The aim of ViPER is to transfer a volunteer training course to improve the quality and reach of vocational education and training for adults thinking about working with children. Through collaboration the Consortium will incorporate EU best practice to support children’s play across Europe and transfer this training programme and volunteering model to become an EU recognised training course. The project has the following objectives:

1. To adapt, develop and blend a play training course for volunteers which aims to support learners in gaining skills to improve their chances of employment through the acquisition of social and civic competences. In particular, women returners for whom the children’s workforce is a natural progression for employment after having their own children.

2. To support training providers and organisations with the resources and training to deliver ‘Volunteers in Play – a route to employment’ (level 2) course. This will be an EU-wide course which includes training materials for trainers and learners and is available for download and supported with interactive learning resources. The materials and resources will be available in all partner languages and in all countries including Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, UK, Austria, Hungary and Turkey.

3. To support learners to access volunteering opportunities within the childcare and out of school childcare sector, further to undertaking the ‘Volunteer in Play’ course. Supporting learners to undertake voluntary work with local employers and other community settings that support children’s play in their local community will, furthermore, help learners to gain greater employment prospects.

ViPER will tackle the need for childcare to support women into work as learners will be given greater skills and confidence to undertake volunteering roles to support their local childcare settings, creating greater sustainability of settings. Whilst the course will impart social and civic competences, the content around play will support learners own parenting skills and will have the potential to signpost beneficiaries to further learning opportunities.

The envisaged impact is the unique provision of an accredited EU training resource which will result in a more competent, knowledgeable, better trained, and coordinated volunteer play workforce across Europe, and increased levels of active citizenship and volunteering.