FactCheck: Adapting quality of VET offer to the need of industry – manufacturing sector

Work-based learning is central to VET. The European Commission's report on the 20 guiding principles of high-performance apprenticeships highlights systematic cooperation between VET schools and companies as crucial. Business Europe also provided 12 recommendations for improving apprenticeships through cooperation at the EU, Member State, and employer organization levels. The Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) envisions high-quality, inclusive, and accessible digital education in Europe, learning from the COVID-19 crisis and adapting to the digital age. COVID-19 has accelerated the transition to Industry 4.0 in manufacturing, with more processes becoming digitalized and controlled remotely. VET must not only keep pace with this digitalization but also drive further advancements. Project partners from Germany, Spain, Poland, Greece, and Bulgaria, representing VET centers and associations in the metal and electro sectors, agree that VET-Industry cooperation needs improvement. This is essential not only to meet sector demands but also to facilitate the transition to Industry 4.0, which the pandemic has expedited. This cooperation focuses on enhancing both the VET process and the level of collaboration.

The project seeked to actively follow these specific objectives: a) in terms of VET processes: Adapting vocational education and training to labour market needs through a skills assessment demand framework which supported the project to develop a European training module according to the demands of SMEs in metal and electro sector occupations. b) in terms of level of cooperation: Improving collaboration between VET teachers and company trainers/ mentors in their use of digital tools in teaching, having in mind their complementary roles and responsibilities in performance of apprenticeships and work-based learning.