EfVET President and Principal/CEO of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology Mr Calleja intensified his plea for more structured and long-term collaboration between Vocational Education and Training providers and employers. Mr Calleja was part of the concluding session of the Erasmus+ project on the ROI-MOB -Measuring return on investment from EU VET mobility co-funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the EU on Thursday 20 June at the University of Padua (Italy).
The ROI-MOB -Measuring return on investment from EU VET mobility project aimed at putting some order in these matters, by identifying and testing some indicators suitable to measure the “Return on Investment” (ROI) in EU VET mobility (especially for 19+ years old participants, and EQF levels 4 and higher), investigating affecting factors and devising methods and tools for turning them into success factors. The results of the three years project were presented at the final conference in Padua. The main deliverable is the book named “Measuring return on investment from EU VET mobility” which introduced the indicator and how to employ it to measure the ROI from EU VET mobility. This publication has been coordinated by the project coordinator Luca Boetti (IFOA, Italy) and Prof Luiggi Fabbris (University of Padua).
On 20 June, EfVET President, Mr Calleja intervened during the main panel discussion on the return on investment and mobility. In his intervention, EfVET President and Principal/CEO of MCAST said that we live in a culture of mobility both in a physical and virtual manner. As a result of technology, connectivity today is easier, more effective but equally challenging and constructive. Young people have been brought up connecting ideas and interests in a manner which any education and work establishment cannot ignore. Hence mobility has become a valuable learning process according to Mr Calleja. However, he said
“the ultimate objective of mobility in the context of learning and working is employability coupled with social inclusion and a nurturing of European identity. In this respect, cooperation between businesses and training providers as well as the larger community is a step towards creating more opportunities for young people to broaden their experiences”.
In an environment in which work-based learning is increasingly becoming a new way of learning, mobility will play an important part in people’s lives. Referring to the new Programme Generation ERASMUS 2021-2027 proposal by the EC, Mr Calleja said that budgets must reflect priorities. He feels that there is still a deficit in supporting mobility (and VET in general) when considering the high levels of unemployment in Europe and the high percentages of lamenting employers and people with low skills and others not in Education and Training. “Mobility,” Mr Calleja said,
“is a win-win learning process, an opportunity to take in response to the enormous development in travelling, in connecting with different cultures and working places and in the development of quality standards in production and service provision in the various sectors”.
Mobility according to the EfVET President is the most efficient way of producing workforce readiness, soft skills (particularly language speaking) technical skills and entrepreneurial culture. EfVET will be at the forefront to connect businesses with VET training providers and promote mobility across all sectors of education and training.
