UpsPaint project produced “ready to use” results

11 January 2022

The Upskilled New Painters project (UpsPaint) has reached its end last October. After two years of intense activities, the partners achieved fruitful results. Despite the pandemic that impeded the partnership to meet in person, several dissemination events were held at National level in Italy, Belgium, and Czech Republic.

The project, whose aim was to provide teachers in the Painting sector with adequate tools to recognize prior learning of adults, migrants and refugees, produced a harmonized certification system of informal and non-formal competences and a pedagogical kit for teachers and trainers.

UPS PAINT followed the line of the UNIEP strategy for improving the image of the profession adapted with the past projects “In Paint” and “Paint Up”.

In two years, the UpsPaint project produced high quality results and outputs, offering among others an update of the Painter/Varnisher qualification at level 3 and 4 of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) introducing digital, greening aspects and adding some health rules. The project crossed various themes, including Integration of refugees, Migrants’ issues, Recognition, transparency, and certification. The UpsPaint project targeted nearly 10,000 people through the activities organised by the project (local community members, youth, experts, policy makers and stakeholders).

The project that had a definite and lasting impact at local, regional, and national level, has started to increase the number of individuals who will have qualifications recognized (unemployed people and migrants) with enhanced geographical and sectoral mobility potential and lifelong learning assuring transparency of qualifications in the sector. Some schools in the partners countries have launched pilot projects to use the methodology and the tools produced in order to train teachers on how to assess prior learning of future painters.

At European level, UNIEP as project coordinator, has spread the results obtained with the project to all members countries and their reference schools, and presented the project outcomes as a positive model to be used by other sectors, through SMEunited, the European Association representing the SME in which UNIEP is a full associated member.

At International level, UNIEP, representing countries outside the EU, like Switzerland and UK has put at the disposal of them the project’s results and all tools produced. In particular a former member association from Canada requested the RPL methodology in English and French in order to use it for qualifying people entering in the Painting sector.

UNIEP is grateful to all partners and members for their commitment in the development of the project’s activities which led to such a useful result (https://ups-paint.inpaint-platform.eu/ ) for the future qualification of the Painters and Decorators.