e ork LearNet
A Continuous Training Reference Model for
Standards of competence for e-working
The biggest revolution in which we find ourselves in this “Information Age” is not technological.
Without doubt, it is cultural. In e-work, this revolution is reflected in the need to obtain a series of
new abilities with regard to organisation, communication, management, human resource administration
and the application of communication and information technology.
The explosive entry of new
technologies into our lives is
irreversibly affecting the way in
which we work and how we might
get to do that work. Most of us
already work in a wide variety of
situations and places: we combine
working in our offices with travel to
meetings, visits to clients, and trips.
But we can send or receive digital
information wherever we are,
provided the contents of the
resulting work we do is held in data
files, photographs, videos or voice
recordings. We can communicate
with our co-workers or businesses
in the same way, and can even
remotely access other computers
thereby acquiring the information
we need, or work on them in
collaboration with others regardless
Areas of Competences
Organisation of e-work at a distance
Human resource management at a distance
Distance management
Efficient distance communication
Efficient Use of Information and
Communication Technology
of location. This is what e-work really
involves.
Whether everything goes well and
we attain the expected results does
not depend on the proper
functioning of the technology alone.
All the technology does is enable us
to change our methods and explore
new and imaginative ways of making
work more satisfactory for the
organisations and individuals
involved.
On the other hand, some individual
character traits, such as
independence, discipline, and
initiative when making decisions and
taking risks, communication skills
or organisational ability, can provide
a sound basis for doing e-work.
Acquisition and Recognition of Transversal
Competences in Teleworking.
Newsletter 2
Februar y 2006
Furthermore, e-working means the
incorporation of a new work culture
that demands organisational
changes, together with processes of
professional adaptation in order to
acquire new competence.
Five areas with a transversal
approach
The eWork LearNET project enables
the five European organisations that
constitute the project’s transnational
consortium to work together in
identifying and describing these
abilities.
The basic premise that guides our
work is that e-work does not
constitute a type of work per se, but
is a way of carrying out a wide range
of professional activities.
To this end, our perspective when
working on identifying these abilities
is based on “transversality”, since
they are applicable to all potentially
“teleworkable” professional
activities, or to all persons whose
work situation permits or demands
that they work in this way.
We the eight specialists who make Summary
up the eWork LearNET technical Standards of competence
team have pooled our experience of for e-working
more than a decade as teleworkers, coverage and page 2 y 3
directors of telework teams and
migrated projects, managers of call European systems of
centres, trainers in telework and vocational training: in full
teleactivities and designers of development and at
training systems. In addition we have different speeds.
consulted with experts in teleworking page 4 and 5
with whom we have conducted
research for a period of six months. EU Policies and activities
for promoting eWork
next
page 6 and 7
The first results of the
project presented to the
Institutes for Qualifications
of the Basque Country and
Navarra.
back coverage
www.eworklearnet.com
Education and Culture
Leonardo da Vinci
 e A Continuous Training Reference Model for Acquisition and
Recognition of Transversal Competences in Teleworking.

We have agreed a common descriptive virtually, via teleconferencing, chat and a “Standard of Competence for e-Workers”,
methodology and debated different e-mail. which constitutes a tangible result in which
approaches and concepts, both physically we describe eighteen abilities, grouped in
through our transnational meetings, and Finally, we have succeeded in elaborating five areas as follows:

eWorkers’ Competences

Organisation of Distance eWork Efficient Use of ICT

Establish workspace and logistic resources. Guarantee the security and protect the shared virtual
workspace.
Establish procedures for the organisation of work.
Look after the maintenance and upgrading of the
Comply with health and safety rules. virtual workspace.
Use information technology and office management
Manage Human Resources at a Distance programs.
Manage human assets at a distance. Transfer ICT knowledge.
Identify training needs and plan their implementation. Efficient Distance Communication
Carry out administrative management of human Choose appropriate communication methods and
resources. tools.
Distance Management Manage distance communication.
Manage the activities of the team of e-Workers Manage and communicate information.
Manage projects at a distance. Work in a multicultural environment.
Show leadership.

Competences identified

Organisation of e-work at a distance

When a group of people at a distance must work together,
the organisational procedures and “rules of the game”, the
correct management of time – both individual and group –
the physical and virtual workspaces, and maintenance of
technological resources are especially important.
The capacity to manage one’s time, work environment and
resources constitutes, in these circumstances, the basic
competence to be able to e-work in a satisfactory manner.

Human resource management at a distance

Those responsible for e-work teams must be capable of
correctly managing available human resources. This implies
the ability to identify the requirements, in terms of knowledge
and professional abilities necessary to carry out the tasks
in hand, in addition to defining the profiles of the e-workers
required.

They must be able to select and recruit the best candidates,

taking into account the previous requirements and the
presence of abilities necessary for e-working.

Knowing how to guarantee support and training, as well as

opportunities for personal and professional development
for the e-workers that make up their teams, is another
required competence.

2
Distance management
Some typical management and co-ordination tasks take on
a special relevance when it comes to getting results with
teams of co-workers who are separated from each other by
distance.
This requires knowing how to apply principles and techniques
of management per objective, in such a way that the results
can be monitored and supervised. To carry out this task,
though, procedures and processes that allow one to overcome
the difficulties of tracking and evaluation in distance situations
must be designed and implemented.
As is the case in physically contiguous situations, one must
be able to efficiently manage human, economic, material
and technological resources in order to obtain the required
results. The key competence, in this case, is the capacity to
apply project planning and management techniques, taking
Effective communication at a distance
In e-work situations, the act of communication takes place
in different spatial and temporal environments and in
different cultural and professional contexts. But it is the
basis for establishing trust, reaching agreements, negotiating,
collective problem solving and decision making.
Nevertheless, the indispensable competence can vary
according to the professional profile:
In the case of independent e-workers, those abilities
related to negotiation and problem solving at a distance
apply.
For self-employed e-workers and those on e-work teams,
those abilities related to the capability to adopt the
established norms and procedures of communication
are the most relevant.
Supervisors and those in charge of e-work teams must
be able to guarantee adequate planning of communication
activities, as well as define and implement the norms
and procedures needed to facilitate it. The domain of
techniques of conflict resolution and negotiation is also
Efficient Use of Information and Communication Technology
In the context of e-work, information and communication
technology and the procedures for its adaptation are the
instruments that facilitate the daily activity of any e-worker.
It enables both self-employed e-workers and members of e-
work teams and their supervisors to communicate, exchange
documents, share data and information and develop end
products.
into account the determining factors imposed by distance.
But good management of the human factor is always the
basic requirement: it is about getting results by creating and
maintaining team spirit, collective vision, motivation and
bonding, despite the distance. Developing and maintaining
high levels of confidence and communication is the key to
this process, in which one strives more to convince than to
impose. To this end, one must know how to apply participatory
leadership techniques and management styles.
What is peculiar about e-Management is that all these
abilities are developed using information and communication
technology as the basic instrument.
of great importance in these cases.
And always bearing in mind that these communication
processes are produced, primarily via information and
communication technology, and that they must overcome
the negative psychological impact of distance.
The abilities that apply are generally related to the
capacity to
identify the challenges caused by distance to achieve
effective communication
evaluate when and in what circumstances the different
available technologies should be used
plan and manage communication activities, both one’s
own in the case of e-workers, and that of others, in the
case of e-managers
know how to adequately communicate in multicultural
environments.
The indispensable abilities in this case relate to managing
common virtual workspaces and guaranteeing their security,
knowing how to use basic computer programs for office
management and communication, and facilitating the transfer
and exchange of technological knowledge.
3
 e A Continuous Training Reference Model for Acquisition and
Recognition
ModeloofReferencial
Transversalde
Competences in Teleworking.
formación continua para la adquisición y
reconocimiento de competenciastransversales en Teletrabajo

European systems of vocational training: in full

development and at different speeds.
One of the first jobs to be carried out in eWork LearNET consisted of a comparative analysis of the national systems
of continued vocational education in each country of the entities that make up the project’s transnational consortium:
Ireland, France, Greece and Spain.

T he aim of this was to get to know

in depth the situation, structure,
determining factors and
equivalence requirements of
these systems, with the purpose of taking
into consideration their common
approaches and availing criteria and
guidelines while constructing a model for
training and validation of transversal
competence in telework which could
eventually become homologous.
With the eWork LearNET project we aim,
among other things, to make Telework
visible in the field of continuous vocational
education, proposing a referential training
module that will enable the acquisition
of transversal competence for the
effective development of this method
of working which is spreading through
Europe led by the Information Society.
Therefore, we consider it directly linked
to the policies established by the
European Union, which makes
Education one of the pillars of the
European social model.
National and regional diversity
and special characteristics
While beginning work and trying to set
down the basis for our formative
guidelines in telework, we find an
inconsistent situation. In the European
Union, each member state is wholly
responsible for the organisation of its
education system and for the programme
contents, and this causes the structures
of the systems of education to vary
considerably, as much from country to
country as within each.
This shows the need to fully respect the
particular character of the different systems
of education of the member states, while
improving the co-ordinated interactions
and increasing collaboration both of which
will enable the establishment of a
“European educational space”.

Methodology
The comparative study has concentrated on the analysis
of the following variables of each of the systems of education
of the different countries/regions of the partnership. DESCRIPTION of the METHODOLOGY used in each case for
4 the DESCRIPTION OF QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF
GENERAL VISION of each of the systems of education, COMPETENCE.
LOCATING in them CONTINUED VOCATIONAL TRAINING.
EVALUATION AND CERTIFICATION PROCESSES in each of
IDENTIFICATION of the ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED BOTH the Countries and/or Regions.
IN DELIVERY AND CERTIFICATION in each of the Countries
and/or Regions. LIST OF QUALIFICATIONS in which TELEWORK COMPETENCE
CAN BE INCORPORATED.
QUALIFICATION LEVELS concentrating on the
correspondence of the different levels of each of the
Countries-Regions, with European levels.

4
Same tendencies but different
level of development
In this way we have managed to verify that,
at present, the member states of the
European Union are going in the same
direction with regard to continued
vocational training, but they are at very
different stages in the process.
France has a developed system, which is
fairly evolved – and which continues to
evolve – and supported it with regard to
methodology. However, many of its aspects
present complexities, especially with
factors such as the validation of
competence.
Ireland since 2001 relies upon a unique
framework, in which it has succeeded in
integrating existing training and which
continues to work above all on the
integration of university training levels and
similar.
In Spain there is a strong awareness of
the need to work in line with the European
model. The various Autonomous
Communities are working very actively,
having responsibility for the development
of their training systems, all of them
categorised as being part of the national
system. However, the scene is fairly
unequal. At present, much of the effort is
being concentrated on the process of
defining qualifications, and on constructing
a National Catalogue of Professional
Qualifications, structured into 26
professional families, which will become
the future reference for official vocational
training, professional certificates and
continuous training actions which can be
accredited.
Focusing on the two Autonomous
Communities (Regions) who participate in
the partnership: Navarra and the Basque
Country, we have detected a higher level
of development in the latter, even though
Navarra is actively working on following
similar action guidelines.
Greece appears to be the country that is
furthest behind in this sense, since it still
does not have a qualification system, and
the systems of accreditation depend upon
diverse official organisations with little co-
ordination between them.
Common aspects
Even given these differences the following
can be seen:
The tendency in all these countries to
unify and integrate their systems of
official, vocational and continuous
training.
Despite being at different stages of
development, all of them base their work
methodologies on standards of
competence based on existing
professional profiles, in this way
determining the competence needed to
reach them.
What is also obvious precisely in this aim
to unify training systems and make them
effective is the implication that they are
progressively acquiring the social partners:
businesses, trade unions, associations
and so on, guaranteeing in this way that
real needs are taken into account.

The European Framework

The Lisbon Council of Europe of March 2000 gave the LEONARDO DA VINCI is destined to support and complement
European Union the strategic aim of becoming the most the initiatives of the Member States having recourse to
competitive and dynamic knowledge society in the world. transnational co-operation to improve quality, promote
The development of vocational training is a fundamental innovation and reinforce the European dimension of training
part of this strategy. systems and practices. The programme has expanded
progressively with 30 countries participating in it at present.
The Barcelona Council of Europe of March 2002 reaffirmed
this important role and established the aim of converting In Europe, training is a field that is even more diffuse than
European education and training into a world reference by that of education; it is difficult to visualise in terms of precise
2010, and of developing closer co-operation with regard to statistical data. Consequently one of the missions of the
training (parallel to the Bologna process regarding higher LEONARDO DA VINCI programme is to “develop a system of
education). compilation of quantitative information” that “will contribute
in a pertinent and coherent manner” to the elaboration of
After the Bruges initiative of the vocational training Director policies.
Generals (October 2001), in the conference that took place
on 10th and 11th of June 2002, the Directorate-General
for Education and Culture of the European Commission gave
impetus to a process of closer co-operation with regard to
training and vocational training. At the conference, attended
by representatives of the Member States, the countries of
the EES and the candidate countries, in addition to the
social partners, it was agreed to increase collaboration in
questions related to transparency, recognition and quality.

However, the support of the governments for European co-

operation with regard to vocational training was assured
before and perhaps more easily than was the case with
education: In the 1980s, a series of initiatives were the
precursor of what is now the LEONARDO DA VINCI
Programme, which was adopted in 1994. The aim of the
Leonardo programme is to contribute to the application of
a community policy with regard to vocational training.

5
 e A Continuous Training Reference Model for Acquisition and
Recognition of Transversal Competences in Teleworking.

EU Policies and activities for promoting eWork

Through the last years EU has set out to
increase the effect of Information and
Communications Technology (ICTs) on
labour markets, jobs and working
conditions and ensure more and better
jobs for all citizens.
For this to happen, greater investment in
skills, e-skills and European research is
required.
The EU has acknowledged the key role that
ICT plays in building social and human
capital in a knowledge based society.
Setting out priorities for Member States'
employment policies, the EU sets targets
for building an inclusive e-economy that
will provide a range of online services to
enhance job prospects and e-learning for
all European citizens.
In a world where knowledge and
information are paramount, European
citizens need new skills to adapt
themselves into the rapidly changing life
and work environments and to be able to
fully participate in society.
Ensuring that everyone can effectively use
and benefit from ICT in life and work, for
accessing information, communicating and
learning is now a priority for Europe.
Within the framework of eEurope 2005,
EU carries the ambitious objective of
achieving "an Information Society for All".
This means overcoming social and
geographical differences, ensuring an
inclusive digital society that provides
opportunities for all, thus minimising the
risk of 'digital divide'.
The achievement of a truly inclusive
Information Society requires a demand-
oriented approach where the needs and
specificities of all social groups and areas
of the EU are taken into account.
The European e-Skills Forum
EU fosters an open dialogue between all
relevant stakeholders and catalysing
actions with a view to helping to narrow
the e-skills gap and to address eskills
mismatches.

To this end, in March 2003 the European

Commission established the European e-
Skills Forum.

Key ambitions using ICT are: Four working groups have been established
on supply and demand, managing social
to ease the transition from school to work change, international aspects and public
private partnerships. A workshop on e-skills
to make it easier to start up and run businesses industry certifications was organised in
March 2004.
to exploit new opportunities for job creation
The European e-Skills Forum released in
to modernize work organization 2004 four issue papers on supply and
demand, management of social change,
to support adaptability in businesses international aspects and public-private
partnerships, and a Synthesis Report e-
to reconcile work and family life Skills for Europe: Toward 2010 and beyond,
which was discussed and fully endorsed
to promote a labour market open to all. at the European e-Skills 2004 Conference.

6
An e-Skills Online Forum has been set up
by CEDEFOP to allow all interested parties
to comment and to contribute actively to
the work of the European e-Skills Forum.

Supporting eWork in the 5th

Framework Programme
Another very important target area for
promoting eWork is R&D framework
programs.

In particular IST which was initiated in the

5th Framework programand aims to
contribute to R&D and policy developments
in new working environments designs and
in organization of work in the networked
knowledge-based economy, through the
following measures:

Network business and governments

(develop ICTs supporting organizational
net working, process integration and
sharing of resources.
This shall enable networked
organizations, private and public, to
build faster and more effective
partnerships and alliances, to
reengineer and integrate their
processes, to develop value added
products and services, and to share
efficiently knowledge and experiences).
Products and services engineering
2010 (strengthen further Europe's
competitive position by developing
collaborative technologies and
methodologies for extended service
and product development approaches,
including associated services and
distributed global manufacturing
organization.
of working, improved customer relations
and government services in any context).
Improving Connectivity
The importance of investment and use of
ICT for further growth and jobs in Europe is
highlighted in a communication on
“Connecting Europe at high” speed adopted
by the European Commission in February
2004.
It underlines the importance of the
electronic communication sector for the
health of the European economy as a
whole: further growth will be driven by the
provision of new services over high-speed
fixed and wireless networks making use of
broadband and 3G mobile
communications.
Financing eWork Activities
As a conclusion EU is trying to motivate
people and at the same time promote eWork
by ensuring some funds in order for
eWorking activities to be realized. The main
sources of funding are:
IST, programee which funds research
development projects,
eEurope 2005 initiative,
Other sources of funds: Leonardo,
Socrates (which funds education and
training projects) , Safer use of Internet,
eContent plus and other programmes
that can fund eworking activities.

Community funding should help

integrate, in a global context,
fragmented European and international
RTD efforts in product and process eWork in Europe
design, and to focus on new holistic
product/service concepts),
13% of the working population can be classified as “eWorkers”.
Applications and services for the 7.5% carry out telework in the home.
mobile user and worker (foster the
emergence of rich landscape of 4% are travelling eWorkers who spend a large part of their work
innovative applications and services time travelling, away from their homes and jobs.
for the mobile user and worker and to
support the use and development of 3.4% are self-employed.
new work methods and collaborative
work environments.
40% of the European working population express an interest in
These should be based on adopting eWork fulltime, 52% in occasional eWork and 55% in
interoperable mobile, wireless using eWork centres.
technologies and the convergence of
fixed and mobile communication Source: SIBIS survey (Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information Society)
infrastructures.

Such applications and services will

enable new business models, new ways

7
The first results of the project presented edited by
to the Institutes for Qualifications of the eWork LearNET
CONSORTIUM
Basque Country and Navarra.
Marta Mañas
Pza. Miguel de
Barandiarán,5 – Of.5
31014 Pamplona ESPAÑA
Tel. +34 948 131832
Fax.+34 948 134879
mmanas@iturbrok.com
www.iturbrok.com

Eneritz Angulo
Pza. Molinar, 11
48192 GORDEXOLA
ESPAÑA
Tef. + 34 946 799836
F ax + 34 946 799828
eneritz@laboradomo.com
www.laboradomo.com

Last January 20th, the eWork LearNet
consortium presented in Pamplona the
first results of the project to representatives
of the regional Institutes for Qualifications
of the Basque Country and Navarra.
This presentation, integrated into the
project’s 5th transnational meeting, forms
part of the actions of sensitisation and
diffusion, addressed to those in charge of
administrations related to Vocational and
Continuous Training.
project, and were especially interested in
the focus of the system of validation of
competence for teleworkers, the
Maria Papageorgiou
elaboration of which has already started
and is co-ordinated by AFPA. They stressed 96 Iroon Polytechniou Av.,
185 36 Piraeus GREECE
the operational difficulties in the current
Tel.+30 1 4286227
systems of vocational training caused by Fax: +30 1 4286228
this issue, as well as by the official maria@idec.gr
certification and recognition of
www.idec.gr
competence, which is even more
problematic in the case of those difficulties
that are transversal in character.

It consisted of a two-hour information They also observed that this situation

session, followed by a work lunch. The
principal aspects of the project were
communicated – aims, work programme
and expected results - in addition to the
first joint products already developed: a
“Comparative Analysis of the systems of
vocational training in France, Ireland,
Greece and Spain” and the “Standard of
Competence for Teleworkers”.
The advances made relative to the
definition of the Curricular Project and the
Proposal of a System of Validation of
Competence, both of which the Consortium
is involved in, were also explained.
Esther Monterrubio and Patxi Martínez
attended on behalf of the Instituto Navarro
de las Cualificaciones, as did Izaskun
Zabalza, for the Instituto Vasco de las
Cualificaciones.
Both entities made known their interest in
the work that is being carried out in our
worsens in the case of competence for
telework, because the acquisition of the
latter should be regarded as a voluntary Michèle Lutrand
complement in the case of those 63, rue Louis Ampère BP 155
qualifications capable of incorporating it. 93331 Neuilly-sur-Marne
FRANCE
They considered as very positive the efforts Tel. +33 1 494438
+33 1 49443953
made in the eWork LearNet project to Fax.+ 33 1 43001006
identify and define the necessary michele.lutrand@bbs.afpa.fr
competence and establish proposals for
the acquisition thereof in an environment www.afpa.fr
like ework, whose process of adoption is
still in the early stages in Europe.
It was concluded that, independently
of the possibilities for official recognition,
the project results may be of great interest Nana Luke
for improvements to the quality of Bridge House Main Street
the vocational training in Telework that Scariff, Co. Clare IRELAND
the participating entities have been Tel. +35 3 61921121
Fax. +35 3 61921693
delivering for some time, as well as
contributing to the spread of this new nana.luke@eteams.ie
culture of organisation and professional www.eteams.ie
connections.
www.eworklearnet.com