<< Background >>The recent pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services across the EU (WHO, 2020); at the same time, the demand for mental health care has increased, as the effects from the pandemic on people’s everyday lives (such as isolation, loss of income, fear, bereavement) have triggered mental health issues and exacerbated existing ones. In spite of the endorsement of the remote provision of health services (where applicable) by medical communities, the mental health care sector has exhibited low readiness to fully exploit the potential of ICT-enabled counselling services, primarily due to a lack of mental health care workers with the required knowledge and skills on how to plan and run effective online sessions, creating a mismatch between increased demand for mental health support and current capacity of mental health workers.The prevalent mismatch can be attributed to a deficit in training offerings on remote-based mental health care provision, impending mental health workers’ capability to acquire relevant skills and competencies. The strengthening of both initial and continuous VET provision in the field is therefore essential so that the European mental health workforce can develop the mix of technical (e.g. using digital platforms), organizational (e.g. establishing a comfortable environment for the “beneficiary”) and communication (e.g. to communicating in a mediated environment) skills required to plan and run online counselling sessions optimally.<< Objectives >>The project aims to make available a curriculum with corresponding Open Educational Resources (OERs) for the continuous professional development of mental health workers, to address the emerging occupational & skills needs related to the provision of ICT-enabled remote counselling services. The project’s specific objectives are to:1.Document the skills required for providing online, remote mental health services2.Define learning outcomes for a C-VET course for mental health workers on effective remote mental health services provision3.Design, test and deliver a sector-validated online course for mental health workers to support digital, organizational and communication skills acquisition4.Provide ready to use tools for mental health workers to facilitate the roll-out and support the provision of remote counselling services.<< Implementation >>Systematic needs analysis and skills intelligence gathering activities leading to the development of learning outcomes that reflect sector specificities and skills requirements for remote mental health care services provision•Joint curriculum design of a continuing VET curriculum on remote mental health counselling for relevant occupations•Creation of corresponding educational materials, a trainers’ handbook and an electronic book for learners, to be offered as Open Educational Resources•Development, testing and delivery of a Massive Open Online Course, enhancing flexibility and openness in continuing vocational training •Development of a toolkit for assessing readiness and facilitating the roll-out of online, remote counselling services •Sharing of project results with multiplier events and dissemination activities, inviting target groups to uptake REMCO results and act as additional multipliers.<< Results >>1. Needs assessment analysis to define common skills/occupational requirements for mental health workers in providing remote mental health support services (R1)2. Evidence based, measurable and assessable learning outcomes for continuing VET provision (R1) on the knowledge and skills required by mental health workers to be able to plan and run remote counselling sessions. 3. Formal VET learning units on remote mental health service provision skills requirements for mental health care workers (R2)4. Open Educational Resources (R2) and a self-standing online course (MOOC) in 7 EU languages (R3)5. A self-assessment tool for mental health professionals and institutions to assess their readiness and skills for remote counselling 6. Best practice guide with remote counselling case studies (R4)7. Planning tools and protocols for the roll out of remote counselling practices (R4)8. 6 national information days in Austria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Italy and Belgium to share & disseminate REMCO results (E1-6)Post-project sustainability-Uptake of project materials & OERs from relevant training providers across the EU-Participation of a growing number of initial and continuous VET learners in courses based on or integrating project outputs.