Cooperative entrepreneurship education in the care sector

Population aging, dependency, and demand for long-term care call for improvements in employment quality and greater social and labor inclusion of women in situations of vulnerability. This article systematizes a cooperative entrepreneurship education pathway for establishing, joining, or managing worker cooperatives in the home help service sector. It was designed within EDIMET, Decent Employment for Migrant Women in the Cross-Border Area (0531_EDIMET_3_E), funded by Interreg Spain–Portugal (POCTEP) 2021–2027, and connects decent work with the prevention of labor exploitation. The pathway integrates the legal framework and literature on the social economy, cooperatives, entrepreneurship, vulnerability, care, and inclusion. It combines personal, relational, cooperative, entrepreneurial, technical and organizational, legal and administrative, and digital and management competencies; modules on cooperative design and management, home help, accreditation, and support; and active learning methods, projects, simulations, tutoring, and continuous assessment. A curriculum design is presented with potential for adaptation by training providers, public administrations, and social economy organizations. Its contribution lies in connecting the recognition of competencies, group support, the professionalization of care, and the prevention of exploitation. Design validation, feasibility, acceptability, learning outcomes, and social and employment effects require subsequent evaluation