The Erasmus+ project “Care4Carers” has recently finalised all its outputs and made them available on the Care4Carer Online HUB. The hub is a comprehensive learning and training platform dedicated to (former) family carers and trainers working with this target group. Serving as the core of the Care4Carers programme, the platform offers a full spectrum of learning and training resources developed in the project. It caters to the diverse preferences of family carers by providing interactive and multimedia learning materials, including quizzes, games, videos, and a networking area. This online platform allows family carers to engage with the content at their own pace and according to their preferences. The HUB comprises four distinct sections: a Section for Family Carers; Information Resources; a Section for Counsellors, and a Networking Space.

The main resource for counsellors are the Care4Carers Counselling Guidelines. They provide a concise methodology for educators of adults or counsellors in working with the vulnerable group of family. The structure of the document consists of a handbook guide which, thoroughly, accompanies the job counsellor in getting to know, assisting and supporting the family carer (or the vulnerable client). After an insight into the project, the aims and methodologies of the output and a sketch of the target group ‘family carers’, the Counselling Guidelines address all steps of the counselling pathway: initial welcome, situational analysis, emotional support, identification of the client’s plan, competence assessment, support of the active job search, follow-up and monitoring. The Guidelines are complemented by 7 attached documents: these annexes are concrete tools that the counsellor can use during activities with the client. Some of them are nationally specific, as they include links, resources, and services available in the different local contexts; some others are transversal.

The Guidelines are closely related to another project result, the Care4Carers Training Modules: wherever the job counsellor recognises the client’s need for self-training, they can direct him to attend the most suitable e-learning module. The Care4Carers training consists of five training modules including 15+ hours of online self-learning, which can be further supplemented by face-to-face workshops or webinars (depending on how feasible this is due to the framework conditions and mobility of the participants). The training is subdivided into modules and units, with each unit containing self-study materials and quizzes, available on the Care4CarerOnline HUB.

The five training modules cover the following topics: Personal and social competencies/resilience (7 Units); Competence analysis (4 Units); Digital competence (5 Units); Job orientation (4 Units); Job application (6 Units). Most, if not all, units are also supplemented by group activities, delivered by a trainer. A dedicated resource – Methodological guidelines for adult educators, inform on the learning objectives of each unit, how to conduct a group activity related to its topic, and where to find additional information. There are a total of 16 group activities to supplement various elements of the training content. Group activities can be delivered in a face-to-face or online format depending on the circumstances. The course is intended as a blended learning offer. It is recommended that 2 webinars and one face-to-face workshop complement the online training: A face-to-face workshop is a to find out the training needs of the participants, foster motivation for self-study, and select the most appropriate steps for follow-up; a self-study phase of the online course, supported by a webinar, and a final webinar.

82 career counsellors and adult educators, as well as 99 family carers participated in the testing of the Care4Carers project results. Their experience showed that that the available offer is highly transferable to different groups and contexts. The testing phase once again highlighted the need people have for experiential learning in a face-to-face setting within a group, as well as the necessity to have a clear overview of the participants and consider their personal characteristics. More detailed information of the project, its outputs, and lessons learned, is available in the publication “Employment support for family carers”, which has been recently available in all partner languages. 

Get access to the key results and more information on the project on our project website: https://care4carers.eu/ (available in English, German, Danish, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian)

Register for the Care4Carers Online HUB and explore the interactive learning platform that provides all resources developed in the project: https://care4carers.dieberater.com/