This project arose out of a common interest amongst the three partner institutions to provide the very best vocational education pathways for their learners. To this end, there are three main foci: 1.How to provide the highest quality vocational and work-based learning for the learners in each of the partner institutions.2.How to create assessment structures and processes that work for the learners and enable each one to have an accredited qualification that is recognised about the European Union through implementation of ECVET.3.How to ensure that migrant children and young learners are able to integrate into the education system as quickly and positively as possible, enabling them thereby to access suitable and appropriate vocational educational pathways.Each of the three partners has their own sphere of expertise and wish to share this expertise across the three institutions. There is an enormous sense of excitement and goodwill towards this as it will bring only positive outcomes to the educational experience of the learners and to the professional development of staff in the three partners. Those students directly involved in the project outcomes number nearly 1,000 but in total the potential number of students and staff who will benefit from the outcomes of this project is much higher, notwithstanding those staff and students who benefit outside of the three partner institutions. Within each partner, there are 3 members of staff directly involved in the project with the outcomes being disseminated across the partnership and beyond through a final report and a dedicated website which will showcase the success of the partnership.The structure of the programme is based around 3 visits per year of the two-year project, with one visit to each partner by 3 appropriately selected members of staff from the other two partners. Throughout the 24 months, there will be regular bi-monthly Skype conferences and a blog (checked on a weekly basis by the Project Manager for each partner institution) will be used for daily input of thoughts, actions, evaluations and comments. Very regular communication throughout the duration of the project will keep all participants abreast of developments.Action planning will take place at the final part of each visit and direct the way forward for each member between visits.The lead organisation will appoint a Project Manager for the overall progress of the project, with each partner institution appointing a project manager who will lead on moving the project forward. The outcome of this project will be a scheme of successful ways of implementing vocational education leading to accreditation that is recognised on an international level. This will be documented in the final report and on the dedicated website. In addition, the three partners foresee longer-term links which will continue beyond the life of this project.This project is seen not as a two year project but the beginning of a long and fruitful working relationship on a European level.

The STEM Engagement Europe Project (SEE Project) led by Zlinsky kraj and involving partners from Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and Turkey has identified the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) as a way to address unemployment, contribute to economic development and impact on inequalities within these vocational areas for women, those from minority backgrounds and those with disabilities. This project addresses in particular the communication from the European Commission ”Improving Competences for the 21st Century, an Agenda for European Co-operation on Schools”. The project addresses the image that many students have of such career area’s one of “dirty, difficult and exhausting jobs”. The aim of this project is to promote STEM activity and associated careers across partners by enhancing the knowledge and skills of staff. The objectives are to exchange good practice across the partner countries through learning raids, to develop a website incorporating good practice including curriculum materials across partners, to produce a range of curriculum materials in each STEM area for partner usage, to up skill staff in each partner country including knowledge and to impact on vocational students career choices and to produce a succinct strategy paper for dissemination to strategists in each partner country.Through 5 learning raids 120 staff from partner countries visited hosting countries and learn from the practice there. This was organized through observation/shadowing/lecture/workshop/discussion and other practical methods. The participants were vocational teachers, strategists and a small number of STEM ambassadors all involved in STEM promotion and development. Delegates cascade information and learning in their own country.The project developed a website, a resource directory for partner countries, a STEM in Action pack and a set of videos showcasing excellent teaching practice across the partners identified through learning raids.The project delivers the up skilling and development of staff, the creation of new and powerful resources, the creation of a more innovative curriculum which will address inequality and recognise diversity, the improvement of life chances for young people and the sharing good practice.The long term benefits include the addressing of skill shortages through influencing and encouraging young people to choose these careers, the addressing of worklessness and dropout by improved teaching resources and a more appealing curriculum and the development of national and European strategies through learning and sharing good practice. The project concluded with a final conference in the Czech Republic aimed at disseminating practice as wide as possible and attended by delegates from most of the partners as well as a wide range of invited delegates.

"There is a growing realisation that digital technology has a role to play within VET programmes and services. Many see such technologies as having the potential to enhance existing learning provision and in enabling new forms of learning, which are captured under the term Technology-enhanced Learning (TEL). However, the use of TEL across European VET providers is patchy and there is a lack of professional practice knowledge in relation to implementing fundamental change in the sector using approaches such as blended-learning.Blend4VET is a TEL project proposal focusing specifically on how blended-learning approaches can expand learning opportunities while also enhancing existing quality of learning programmes. By implementing and trying out different blended learning approaches project partners will learn from this experiment and take on board the key lessons for their organisations.Project objectives:1. Explore and document a process the VET provider should follow when moving an existing accredited programme to a blended model and develop a Toolkit to guide other VET providers in designing and implementing blended-learning approaches.2. Design and implement five blended learning units for different VET con-tent areas as part of existing accredited course for VET learners.3. Explore what implications blended-learning will have the VET institutions, the role of the VET tutor and learners.4. Enhance the professional practice knowledge of VET management, principals and teachers in relation to implementing blended-learning through engaging them in a dialogue and professional development activities.5. Explore how VET providers can work together to develop quality learning resources that can be used across VET programmes.6. Disseminate project outcomes across EU Member States.The project consortium is comprised of 6 organisations from 5 European countries bringing a wide range of technological and pedagogical knowledge and experience. The project partners are 5 VET organisations (Belfast Metropolitan College from Northern Ireland, City of Dublin ETB from Ireland, Koning Willem 1 College from the Netherlands, Tartu Vocational Education Centre from Estonia and Usurbil Vocational School from Basque Country in Spain) along with an e-Learning services and consultancy organisation, H2 learning from Ireland. Furthermore, the project is supported by two Associate Partners - BBC Northern Ireland and SOLAS Further Education and Training Authority in Ireland.The Target group of the project are:• VET Senior management (internal and external stakeholders)• VET Principals• VET Teachers• VET Students• Employers• Private training providers• Awarding Bodies (state and private)This project will select 5 existing face-to-face accredited courses and identify elements that can be piloted in a blended way. The project will carry out an audit of what elements of the courses might work best online and then test this out with 10 teachers, 100 learners, employers and other stakeholders.The focus here is on experiencing how this can be done, by capturing the lessons learnt and in engaging with partner organisations to develop innovative solutions to the challenges encountered. The project will explore the change management process involved in implemented a more harmonised approach across VET institutions that will ultimately increase student retention rates, graduation rates and employment opportunities.The project will develop a number of outcomes:1. “What constitutes good Blended Learning in VET?” Module which will aim to prepare VET teachers from partner organisations to develop and design quality learning content that will be delivered in a blended way.2. Five VET blended learning units – elements of accredited VET programmes which have been redesigned for blended learning and piloted in partner countries3. ""Building Capacity for Blended Learning - Leading Innovation and Change"" Module4. Case studies of blended learning in VET which will capture the process and the implications and the impact this new approach had on partner organisations, teachers, learners and employers.5. Toolkit for Blended Learning in VET which will guide other VET providers in designing and implementing blended-learning approachesThe Toolkit will capture the process a VET provider should follow when moving an existing accredited programme to a blended model, where some elements are offered in a face-to-face setting and others are offered online.The experience from the project will inform the review and/or development of strategic of the VET organisations and will provide valuable knowledge on how to design and implement blended learning programmes within VET organisations. It will inform how VET providers should go about identifying programmes that lend themselves to a blended learning approach and how they can go about designing and implementing such programmes."

Play Equal- Leveling the field of education (PE-19)Play Equal (PE-19) Is all about creating equal opportunities and social inclusion. Children (in general) are the change makers of the future generation. Every child must have the opportunity and tools to reach his or her full potential, regardless of background, the level of education of the parents or their financial resources. Education is the most important tool for promoting equal opportunities. If people have equal opportunity to gain education and skills, this goes a long way to promoting equal opportunities in the labour market. This project is specifically for students (between the age of 12-19 years) with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities compared to their peers because of economic obstacles or cultural differences.Despite national and international effort to create equal opportunities for children, inequality rises within the educational system. Although the EU is making headway (f.e. The Erasmus+ Programme aims at promoting inclusion by facilitating the access to participants with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities compared to their peers whenever disadvantage limits them) in focussing on equal opportunities and inclusion more needs to be done to: 1.facilitate this process on all levels (school, local and national government). 2.to make innovative approaches more widely available and sufficiently promoted. 3.Sharing of knowledge and resources, development of new and strengthening of existing models of social inclusion will be key to continuing growth of this focus point. When we create and facilitate equal opportunities and social inclusion we resolve disadvantages and give students a better and equal starting-point. We level the field of education and as a result students can take ownership of a successful ongoing learning pathway and this will enable a successful transition from school to the world of work (training / employment /tertiary education). It will help them stay in school and tackle ESL (Early School Leave). Talent development helps the student learn new competences, gain self-confidence and a feeling of belonging at school and in their community. This partnership has seven partners from three countries and it will deliver 6 intellectual outcomes. The partners represent the different type of stakeholders. PE-19 will create outputs that foster innovation on strategic (policy) level, management level (school) and operational level (curriculum):IO1: Learning social inclusion through (Best) practice IO2: Action research: framework and validating key-success factors IO3: Co-creating educative partnership between schools and parents IO4: Blueprint: Combining formal and non-formal methodologies for learning in an ongoing pathway IO5:Hackathon - an innovative way to bring new solutions to the table IO6: Aligning social inclusion within school and governmental policy Intellectual outcomes we will deliver:We use a multi-level approach in this project. Interventions are directed towards all stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, school management and governmental level). Methodologies that will be used in the process:- A combination of formal and non/informal learning methodology- Work Based Learning (WBL)- Connecting to the labour market (via apprenticeships, getting to know the world of work, enhancing social competencies )- The use of creative and innovative methods, -Use of ICT (hackathon)All partners will fully disseminate the project’s outputs within the school context and in Local Learning Hubs, whilst building partnerships that collaborates to shape the increase of sustainable inclusion for young people with challenging backgrounds. Despite the common aim and goals, each partner will have the possibility for creating a 'couleur locale': a specific local context. Every country and municipality has specific legislation, policy and focus points within this subject. Every partner has to create new or strengthen existing networks to disseminate and to get input to bring this project further. This is necessary for the outcomes of the project, but also to increase the sustainable impact; creating a change within schools and policy! PE-19 will transfer knowledge across multi-educational environments: Secondary education, VET, educational policy makers & within the world of work. It will build high quality tools & transferable methodologies, guidelines and tangible results to promote (social) inclusion and equal opportunities within Europe, build competences by students and influence policy so students can meet their full potential.

All European countries are committed to the objectives of the climate agreements and they all have set out their climate targets. These targets can only be reached by involving Education and more precisely Vocational Education and Training.Portfolios, qualification structure, curricula, pedagogical and didactical approaches and last, but not least the cooperation with the labour market, it all needs to be designed for a future-proof and circular economy..How can we design Education and Training in such a way that current and future professionals will obtain the required innovative knowledge and skills in order to realize the ambitions of the climate agreements or in other words how can we contribute as VET sector to the green ambitions of the new European Commission, where Climate change and its consequences are very high on the agenda. The need for action and tangible results were already defined at the climate summit in Paris (2015) and once again confirmed at the recent climate summit in Madrid. The transition towards more sustainable energy sources, a circular economy and digitalisation has a large impact on the labour market and thus on Vocational Education and Training.In order to realize the ambitious climate targets, it will be necessary to innovate and adapt VET on several levels: Technological innovation will result in considerable shifts in the type of work. People will lose their existing jobs and new jobs will emerge. All that requires new skills for the new generation, but also for the current working force, which is needed from an inclusive point of view, as well as from an economic point of view. The transition needs to be affordable for citizens in order to have the necessary public support and it requires not only technical changes, but also changes in attitude and behaviour of citizens. Relevant emerging messages for this project proposal are:•We need to develop programmes where the changing nature of work, the environmental issues (climate change), demographic changes, circular economy and ongoing technological changes need to be taken into account. •We need to develop tailor made and digital provisions.•We need to engage employers more than it is currently done.•We need to work on the further Professionalization of teachersAll together a very challenging situation, where VET plays a crucial role, in initial VET programs, as well as in Adult Learning, as this is all about Lifelong Learning. The project EXPECT is a project without intellectual outcomes, but with the objective to exchange and to stocktake Good Practices in order to learn from each other, to report on the lessons learnt at several relevant stakeholders and to lay the foundation for a later and more comprehensive follow up project.This project will try to find possible answers to the question of how VET can contribute to all these challenges. The partnership will investigate the state of affairs in the partner countries, the progress they are making towards the climate targets, the role that VET is playing in this process and the strategies and instruments that are being applied in the other countries. This will be done through 7 Peer Learning Activities (PLA's), that will be held in all partner countries; Austria, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The kick off meeting and the final conference will be combined with the first and the last PLA. The meetings (PLA's) are the backbone of the project and meant to learn from each other. A standard reflection form will be used by all partners after every transnational meeting in order to come to an assessment of the Good Practices along the same lines. Partners will reflect on what they have seen in the other countries, whether and how the strategies or instruments are useful in their own situation and why not, if that is the case. Finally, the project will result in a portfolio of Good Practices and recommendations for a follow up project, that needs to contribute to a joint (European) approach in the future . The added value of such a transnational partnership is that Good practices from different countries will be gathered. The well balanced partnership contains two (2) Associations of Colleges, a Chamber of Commerce, a Research Company and four (4) VET-colleges. This choice was based on the results of a desk study, as we wanted to have some good performing countries, some medium performing countries and some countries that still need to make a lot of progress to reach the climate targets. All this will turn the project in a real learning partnership. As the transition towards VET-systems with a strong focus on these sustainability goals is relatively new for all countries it offers also the opportunity to come to a more shared approach in Europe which will help to make programs easier to compare (transparancy), to facilitate exchanges and finally to contribute to a greener and sustainable Europe, supported by responsible citizens.