The project intends to provide knowledge, methods and techniques for organizing, managing, developing, coordinating, following-up and check the quality for successfully dealing with virtual projects, teams and work communities within the market of telework and teleservices.

This training offer shall consist of contents, methodologies, tools and materials especially adapted to distance training via new technologies, combining on-line/off-line learning and self-training systems.

Businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs

VIRTUAL WORK is especially intended for:

• Professionals, businesses, teleworkers and entrepreneurs in the services sector, especially those based on the use of NTIC, who are introducing these new e-work means and who find if difficult to adapt themselves to the new organization parameters.
  
  
• Experts and managers in companies and bodies currently setting up or willing to set up new kinds of telework.
  
• Experts and managers in bodies and companies likely to hire teleworkers and to provide teleservices.

VIRTUAL WORK shall contribute to overcome the obstacles springing from introducing new technologies and to safeguard the required levels of competitiveness, professionalism and profitability. It shall also help minimize the risks threatening the application of new teleworking experiences, the introduction of NTIC to the provision of business services and initiatives in the new economy sector. This should favour job creating and job maintaining opportunities.

Expected results

VIRTUAL WORK shall unfold until December 2003. Its resulting tangible product shall be a continuing training product consisting of didactic contents, tools and methods, which will be developed and tested simultaneously in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Switzerland, in the shape of:

1. Multimedia didactic material on CD-ROM for self-learning purposes.
   
2. A teletraining Website: http://www.evirtualwork.net
   
3. A "Trainers Guide".
   
4. A distributed application for managing projects and virtual spaces.
   
5. A Guide: "Recommendations for the adoption of new work organization formulas required by NTIC".

A Mediterranean Partnership

Six European bodies have come together to bring to fruition this transnational partnership. This joint venture holds the necessary expertise and knowledge in the following fields: continuing vocational training, innovation and setting up of new technologies and management of virtual projects and telework. The partnership includes the following bodies: ITURBROK; AFPA / Association Nationale pour la Formation Professionnelle des Adultes / National Association for the Vocational Training of Adults (France), Sociedade Portuguesa d'Inovaçao / Portugal Innovation Association (Portugal), ASFOR / Associazione per lo Sviluppo della Formazione / Association for the Development of Training (Italy), IDEC Ltd. / Industrial Development & Education Centre (Greece) and SWISS Occidental Leonardo (Switzerland). Other associate bodies include: Asociación Española de Teletrabajo (AET) / National Telework Association (Spain) and Association Française de Télétravail et Téléactivités (AFTT) / National Association of Telework and Teleactivities (France).

Most of the bodies above belong to European Mediterranean states, where the application of new technologies and new means to organize work is still on the rise. Consequently, VIRTUAL WORK shall make a decisive contribution to the development of telework and teleservices, since it shall promote and support the improvement of qualifications on these activities as well as the creation of employment in new professions in the sNTIC sector.

Further information on:

http://www.evirtualwork.net