Eldicare 2.0

Eldicare 2.0 is the continuation of the Sector Skills Alliance project “Eldicare: Matching Skills in a growing European Silver Economy”, which has been implemented from 2018 to 2021, also coordinated by AKMI S.A.  Eldicare had a great impact for the elderly care sector, however the COVID-19 outbreak affected both the project activities and the elderly care sector. Thus, a new synergy, focused on the post-COVID era and the EC goals related to digitalization, green transition, entrepreneurial and soft skills of caregivers was decided to be developed.

In particular, more than the one fifth of the EU population in 2021, was over 65 years old. The higher life expectancy rates along with the low birth rates in Europe, are contributing to a change in the shape of the EU’s age pyramid. As EU population is growing older constantly, gradually more and more people become frail and dependent on affordable, preventive and curative long-term care. However, the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on older people – in terms of hospitalisations and deaths – has highlighted some of the challenges an ageing population poses on health and social care, proving that the long-term care sector was generally ill-prepared to tackle a health emergency of such dimension, as COVID-19.

What is more, as is demonstrated by the data we collected from the EU countries participating at Eldicare 2.0, in the next few decades, although the proportion of elderly people in EU countries is set to rise fast, along with the imperative for high-quality, long-term care, the proportion of working-age people at elderly care sector will fall significantly.  Recent global and regional efforts, have reiterated the positive economic impact of the health workforce and the continued urgency of addressing health workforce challenges. In this respect, strengthening the workforce is essential to ensuring that health systems can achieve national and global health goals.

Thus, Eldicare 2.0, in line with the European Care strategy for caregivers and care receivers, contributes to make elderly care in the EU more available, accessible and of better quality for all, and upgrades professional long-term care services, rolling-out accessible digital and green solutions in the provision of care services, upskilling elderly care workforce with entrepreneurial and soft skills, ensuring high-quality criteria and standards for long-term care providers through a sectoral skills long-term strategy.

The project’s mission is to strengthen the cross-sectoral cooperation among sectorial partners and VET providers in healthcare, as well as to update the occupational profiles and competencies of professionals in the caregiving sector, providing a sectoral skills long-term strategy that will tackle skills gaps on the labour market and anticipate future skills ends.

Project Partners