EfVET was invited by João Santos (Expert in VET Policy, and former Senior expert in DG EMPL) and by the Portuguese Erasmus+ National Agency to participate in its info session dedicated to centralised Key Action 2 initiatives of Erasmus+ Programme, more specifically Centres of Vocational Excellence, Forward Looking Projects and Erasmus+ Teachers Academies.

This session, held in Lisbon (PT) on February 27th with around 40 participants coming from VET and Higher Education, aimed not only to make an overview of the scope, eligibility criteria and deadlines of each initiative, but also to hear from different Portuguese organisations about their own experience, the challenges faced when preparing proposals and how to overcome them.

EfVET  was represented by its Policy/Project Officer, Susana Nogueira, who presented EfVET and its different initiatives that foster connection and cooperation between its Members and with the different EU institutions with which it often collaborates (including EVTA and EVBB, ETF and Cedefop, VET4EU2, WFCP and UNESCO-UNEVOC), and that often result in fruitful projects and other activities focused on the quality and growth of VET.

In addition to EfVET, also EVTA, EVBB, ETF and CoP CoVEs representatives attended the session, online, to present their respective organisations and talk about the work they have been doing in this area.

This was a very insightful session that allowed participants to understand how to better prepare a proposal for a Centres of Vocational Excellence, Forward Looking Projects and Erasmus+ Teachers Academies. These were some of the suggestions provided by the speakers of the session:

• Have a strong partnership that represents VET, Higher Education/Research and the Labour Market, and which participation increases the quality of the foreseen results;
• Clearly identify the impact of the projects on the way one teaches and learns;
• Provide a clear impact and sustainability plan that allows to fund projects’ results after their completion;
• Propose innovative activities that help the proposals to stand out among others, and that directly target VET, HE and Companies, as well as teachers/trainers, learners, where applicable;
• Always make sure that the projects are aligned with Erasmus+ objectives and with the eligibility criteria set for each initiative.

This session was also an opportunity to meet some of EfVET Portuguese Members, such as ANESPO (EfVET National Representative in Portugal), ATEC, EDUGEP and ENSINUS, and to meet with representatives from other public and private schools and organisations interested in EfVET and on its work with Members.

Check the full agenda at this link.

All participants were invited to attend EfVET Annual Conference 2025, to be held in Fátima between 22 and 25 of October under the theme “Wellbeing in a Digitalised World: Crafting the Future of VET 2035”.