VENHANS Peer Learning Review session on Fostering Excellence in VET: Best Practices

EfVET organised an online Peer Learning Review (PLR) session in the scope of VET European Networking Enhancement (VENHANS) project titled “Fostering Excellence in VET: Best Practices”.

Held on June 29, 2022, this PLR gathered 30 participants coming from 13 different European Union’s (EU) and non-EU countries, representing Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers and public and private EU entities and institutions.

The main purpose of this PRL, consisting of a plenary and three discussion sessions, was to showcase best practices from multiple VET players active in Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) across Europe, while framing the context of how Excellence in VET may influence systemic development, raise the quality and innovation of VET provision and impact local or regional skills eco-systems.

The Plenary Session started with an overview of the Agenda of the PLR, a presentation of VENHANS project’s scope, activities and main purposes by Giulia Meschino, Director of EVTA – European Vocational Training Association and VENHANS project coordinator, and a short presentation of EfVET, focused on its current and future activities, and on EfVET’ s strategies for the period of 2022 – 2026, by Susana Nogueira, EfVET Policy & Project Officer.

After the initial presentations, four different CoVEs projects and one project focused on vocational excellence were presented by their respective coordinators:

MOSAIC Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & Crafts thanks to inclusive Centre of Vocational Excellence was the first CoVEs project presented by its coordinator Cécile Aillerie from SEPR (FR). MOSAIC is a recent project (June 2022) that focuses on three large areas within Arts & Crafts sector: furniture and wood, jewellery and precious metals, and traditional and rare crafts. The purpose of MOSAIC is to face the challenges of the sector (including the need to modernise it), by adopting learner centered and inclusive approaches focused on students with special needs, to improve VET provision. MOSAIC activities include mobility initiatives and the development of training materials focused on entrepreneurship, the twin transition and mobility schemes.

GIVE Vocational Excellence Governance for Inclusiveness project was presented next by its coordinator Paolo Nardi from Cometa Formazione (IT). GIVE presentation focused on the possibility of joining VET excellence and inclusiveness as a crucial challenge for the future. The baseline for GIVE activities are the several inclusive VET excellence models that are already being implemented by a number of VET centers in Europe, which are addressing integral human development (that include professional, transversal and coping skills), as a more substantial VET excellence. Thus, GIVE aims to work on the specific capabilities of people and empower them through training, activities and support using management and leadership approaches so they are able to cope with the challenges of the XXI century.

LCAMP Learner Centric Advanced Manufacturing Platform was presented by its coordinator Iñigo Araiztegui from TKNIKA (ES). The outcomes to be developed by LCAMP include an Alliance that will gather representatives from VET, Higher Education (HE), Research & Development (R&D) and Advanced Manufacturing (AM) industry, a Platform in AM for VET schools working in this sector, and an Observatory to better inform VET providers about the changes in AM. An Open Innovation Community  will also be created during the project’s implementation period (2022-2026) to promote collaboration between SMEs and CoVEs.

PoVE Water Scale Up was the last CoVE project presented by its coordinators Erna van der Werff from Learning Hub Friesland (NL) and Pieter Hoekstra from CIV Water (NL). Focused on the Water sector, PoVE Water will work for the acceleration of regional strategic connections between VET and industries through knowledge sharing and exchange of experiences, focused the challenges brought by the climate changes. The project will use a bottom-up approach to vocational Excellence, and its activities aim at securing a central role of VET in regional innovation ecosystems, and the development of innovative Virtual Reality (VR) materials for VET to foster the development of skills and competences of future and current Water workforce.

The ID-CoVEs International Dimension of Centers of Vocational Excelence was the last best practice connected to CoVEs presented in the session. Doriana Monteleone from the European Training Foundation (IT) explained that ID-CoVEs aims to explore the visibility of a new quality award for vocational excellence (foster international dialogue and recognise effective practices through a quality award or label for CoVEs), to support the role of CoVEs in applied research in the digital and green transitions and ensure the engagement of all CoVEs stakeholders in this project. An international self-assessment tool for vocational excellence and quality is currently being developed, aimed at setting standards for vocational Excellence, supporting the development of CoVEs and facilitating the transmission of vocational Excellence.

VENHANS PLR sessions aim to share good practices and experiences to allow participating VET providers and stakeholders to make improvements in the quality and excellence of provision of their training.