" Improving Social Innovation Competencies of Sports Professionals through Increasing Quality of VET "

Background:

Sport innovation is dynamic and affects areas such as sport management, emergence of new sports, social and community-based development in sport. Social innovation arises when sport organizations, groups or individuals (such as athletes and coaches) are faced with social issues that requires new and creative solutions. In this way, social innovation encourages solutions to complex social issues in sport contexts.

Social issues as an aspect of sport innovation concern grassroots and ‘sport for all programs’ with an overall aim of contributing to greater social justice and equality in sport. This dynamic aspect of sport innovation includes opportunities for new marginalized social groups to participate and compete in sport, for example, through the introduction and creation of events such as the Paralympic Games, The Special Olympics or the ‘Homeless World Cup’ in football.

Objectives:

1. With regard to this insight, SPINVET project seeks to address the following identified needs of VET for sport field in social innovation at the EU level:

2. Current curricula implemented by VET institutions responsible for VET of sports professionals are insufficient to train qualified sports managers to meet the needs of the sports labor market.

3.  Social innovation in sports is a relatively new but rapidly developing field. There is no innovative course curriculum on social innovation that VET institutions in the field of sport can apply.

4. Trainers/lecturers responsible for VET of sports managers need innovative educational resources on social innovation.

5. The social innovation competencies of the sports professionals in the labor market are not sufficient.

6. Sports professionals in the labor market need open and digital learning platforms and training resources to improve their social innovation knowledge, skills and competences.

With this scope, the overall objectives of the project are to contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe by;

- supporting professional development of VET trainers/lecturers in sport field and

- developing social innovation competencies for sports professionals working in sport organizations (non-profit and for profit).

Implementation:

The target groups of the project who benefit from the project products and took part in the projects’ activities are as follows:

• 1) Direct target group: sports managers, sport professionals, VET trainers/lecturers in the sport field, partner organizations and their staff

• 2) Indirect target group: Sport organizations, VET organizations/institutions, universities, training providers, trainers/lecturers of target organizations