Call: Capacity Building in the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET)

This Key Action supports:

• Partnerships for Cooperation, including Cooperation Partnerships and Small-scale Partnerships;
• Partnerships for Excellence, including Centres for Vocational Excellence, Teachers Academy and Erasmus
• Mundus Action;
• Partnerships for Innovation, including Alliances and Forward-looking projects;
• Capacity Building projects in the field of youth;
• Not-for-profit European sport events.

For the participating organisations, projects supported under this Key Action are intended to produce the following outcomes:

• innovative approaches for addressing their target groups, by providing for example: more attractive education and training programmes, in line with individual needs and expectations; use of participatory approaches and digital methodologies; new or improved processes of recognition and validation of competences; greater effectiveness of activities for the benefit of local communities; new or improved practices to cater for the needs of targets groups with fewer opportunities and to deal with differences in learning outcomes linked to the geographical and socio-economic disparities; new approaches to address social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity; new approaches to better support competitiveness and employment in particular at regional and local level; recognition of excellence in language learning or teaching through the European Language Label;
• a more modern, dynamic, committed and professional environment inside the organisation: ready to integrate good practices and new methods including digital capabilities into daily activities; open to synergies with organisations active in different fields or in other socio-economic sectors; strategic planning of professional development for staff in line with individual needs and organisational objectives;
• increased capacity and professionalism to work at EU/international level: improved management competences and internationalisation strategies; reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries, other fields of education, training and youth and/or other socio-economic sectors; increased allocation of financial resources (other than EU funds) to organise EU/international projects in the field of education, training and youth; increased quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow-up of EU/international projects;monitoring and follow-up of EU/international projects;
• increased knowledge and awareness regarding sport and physical activity:
• increased awareness of the role of sport in promoting social inclusion, equal opportunities and a healthy lifestyle;

Projects funded under this Key Action are also likely to have a positive impact on the persons directly or indirectly involved in the activities, such as:

• increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship;
• increased competence in foreign languages;
• increased level of digital competence;
• greater understanding and responsiveness to all kinds of diversity, e.g. social, ethnic, linguistic, gender and cultural diversity as well as diverse abilities;
• improved levels of skills for employability and new business creation (including social entrepreneurship);
• more active participation in society;
• more positive attitude towards the European project and the EU values;
• better understanding and recognition of skills and qualifications in Europe and beyond;
• improved competences, linked to occupational profiles (teaching, training, youth work, sport coaching, etc.);
• better understanding of practices, policies and systems in education, training, youth and sport across countries;
• better understanding of interconnections between formal, non-formal education, vocational training, other forms of learning and labour market respectively;
• increased opportunities for professional development;
• increased motivation and satisfaction in daily work;
• increased practice of sport and physical activity.

At systemic level, they are expected to trigger modernisation and reinforce the response of education and training systems and youth policies to the main challenges of today's world: environmental sustainability, digital transformation, employment, economic stability and growth, but also the need to promote social, civic and intercultural competences, intercultural dialogue, democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion, mental health and well-being, non-discrimination and active citizenship, critical thinking and media literacy.
Therefore, the impact of this Key Action is intended to be:

• increased quality of education and training, youth work and sport practices in Europe and beyond: combining higher levels of excellence and attractiveness with increased opportunities for all;
• education, training and youth systems that are better aligned to the needs of and opportunities offered by the labour market, and closer links to business and the community;
• improved provision and assessment of basic and transversal skills, particularly: entrepreneurship, social, civic, intercultural and language competences, critical thinking, digital skills and media literacy;
• increased synergies and links and improved transition between the different sectors of education, training and youth at national level, with improved use of European reference tools for recognition, validation and transparency of competences and qualifications;
• increased use of learning outcomes when describing and defining qualifications, parts of qualifications and curricula, in support to teaching and learning and in assessment;
• increased awareness and openness to social diversity and increased inclusiveness and accessibility of education systems and possibilities
• new and increased inter-regional and transnational cooperation of public authorities in the fields of education, training and youth;
• more strategic and integrated use of ICTs and open educational resources (OER) in education, training and youth systems;
• increased motivation for language learning through innovative teaching methods or better links to practical use of language skills required by the labour market;
• reinforced interaction between practice, research and policy.
• increased level of participation in sport and physical activity as a tool for health and well being
• increased knowledge on how to tackle cross-border threats to the integrity of sport, such as doping, match fixing and violence, as well as all kinds of intolerance and discrimination better support of good governance in sport and dual careers of athletes;
• increased recognition of voluntary activities in sport;
• increased mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of non-profit sport organisations;
• increased social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport.

Capacity building projects are international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations active in the field of VET in EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme, and third countries not associated to the Programme. They aim to support the relevance, accessibility, and responsiveness of VET institutions and systems in third countries not associated to the Programme as a driver of sustainable socio-economic development.

Objectives of the Action

Specifically, the action will:

• Reinforce the links between the third countries not associated to the Programme VET system and its labour market so as to better align VET to (emerging) local labour market opportunities;
• Increase the link between VET profiles and local/regional/national strategies and priorities impacted by skills, in particular those supported by other European Union actions, in order to ensure coherence;
• Increase the capacities of VET providers especially in the fields of management, governance, inclusion, quality assurance, innovation; and internationalisation;
• Support the exposure of staff, managers, policy makers and senior teachers to approaches bringing the labour market and VET closer (dual learning, curriculum development with private sector partners…);
• Improve the knowledge, technical, managerial and pedagogical skills of VET teachers and trainers;
• Integrate the input from teachers/trainers, VET learners and employers, from private sector in particular, into curriculum, profile design and training reform;
• Improve the level of competences, skills and employability potential of VET learners by developing new and innovative VET education programmes, especially those delivering key competences, basic language, and ICT skills;
• Foster cooperation across different regions of the world through joint initiatives.

Thematic Areas

Features that characterise capacity building in VET include some thematic areas presented below. Proposals should focus on one or more of the following themes:

• Work-based learning (for young people and/or adults);
• Quality assurance mechanisms;
• VET teachers/trainers professional development;
• Key competences, including entrepreneurship;
• Skills-matching in forward-looking economic sectors;
• Support to the development of green and digital skills for the twin transition.

In addition, the applicant can cover thematic areas that are not presented above. These must demonstrate that they are particularly appropriate to meet the objectives of the call and identified needs.

Activities

The activities proposed must be directly linked to the objectives and thematic areas of the action, i.e. they must correspond to one or more of the thematic areas listed above and they must be detailed in a project description covering the entire implementation period.

In the context of this international worldwide action, project activities must focus on building and strengthening the capacities of organisations active in the field of VET principally in the third countries not associated to the Programme covered by the action.

Funded projects will be able to integrate a wide range of cooperation, exchange, communication and other activities including for example:

• Creating and developing networks and exchanges of good practice between VET providers in third countries not associated to the Programme and in EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme;
• Creating tools, programmes and other materials to build the capacity of institutions from third countries not associated to the Programme (practical training schemes training programmes and tools for assessing and validating learning outcomes in VET, individual action plans for participating institutions; professional guidance and counselling and coaching methods…);
• Creating mechanisms to involve the private sector both in the design and delivery of curricula and to provide VET learners with high quality work-based experience;
• Developing and transferring pedagogical approaches, teaching and training materials and methods, including work based learning, virtual mobility, open educational resources and better exploitation of the ICT potential;
• Developing and implementing international (virtual) exchange activities for staff primarily (including teachers and non-teaching staff such as school leaders, managers, counsellors, advisors, etc.).

In case learner and staff mobility activities are proposed, these should contribute directly to the objectives of the project and be strongly embedded in the project logic as a whole.

The proposed activities should bring an added value and will have a direct impact on the achievement of the project results.

Geographical Targets

The budget available is divided between different regions of the world in 12 budgetary envelopes and the size of each budgetary envelope is different. Further information on the amounts available under each budgetary envelope will be published on the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal (FTOP). The funds will have to be used in a geographically balanced way.

The EU has set a number of targets regarding geographical balance and priorities. In addition, institutions are encouraged to work with partners in the poorest and least developed third countries not associated to the Programme.

The geographical targets set for this action are the following:

• Americas and the Caribbean: Priority will be given to regional projects (projects involving more than one eligible third country not associated to the Programme) or projects in lower and middle income countries;
• Sub-Sahara Africa: Priority will be given to least developed countries; a special emphasis shall also be put on migration priority countries; no country will access more than 8% of funding foreseen for the Region.
• Western Balkans: Mobility of learners will be privileged.

Any public and private organisation active in the VET field and legally established in an EU Member State or eligible third country associated to the Programme can apply. The applicant applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project.

Eligible participating organisations:

• Vocational education and training providers legally established in a EU Member State or eligible third country associated to the Programme or in an eligible third country not associated to the Programme;
• Other public or private organisations active in the field of VET and in the labour market and legally established in a EU Member State or eligible third country associated to the Programme or in an eligible third country not associated to the Programme;
• Associated partners from the public or private sector contributing to the implementation of specific project tasks/activities or support the dissemination and sustainability of the project. For contractual management issues, associated partners are not considered as part of the project partners and do not receive funding.

Eligible third countries not associated to the Programme for this action:

• All third countries not associated to the Programme (please see section "Eligible Countries" in Part A of Programme Guide) in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11.

European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) - https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Since 2006, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency has been a catalyst for projects in education, training, youth, sport, audiovisual, culture, citizenship and humanitarian aid. On behalf of the European Commission, EACEA strives to foster innovation in these areas, always in a spirit of cross-border cooperation and mutual respect.

EACEA are project managers, facilitators of knowledge exchange, and supporters of European projects that connect people and cultures.

National Agencies

To bring Erasmus+ as close as possible to the participants and make sure it works well across different countries, the EU works with National Agencies to manage the programme.

The National Agencies are based in Programme Countries and their role involves

• providing information on Erasmus+
• selecting projects to be funded
• monitoring and evaluating Erasmus+
• supporting applicants and participants
• working with other National Agencies and the EU
• promoting Erasmus+
• sharing success stories and best practices

The list of National Agencies can be found here. Countries not in the list of Programme countries may alternately have a National Erasmus+ Office.

National Erasmus+ Offices

National Erasmus+ Offices (NEOs) assist the European Commission and local authorities in the implementation of Erasmus+ in certain Partner Countries.

These countries are located in the Western Balkans, the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean and Central Asia. Russia also has a National Office.

Providing information on Erasmus+, monitoring and evaluating funded projects, assisting applicants and participants, supporting policy dialogue and maintaining contact with local authorities and EU Delegations are among the responsibilities of the NEOs.