Forum on Vocational Excellence 26 September 2023

European Commission #News

The number of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) across Europe has risen from 5 in 2019 to 38 in 2023, with many other national initiatives joining the movement towards vocational excellence. During the Forum on Vocational Excellence, a yearly event organised by the Centres, Commissioner Schmit and the Dutch Minister of Education Dijkgraaf emphasized about the importance of good cooperation between educational institutions, social organizations and companies in EU member states. It is precisely this collaboration that ensures that social challenges are tackled from which the whole of Europe benefits.

Centres of Vocational Excellence focus on the much needed skilled workers that are crucial for grand societal challenges, such as digitalisation, healthy ageing, climate and energy transititon. In these Centres, education and training (VET) providers, employers and governments work together to make sure the skills our workforce acquires are up to date with the latest needs and demands of society.

Since 2019, the European Commission is investing 400 million euro in CoVEs. Many EU member states are investing in similar national schemes, multiplying the investment. Education and business are equal partners and both benefit from finding solutions to real-life problems: sharing experience is multiplying knowledge. Several important themes were discussed during the forum, among other: Industry 5.0 offering a more sustainable working futures for VET-students, microcredentials as a labour market mega trend, enhancing inclusive employment and how to conduct applied research in CoVEs.

The project leaders of all Erasmus Centers of Vocational Excellence have joined forces in the CoVE Community of Practice. In this community the project leaders share experiences, inspire each other and jointly try to find solutions for common issues they encounter while implementing the Centers of Vocational Excellence. By doing so, the project leaders are supporting each other and no one has to reinvent the wheel. The CoVE Community of Practice is a bottom up initiative by and for the CoVE project leaders and participation is voluntary. Furthermore, the Community of Practice is working closely with other stakeholders and policy makers in the field of VET and higher education.

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