Swiss directors of vocational education and training centres were in Brussels to discuss European opportunities and challenges ahead.
SwissCore welcomed an 11-member delegation of the Swiss Conference of Vocational Education and Training (VET) directors (SDK-CSD) in the heart of the European capital for a three-day visit, in order to share views on the Swiss VET landscape and the current and future VET opportunities offered at the EU level. On the first day, the delegation was presented with the state-of-play regarding Swiss-EU relationships in the education, research and innovation (ERI) field e.g. vis-à-vis the future programme Erasmus 2021-2027 (E21-27), before being hosted by the Mission of Switzerland to the EU for a reception. The next day, visits at the European Commission’s Employment (DG EMPL) and Education and Culture Directorates (DG EAC) provided an overview of the latest VET policy and programme developments at EU level e.g. the Centres of Vocational excellence (CoVE), the flagship VET initiative in E21-27 and the first call for 2019 international VET projects. Thanks to the active participation of Movetia, the Swiss national agency for mobility and exchange, as well as of the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), the delegation gained practical insights into how Swiss VET learners could complete part of their curriculum abroad and how institutions could engage in European cooperation.