EfVET – the European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training  – was founded in 1991 following the recognition that Vocational Education and Training Institutions did not have a voice in Europe. VET institutions were, at the time, facing challenges to gain recognition as a key educational pathway for many young people. The Academic/Vocational divide was considerable and vulnerable young people and even adults were significantly disengaged as a result. It was time to build a network of practitioner VET institutions to secured a voice across Europe in both the policy arena and also to share and establish good practises in the delivery of VET learning.

At the time of its VET was the invisible sector. Often regarded as second class to the far more prestigious University. Some countries such as the UK, the Netherlands and Finland had already started to build up collective platforms for their colleges, but for the majority of EU countries colleges were and their own.

From a slow beginning, EfVET became a reality with members increasingly drawn to EfVET, recognising that this organisation could become an active voice for VET in Europe and act as a conduit for sharing good practices across the VET sector in Europe.

Even, from small beginnings EfVET has become a major voice for practitioner VET organisations seeking to improve the opportunities of learners, both young and more mature across Europe.

EfVET was subsequently formally launched in 1992 at its First Annual Conference entitled ‘The Role of Colleges in a Changing Economy’ hosted by the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands, and held in Palma de Mallorca.  That launch conference, funded and supported by the European Commission and European Institute of Education and Social Policy, was attended by some 86 delegates from 9 different European countries, as well as a delegation from China.