GiB8! Health in Professional Life –
Health-related skills as a quality factor

Health in professional life is an important issue for EU professionals. Demographic change, shortages of skilled workers, longer working lifetime, changes in the working environment and the impact on health make the awareness for health an important factor in sustainability. Skills are necessary to cope with stressful situations in education and employment, to pay attention to one’s own health, and to retain a long-term employment. These key skills will be taught in practice. Just as skills can be learnt, so too can health-related skills!

“Gib8!” used the innovative approach of “teaching health competences as a multi-disciplinary cross-cutting issue” and developed a concept of how health-related skills can be integrated as key skills in vocational training – in non-health-professions too.

For testing, we selected four exemplary occupational areas: construction, retail, office, hotel and gastronomy industries. In this process the project used an innovative typology, depending of the kind of physical stress. The categories are sitting, standing, carrying and lifting.

The Berlin Wannseeschule (vocational school for health professions) has explored the ergonomic approach to transfer and integrate health-related skills and has tested it successfully in the formation of occupational therapists. Based on this approach, “Gib8!” together with ten European partners from four countries developed it further and transfered it to other professions, thus giving the approach a European aspect.

If Europe wants to remain globally competitive, health as a key competence must be better anchored in the vocational education in the sense of lifelong learning. Thus, GiB8! provides the right solution.

As a result, the guide “Trainer Handbook” was elaborated – with teaching and learning resources, to be used in vocational education. At the same time, we trained teachers, instructors and multipliers, who will use the material in their regular lessons.

In addition, the project partners formulated recommendations for policymakers for the sustainable integration of health-related skills in vocational training. The aim “acquirement of health-related skills” is integrated in the “Master Plan for Health” Berlin-Brandenburg, to which the project “GiB8!” made an important and sustainable contribution.

The project „GiB8!“ and project results on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform: Link

“GiB8!” is a project which is not only closely related to real life but is also very practical. It starts at a crucial point, health in professional life, and then demonstrates how to maintain and safeguard it. This prompted us, as a department of the Styrian regional government, to take on responsibility for the project. We have already had several positive encounters with the BGZ as a project partner, and the same can be said for the “GiB8!” project. We all benefit from working with the BGZ and its network.

Notburga Erlacher, Head of the Department for Professions in Health Care, Styrian Regional Government

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Back to project overview

Projektdetails

Implemented in:

Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary

Duration:

2011-2013

Partners in Germany:

Wannseeschule e.V.(vocational school for health professions), Akademie Berlin-Schmöckwitz

Transnational partners:

in AT: Vocational school for health professions Steiermark and MultiAugustinum
in HU: WEXEdU- Foundation and vocational school József Zwack
in PL: Lower Silesian Chamber of Crafts and two vocational training centres in Wroclaw