The first meeting of 2025 successfully identified important themes and prepared for the key challenges of the new year 

Bari, 30-31 Jan. 2025 – The meeting of the Board of EfVET and the Executive Management Team, held at the Department of Humanities at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, brought together National Representatives and Executives for a workshop on strategic aspects related to the value that EfVET membership brings to each VET organization in the community and to the entire ecosystem of stakeholders. 

The first meeting in 2025 led to the organization of several study visits, major thematic conferences and the annual conference to be held in Portugal, positioning EfVET always at the frontiers of key challenges for vocational education and training and for our communities. 

As EfVET President James Calleja pointed out,  

“The EfVET Board meeting in Bari gave the Organisation the dynamic directions for 2025 and beyond. Attended by all National Boards’ representatives, I feel that the key challenges for 2025 have been identified as primarily three: the first is to diversify our services to our members through more shared information and participation in online and face-to-face events, study visits, and job shadowing; the second is to focus on projects that yield concrete results in vocational training and education with particular focus on digitalization, sustainability, and the well-being of teachers, learners, and management staff in VET institutions; and thirdly, to generate more collaboration between EfVET members so that the Organisation generates ideas for the future of VET. I am pleased to see high-level discussions in the board meetings that will lead to making EfVET a leading advocacy institution for European training providers.”.

During the two days of activities, EfVET also had the opportunity to meet with local members and partners, a constellation of VET excellence centers specialized in diverse areas. For the creative and cultural sector, the meetings with Puglia Culture and the study visit to UNISCO – a training agency accredited by the Apulia Region for the promotion of local development and employment services strengthening competitiveness and active citizenship processes -, led to the proposal of a new Thematic Team on the Creative and Cultural Industry.  

For the aerospace sector, EfVET met Planetek, one of the most advanced companies in Europe and a partner in the SpaceSUITE project. For the sustainability sector, the meeting with the internationalization department of Acquedotto Pugliese showed the results and opportunities that emerged with the PoVE Water project.  

Finally, Board participants also had the opportunity to visit the Petruzzelli Theater, Bari’s largest theater and the fourth largest in Italy, and the Kursaal Santalucia Theater, built in the late Art Nouveau style, with guided tours organized by local partners. 

We extend sincere appreciation to all EfVET board members for their participation and look forward to beginning our joint work in 2025. 

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For more information, please visit the official EfVET media channels landing platform: @linktr.ee/efvet  

Contact for the press: Mr. Michele Pasquale, Communications Manager:  michele.pasquale@efvet.org 

Download the Closing Press Release in PDF format.

The full photo album released in CC License is available at this link.

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