EfVET Strategic Plan
Executive Team The Executive Team is responsible for overseeing EfVET operations being responsible for all legal and non-legal matters. Appointed by the Steering Committee (of which they are part of), the Executive Team is composed by 4 Members and 2 co-opted Members, appointed by their expertise in specific sectors.
Our vision is our mission – an introduction to the strategic objectives
In our strategy that covered the years 2019-2021 we sought to achieve pole position as a leading organization for VET providers and be in the forefront to set the European VET agenda responding to the needs and aspirations of VET providers. As an organization we also sought to increase our efforts to provide a better service to our members and to strength the capacity building of our Office in Brussels. The new Constitution and the improvement in our communication with members bear witness to a successful restructuring process that is giving positive results.
We have achieved these objectives in many different ways but there is still much work to be done to accomplish our ambition to be the foremost European VET Training Providers’ Association that excels in its networking, exchange of experiences among members and provides a substantive contribution to the VET debate in Europe and beyond.
Our next step is to continue building a solid organization that serves its members and change to ensure relevancy to the challenging times in the post COVID19 context and Industry 4.0.
In achieving its aspiration and mission EfVET will continue to act as:
- a clearing house for networking and partnership
- a means to encourage its members to participate on its behalf in co-operative projects and thematic networks
- an advocate for the promotion of active citizenship and equal opportunities for all
- a platform for the promotion and dissemination of innovation in VET and in particular in linking the world of VET with that of changing work environments
- provider for technical advice to its members to access EU funding activities and projects
- a platform for the global exchange of practice on TVET and VPET
- Members’ voice in European Institutions.
In order to be of service to its members and the wider community, EfVET will anchor its operations for the years 2022-2026 to the following eight strategic directions:
Strategic Direction 1: Delivery of a high quality service to our members Strategic Direction 2: Support to National Boards Strategic Direction 3: Use of effective technology and remote working Strategic Direction 4: Catalyst for innovation in VET Strategic Direction 5: Promoters of Work-based Learning Strategic Direction 6: Shareholders with industry and governments Strategic Direction 7: Wider EfVET membership Strategic Direction 8: Advocacy for VET reform in Europe
EfVET’s strategy and policy is formulated by its member colleges, VET institutions and individual members. It will continue to collaborate with but is independent from all government and European and national funding bodies. It raises its funding from membership subscription and public and private grants and sponsorships.
EfVET’s mission to enhance VET provision (pedagogy, programme development and student-centered approaches) across all member colleges and educational institutions through an active network of training providers, employers and practitioners in vocational education and training and lifelong learning. Our overall objective is the welfare and employability of all students (including disadvantaged groups) and their learning development, their very important soft skills, (the holistic perspective to the person) and the focus on educational development in general and for teachers.
It continues to represent its members in European forums and VET events across the world.
These strategic objectives serve to focus on the essential vocation for which this organization has been established thirty years ago. We are indebted to the founders of EfVET and their vision and it is our ambition that these strategic goals for the next five years will spearhead a more streamlined approach to our work, produce better outputs and engage our members more often and in as many activities as possible. EfVET wants to be added value to the Principals of Colleges, VET Schools, Rectors of Higher Education Institutions and other stakeholders who cherish this form of education and training of young people and of a country’s workforce.
As with the previous strategic directions taken we want to continue our internal capacity building and increase our outreach service as much as we possibly can. These are our two overarching ambitions also for the next five years. Internal capacity building with more effective communication between our central office and our network of members and an outreach programme that engages more members in projects that yield substantive contributions to the content and proactive of VET at European level and beyond.
STRATEGIC PLAN 2022 – 2026
Delivery of high-quality services to our members
OBJECTIVE
To sustain an organisational structure that delivers quality services to its members based on advanced and updated knowledge and practice of VET and transparency, effectiveness and timeliness in its administrative operations.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Strengthen an organisational structure that accentuates information sharing, teamwork and international cooperation within and outside Europe
- Implement a business model for EfVET that guarantees capacity building, financial sustainability and allocation of adequate resources to reach members with high quality services in a timely manner
- Seek funding opportunities available through projects and other initiatives targeted to enhance vocational education and training
- Review performance pledges to ensure effective and timely services are offered to clients
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Update and ensure an interactive web portal
- Engage staff members who are committed to EfVET values
- Implement members’ feedback as agreed by the Steering Committee
- Continue to increase the number of hits on the EfVET e-Portal and Newsletter
- Share key strategic decisions and work plan among all members
- Raise funding from public and private grants and sponsorships
- Use experts to promote EfVET through conferences and seminars at national level
- Continue to invest in membership awareness, information and exchange of experiences
Support to National Boards
OBJECTIVE
To support EfVET National Boards across Europe and ensure that their activities are given financial support, wider visibility and successes shared among all EfVET members.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Enhance and support the existing EfVET National Boards to reflect the diverse and evolving needs of vocational education and training sectors
- Support and strengthen collaboration between EfVET National Boards and their governments, private industry and social partners
- Ensure that the new EfVET Constitution is disclosed as much as possible among all members and serves as a tool for creating synergies between members, best practice, transparency in all operations and acts as catalyst for change
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Increase the number of fully functional EfVET National Boards
- Expose the activities of EfVET National Boards on EfVET e-Portal
- Engage EfVET National Boards in seminars in the margins of the Annual EfVET Conference
- Provide technical support to members wishing to set up National Boards
- Insert in EfVET’s Newsletter the activities of National Boards
- Conduct on request, training for National Board members
Use of effective technology and remote working
OBJECTIVE
To ensure that the organization uses technology to enhance the effectiveness of its operations and consider remote working as part and parcel of the normal office routine.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Monitor and address the technology used at the Office in Brussels
- In an age of artificial intelligence and robotics, influence the development of policies and ensure that they address the challenges of networking with members
- Encourage, empower and support EfVET members to use technology to enhance relations among themselves, participation in projects and mobility
- Support innovation and change in new working practices that enhance networking
- Strengthen communication with stakeholders concerning policy changes related to the quality of VET in the context of Industry 4.0, digitalization, robotics, artificial intelligence and the changing nature and role of learning and working
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Set up training programmes to enhance modern technology in EfVET operations
- Set up meetings with key stakeholders to discuss emerging policies in technology
- Enhance and sustain the data base of EfVET members
- Reach out more effectively through EfVET social media
- Choose projects that promote the use of technology, online learning and hybrid exchanges of information
- Publish a quarterly electronic EfVET Advocacy Note
Catalyst for innovation in VET
OBJECTIVE
To manage and use data gathered from networking, projects and partnerships to bring change in VET and in particular through the dissemination of good practices and the support of practitioners’ continuous improvement and that of their learning institutions, carrying out applied research and establishing a think-tank on Higher VET involving higher education institutions.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Support members to implement EfVET’s dissemination of good practice among practitioners
- Ensure that the utilization of EfVET’s e-Portal and other e-Platform systems increase the effectiveness in the provision of VET services
- Support members to develop and participate in online forums to inform decision-makers and employers of the need to work together in the vocational education and training sector
- Expand our online database services for sharing of good practices and ensure that it reaches all members
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Number of good practices systematically identified and shared via EfVET E-Portal
- Monitor outcomes of users’ feedback for sharing of good practices
- Establish a calendar of events in which EfVET members participate, organize or hold good practice activities across Europe
- Establish a database of active institutional membership
- Reward at the Annual EfVET Conference the institution that generated most reforms in VET
- Reward at the Annual EfVET Conference the employer or firm that supported a VET institution to affect reforms in the learning environment
- Establish a Young EfVET Practitioners Forum as a sounding board on challenges and reforms in the provision of VET
Promoters of work-based learning
OBJECTIVE
To contribute to and actively support developments in work-based learning in the context of industry-driven qualifications, Industry 4.0 and community-oriented curricula based on online learning or hybrid methods of learning.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Participate in European projects and initiatives that focus the outputs on WBL and community-oriented curricula
- Establish among EfVET members an Inventory of WBL activities across Europe
- Support National Boards in promoting WBL and community-oriented curricula
- Ensure that WBL and online learning are given prominence on EfVET e-Portal
- Give more visibility to EfVET members who possess expertise in the subjects or/and participate in the promotion of work-based learning, online learning and the use of AI in education and learning
- Initiate among EfVET members a Work-Based Learning Community
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Give prominent space in EfVET e-Portal to WBL, online learning, hybrid approaches and the use of AI in education and training
- Set up a data base of EfVET members who are engaged in activities that promote WBL and community-oriented curricula
- Engage EfVET members in projects targeted to promote WBL online learning, hybrid approaches and the use of AI in education and training
- Publish papers on the subject in EfVET Advocacy Note
Shareholders with industry and governments
OBJECTIVE
To establish a special rapport with industry at European level and engage employers in a more structured dialogue with VET providers to promote digital-based learning environments.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Engage employers in EfVET activities and establish working groups with targeted sectors of employment on digital-based learning
- Develop an e-Platform for best practice in employers-driven VET communities particularly those using digital-based learning
- Participate in employers’ activities focused on innovation, learning methods and the use of AI in education
- Be recognized as the European VET Practitioners Platform for employers
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Invite employers as speakers in EfVET annual conference
- Invite employers to set up a working group within EfVET annual conference
- Participate in activities organized by employers on issues related to education and training
- Seek sponsorship from businesses for EfVET activities at local, regional, national and European levels
- Link EfVET e-Portal to web portals of consenting firms that promote digital-based learning
- Engage and involve EfVET members in WBL activities across the VET sector in and outside Europe
- Advocate the upskilling, re-skilling and re-training of employees through EfVET web portal
Wider EfVET Membership
OBJECTIVE
To enhance EfVET’s investment in more resources and attract new members in EfVET while leading a process that facilitates the setting up of a Confederation of European VET Providers and one governing role in European institutions.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Raise awareness among policy makers of the pivotal role of private and public practitioners in education and training play across Europe
- Raise membership in EfVET (by 5% cumulative each year up to 2026)
- Establish outcome-based collaboration with partner training providers’ associations
- Be recognized as a lead player and work towards a Confederation of European Associations of Training Providers (which may be known as the European Alliance of VET Practitioners (EAVP)
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Promote and support memberships in training providers’ associations across Europe
- Hold, in the margins of other activities, at least two online meetings per year with similar organizations to explore synergies that could lead to a European Confederation
- Ensure that all European associations of training providers are invited to EfVET events at local, regional, national and European levels
- Launch a Europe wide campaign for membership
- Increase membership in EfVET by ten percent
Advocacy for VET reform in Europe
OBJECTIVE
To act as leaders in the advocacy for VET design that is practical, contextualized and with high probability of positive impact on the learning processes of students and their employability and the capacity building of teachers and practitioners in light of the experiences of COVID 19 and Industry 4.0.
IMPLEMENTING MEASURES
- Monitor and address the competency requirements of training operators, teachers and employers
- Continue to pay particular attention to the influence of educational development and vocational training in Third World countries. EfVET will work for VET as formation for fulfilling the UN goals of sustainable development. (“Sustainable Development Goals” UN)
- In an age of artificial intelligence and robotics, influence the development of VET European policies through online learning
- Encourage, empower and support EfVET members to act as advocates of relevant VET policies
- Tap resources in supporting innovation and change in VET eLearning opportunities
- Strengthen communication with stakeholders concerning policy changes related to VET in the context of Industry 4.0 and distance learning
TARGETED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
- Participate in projects and seminars that invoke innovation in VET
- Set up meetings with key stakeholders to join forces on emerging VET policies
- Actively participate in EU forums on issues related to VET reform and innovation
- Initiate working groups through the marketplace approach to lobby for more funding to VET at European level
- Enhance the organization of Study Visits within Europe and among European and other stakeholders in Regions of the world
