the project.

The PUSH PROJECT is designed with the aim of developing a unique innovative entrepreneurial training product to help those in the creative/artistic sector to make the transition from creativity to commercialization. Many of the participants that were interviewed by PUSH confirmed that prior education or training in their chosen art/craft did not include any components relating to how to monetize their output. The statistics within this target group make for uncomfortable reading. Almost a third of visual and applied artists earn less than €6,000 a year from their creative work, according to a survey conducted by Artists' Interaction and Representation (AIR). 57% of the 1,457 respondents said that less than a quarter of their total income was generated by their art practices.The training provided through the PUSH Project is developed around how to set up a pop-up shop, through a step by step guide, case studies and interviews with pop-up shop creators. Pop-up retail is the temporary use of physical space to create a long term, lasting impression with potential customers, offering the initiator a low-cost, low-risk opportunity to test the market, get product feedback and make some money, at the same time showcasing vacant property.The course is delivered in two complementary components available online through the specifically developed web platform (https://push-project.eu/). The PUSH e-Learning course and the PUSH game.E-learning CourseThe course has 5 sections each dealing with a different topic relating to the main points you need to know about when setting up a pop-up shop. These 5 topics were chosen based on interviews with over 100 ‘makers’ at varying stages in their career. Each section is followed by a short quiz. The questions recapping on the section to reinforce what has been learned. Additional resource with the online materials include info-graphics, videos and worksheets.•Section 1: Introduction to Pop-up shop•Section 2: Planning and Organisation•Section 3: Management and Marketing•Section 4: Evaluation of a pop-up shop•Section 5: Personal developmentGame-based platformThe Gamed-based platform is based on PUSH Training Course is available online adds a different dimension to the e-learning course, allowing the student to understand the dynamics and consequences if decisions and resource trade-offs that the entrepreneur must make. In this way a greater understanding of commercial activity and work/life balance is achieved through playing the game. For people who have different learning styles the combination of online modules and game-play offers the chance to learn in a fun and interactive way.

A contemporary social entrepreneur, Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2006, Muhammad Yunus, echoes the enormous synergies and benefits when business principles are unified with social ventures. Furthermore, within the current socio-economic scenario, it becomes extremely important to search, identify and spread these social ventures and to support the social entrepreneurs — individuals with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems. Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. Thus social entrepreneurship embraces a set of knowledge and competences that are of benefit to adult learners in all walks of life and in variety of jobs, and above all, it also fosters transversal competences, such as creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship — skills that in todays rapidly changing knowledge based society are increasingly important. However, social entrepreneurship very often implies sailing between the seas of dynamic, recursive, diverse, chaotic, ambivalent, uncertain, delirious, fluctuating and exciting organizational systems, not to mention additional financial obstacles to be faced. Raising capital is an issue for many SMEs, but there are alternative means of financing that can be a lifeline for many start-ups and for those struggling to secure finance through the more traditional routes, such as loans from high street banks, investments or grants. In reality, social enterprises do not have such easy access to capital from conventional for-profit investors and lenders. This difficulty in attracting capital through the conventional for-profit channels stems primarily from the cultural barriers that stand between such investors and social entrepreneurs. Organisational structures are not necessarily the same as in for-profit enterprises and it is easy enough to see why the tendency for social entrepreneurs to focus on the social aspects of their activity rather than the managerial side would fail to gain conventional investors' and lenders' trust (Lehner, 2013). Additionally, banks are rather reticent to lend in these times of economic turmoil and public money is hard to come by within the current context of fear surrounding governmental debt (Lehner, 2013). In addition, new technologies have enabled revolutionary opportunities in the space of finance. Social networking, user generated content, and collective intelligence are disrupting a traditionally conservative and closed industry. A number of promising ICT offerings now enable consumers to share ideas and strategies, learn from others, provide ratings, and filter for relevant content. Facing the barriers to growth and strengthening of the businesses, ICTs and alternative financing opportunities, such as crowdfunding allow to: improve at a low cost, enlarge the market and reaching out to more people and efficiently manage time. Thus, managing successfully the new financing opportunities (e.g. crowdfunding) can be a very important way in terms of achieving a more active, and competitive, presence in the economy and the development, as well as being a factor for the creation of employment, given that entrepreneurs create not only employment for themselves but also for the others.Thus, crowdfunding brings many promising benefits that align well with the objectives of the European Commission. The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan aims to increase the level of employment by reinforcing entrepreneurship across Europe. lt invites Member States to evaluate the need to amend national financial legislation to facilitate alternative financing, including the financial forms of crowdfunding. Furthermore, in the context of the European Union's Digital Agenda forEurope, one of the seven pillars of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the European Commission emphasises innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness as a prerequisite for stimulating economic growth and creating employment.By improving social enterpreneurs skills on alternative finances, SocialFinanceLab is aimed to support the social business fabric in participating partner countries (Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Ireland, the UK and Hungary) and beyond. Alternative finances for social entrepreneurs, while providing with a open and collaborative learning area to develop the social entrepreneurs competences and skills on funding and innovative finances such as crowdfunding, Finance 2.0, microfinance, business angels etc.

The SMILE project was initiated to address a skills gap in the Independent (craft, micro) Brewing industry. It is a feature of this industry that many new entrants are not formally qualified in brewing science, or business. The motivation for many is lifestyle choice and passion for the product and the craft beer scene. As enterprise support and community development workers, the partners are keen to increase new entrant’s chances of success by helping them to recognise the skill gaps in their fledgling businesses and to fill them. Local, independent brewing has many benefits to a community in terms of jobs, local resource (materials, labour, services etc) utilisation. On a macro level, the environmental impacts of locally produced and consumed product, using local ingredients is also well established. Finally, it is important to not that many of the less desirable factors associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse, is not as evident within Craft Beer circles. Brewers tend to be more in touch with their consumers. An important USP for craft brewers is the level of interaction and communication with the consumer, something which large industrial producers can never replicate. Through this interaction, brewers educate consumers about beer, ingredients, and consumption levels. It is true to say that typical craft beer consumer is more interested in quality than quantity,.The funded life of this project is successfully complete, with all commitments delivered and with much more. Partners are impressed that the SMILE project is well known throughout Europe by people connected with the brewing industry, and sustainability is achieved through establishment of the SMILE Training Centre in co-operation with Food and Drink Qualifications Limited (www.fdq.org.uk )Objectives; - The ultimate objective of the project was to create an EU wide qualification for the brewing industry, which would be accepted and recognised by the industry. The project has gone a long way to delivering on this objective, with the Course Syllabus and Curriculum being well developed and tested. The materials are available online, and a new entity, SMILE Training Centre has been established to manage the qualification for the next stages of SMILE. The SMILE training centre is fully quality assured and accredited through FDQ. The online examinations, and mechanisms for assessment of competence for offline elements will be in place in Early 2019 for anybody wishing to acheive the SMILE/FDQ Certificate in Brewing Entrepreneurship.The project reach was very wide. For the most part, partners engaged directly with people involved in the brewing industry. This does not only include brewers, beer and homebrew clubs, but also raw material suppliers (malt and hop farmers), publicans, barpersons, waiting staff and others in the hospitality sector, PR and marketing professionals, distributers, retailers and managers of enterprise centres and others who work with start-up enterprises, and providers of VET. Through the EBC the project had access to professionals at the top levels of the drinks industry in Europe and Internationally. The project was featured at the Brewers Forum in Brussels in 2018, and presented at a number of European Brewing Science Group meetings. In parallel to the research, development and testing activities, project administration, widespread dissemination, and a series of Multiplier events were delivered.Results and impact attained; - results include 16 recipients of the SMILE 'Certificate of Merit' (i.e. those who completed pilot testing and attended the LTT in Mullingar. we also have a number of interested parties in becoming part of the SMILE delivery network, including some who could become national contact points for the qualification in various countries, and others, like brewers, who will potentially be passed by the SMILE Training Centre as persons competent to provide witness testimony of competence for learners looking to validate the work placement components of the SMILE/FDQ Certificate in Brewing Entrepreneurship.Longer-term benefits; - The SMILE learning is freely available on the SMILE website in 4 languages. In 2019, the qualification will be available via the SMILE BREWING website, and will be offered to everyone who wants it. There will be no cost to do the course online, but a small cost will be necessary to cover the expense of assessment and certification by FDQ if they desire to do so.