The European Commission proposed Erasmus+ funding for five new Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence.
The Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs), first introduced by the European Commission (EC) in 2018, is an initiative which supports innovative approaches to modernise the field of vocational education and training (VET) through cross-border cooperation platforms, building on a strong engagement with local and regional partners. It is a bottom-up approach, where VET institutions increase their capabilities of adapting skills provision to an evolving labour market. The initiative introduces a European approach to vocational education on a national and international level working closely with the local innovation ecosystems to tackle societal challenges. The first pilot-call was published under the Erasmus+ KA2 Sector Skill Alliances in 2019 and four pilot projects were approved with a maximum of 1 million € per project (see SwissCore article).
The 2020 Erasmus+ call to establish Platforms of CoVEs has received a lot of interest after the previous success of the pilot scheme. The call for proposals, which closed in February 2020, received 55 project applications, including more than 1’300 partner organisations from all Member States and Erasmus+ associated countries. Non-EU countries who wished to participate in this call had to collaborate with at least four Erasmus+ Programme countries including a minimum of two Member States and demonstrate their value-added.
The selected projects will be implemented under the Key Action 3 of the Erasmus+ Programme entitled ‘Support for policy reform’, which aims at stimulating innovative policy development and the exchange of knowledge in the fields of education, training and youth. The five selected platforms funded with a maximum of €4 million each will run for four years and shall meet the needs of an innovative, sustainable and inclusive economy.
The 5 projects involving totally 167 partner organisations are:
- GREENOVET- European VET Excellence Platform for Green Innovation, led by FH Joanneum Gesellschaft MBH, Austria
- European Centre of Vocational Excellence in Microelectronics, led by the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria
- Alliances of Centres of Vocational Excellence in the Furniture and Wood Sector, led by Centro Tecnologico del Mueble y la Madera, in Spain
- Pilot Governance for Inclusive Vocational Excellence, led by Cometa Formazione Societa Cooperativa Sociale, in Italy
- European Platform for Urban Greening, led by Stitching Wellant, in the Netherlands.
The Platforms of CoVEs are aligned with the priorities of the European Skills Agenda as well as the Commission proposal for a Council recommendation on Vocational Education and Training for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience presented on 1 July 2020.