V2V project: 18 months of great cooperation among European and Western Balkan schools

VET to VET (V2V) is an European-funded pilot project aiming to improve the innovation, modernization and internationalization of VET schools in the Western Balkans. It is coordinated by Apro Formazione and brings together ten VET schools, five within the European Union (Italy, Netherlands, Finland, Slovenian and Croatia) and five between Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The logic of the project is based on constant twinning, coaching and support between an European school and a Balkan school, with a bottom-up approach.

In June 2022, V2V has reached the halfway point and many results have been achieved. Among those, it is worth to mention that the project allowed 146 staff to move, meet and learn from each other in different kinds of mobilities, such us professional visits in Programme countries, study visits in Western Balkans countries, observation missions, transnational meetings and training courses.

Thanks to these visits and mutual knowledge, the twinned schools of V2V could elaborate five capacity building action plans, containing all the skills needed by the WB schools and all the activities planned in order to bridge the skill gaps. These competences are related to different themes, based on the actual and detected needs of the schools. They vary form entrepreneurship to guidance, from project design to internationalization strategy, from schools-companies cooperation to continuing professional development of teachers.

Based on the action plans, the training activities have started in the last months and will continue with tailored job shadowings for Balkans teachers and staff in Programme countries, and with a continuous coaching and support.

Other than that, V2V project has realised the first short-term mobilities of students, allowing 20 pupils from the Western Balkans to do one-month internship training in European companies in their field of study.

So, it happened that in Alba, Italy, 4 Montenegrin tourism and gastronomy students gained professional experience in local restaurants and tour operators. In Seinajoki, Finland, 4 students from Kosovo practiced their skills in the social-health and dietary sectors. In Groningen, the Netherlands, and Ljubljana, Slovenia, 4 Bosnian and 4 Montenegrin students worked in machine shops, repairing motor vehicles. Finally, in Čakovec, Croatia, 4 Kosovar students did their internship at textile companies and hair salons.

All V2V team is looking forward to continuing this successful cooperation and mutual learning in the second half of the project.

Visit the project website at: www.v2vproject.eu.