Centres of Vocational Excellence and the mobility of apprentices and teachers were key topics the Swiss VET delegation worked on during their visit.
On 13 June 2023, a delegation from the Swiss vocational education and training sector (VET) visited Brussels to get an update of the European developments in VET and to network and find partners for Erasmus+ projects and exchanges. The Swiss delegation consisted of representatives from the VET school GBS St. Gallen, from Polybau, from the Swiss Hotel Management School Luzern (SHL) and from the Swiss national agency for exchange and mobility Movetia.
The group met with colleagues from EfVET, one of the main European associations for vocational education, and with Swiss members to discuss current projects and the policy landscape in VET. Later on, the delegation was invited for a meeting with the Directorate-General for Employment (EMPL) of the European Commission. In this meeting, the Erasmus+ action on Centres for Vocational Excellence (CoVE), the European Year of Skills 2023 and the new developments in the field of micro-credentials were at the centre of the exchange. It was also a great opportunity for the Swiss participants to give an update on the Swiss VET system and the Erasmus+ context and to present the first Swiss CoVE ‘InnoVET project’. The morning was concluded by an introduction to SwissCore’s work and the many ways that Swiss education institutions can make use of the Swiss liaison office in Brussels.
The afternoon was dedicated to a networking event, hosted by the Central Denmark office, with representatives from VET colleges and schools from across the Netherlands and Central Denmark. Together with the Swiss colleagues, the participants presented the focus of their schools, their experience with Erasmus+ and, most importantly, their interest in future projects and partnerships for the exchange of apprentices and teachers and for Key Action 2 collaboration partnerships, such as Centres for Vocational Excellence.
The programme was organised by SwissCore, in collaboration with Movetia and the Swiss VET School Directors Conference (SDK-CSD).