The context

Although EU furniture manufacturers have good reputation worldwide regarding design, only a few companies are trendsetters while most of companies, especially SMEs, are followers. In the highly- competitive context that furniture companies are facing, they need to be more creative and entrepreneur, meaning not only starting new businesses but being able to commercialize new valuable products and services.

Main objective

The main objective of FACET project is the development of new and innovative methods to further strengthening creativity and entrepreneurship in VET programs in the furniture sector, both for initial VET and continuous VET and having into account work-based learning.

FACET training will foster creativity and entrepreneurship skills of professionals of furniture companies, resulting in new products which are in line with the changing population structure, lifestyles and trends, as well as in new business models and supplier-consumer relationships.

Methodology

The FACET project starts from the study of the qualifications and occupations of the furniture sector in order to define learning outcomes to be covered by the furniture sector creativity and entrepreneurship curricula, with the feedback from furniture industries employees.

Then, the curricula will be created defining units in detail: generic title, ESCO profiles/qualifications, EQF Level, learning outcomes, procedures and criteria for assessment and ECVET points.

Once the curricula is ready, FACET Online Course will be developed creating the contents, transforming them into interactive learning objects and games, integrating them in an e-learning platform, implementing a badges system. A final test will be run with target users, collecting their feedback and improving the output accordingly.

A work based learning tool will also be created and a badges system will be implemented for the recognition of skills as the tool is being used. A final test will be run with target users, collecting their feedback and improving the tool according to the test results.

A guide for trainers will be developed explaining how to use both the online course and the tool for training and how to assess the corresponding learning outcomes, including best practices collected from the outputs’ tests.

Once all project outputs are created, partners will hold dissemination workshops in their countries in order to spread the results of the project and to get feedback from stakeholders.

Results

The new training will improve the ability to generate ideas, to come to better ideas and to turn ideas into action in order to achieve real and valuable products/services/business models.

The project will develop intellectual outputs regarding creativity, entrepreneurship and their application in the furniture sector which will be open free accessible from the project website:

• Curricula;
• Online course;
• Work based learning tool; and
• Guide for trainers.

Target groups

The main target groups of the FCET project are the following:

• Professionals in the furniture industry dealing with innovation (Designers, CEO, Marketing Managers).
• Design, wood engineering and business students.
• Teachers of design, business and furniture-sector related VET programmes.

Intellectual outputs

O1-FACET Curriculum

Start date: 01/11/2018 – End date: 31/03/2019 (5 months)

O2-FACET Online Course

Start date: 01/14/2019 – End date: 30/06/2020 (15 months)

O3-FACET Work Based Learning Tool

Start date: 01/09/2019 – End date: 30/11/2020 (15 months)

O4-FACET Guide for Trainers

Start date: 01/07/2020 – End date: 30/11/2020 (17 months)