This week ETF carried out an online public consultation on the draft International Tool for Self-Assessment of CoVEs which was attended by representatives of vocational schools, training centres and experts. At the same time, ETF launched a survey so that vocational teachers, trainers, learners and stakeholders can comment on the criteria and indicators that make up the International Self-Assessment Tool for CoVEs.
Back in November 2021, EU Commission Direction-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion signed an agreement with the ETF for the implementation of the project “The international dimension of Centres of vocational excellence: Building a strong international cooperation dimension on Vocational Excellence”.
This project is part of the EU’s strategy to make CoVEs an engine for the development of vocational excellence for innovation, for cooperation and for improving the attractiveness and relevance of vocational education and training and ensuring that it contributes to current priorities, in particular, the digital and green transitions. This project will build on the successful work of the ETF Network of Excellence (ENE) launched in 2020.
This initiative supports a bottom-up approach to Vocational Excellence involving a wide range of local stakeholders but encourages CoVEs to work together and to share their practices in order to help improve vocational and training systems. It places emphasis on developing the organisational capability as well as the quality and range of provision but also upon their capacity to work with stakeholders, partners, businesses and other local actors to collectively steer local and regional skills ecosystems. In particular, the initiative places an emphasis on international cooperation between CoVEs, which extends the aspirations and the capability of CoVEs.
The project will run 24 months and consists of four work packages:
WP 1 Creating an international vocational excellence self-assessment tool for CoVEs
WP 2 Explore the feasibility of a Quality award on Vocational Excellence
WP 3 Building evidence to support vocational excellence for the digital and green transitions and in the area of innovation and applied research
WP 4 Policy support activities and capacity building
The project was launched with a stakeholder consultation on 30th March.
A Consultative Panel, composed of key stakeholders and representatives, has been established. The purpose of the panel will be to examine and interrogate the key stages of development to ensure that the tools, particularly the self-assessment tool and the proposed Quality label, do meet the needs of Centres of Vocational Excellence.
A Kick-Off meeting of the Consultative panel took place on 27-28th June. The meeting gathered 26 participants. Valuable feedback has been provided by the Panel members on the ETF proposals for concept of self-assessment framework for CoVEs and for Feasibility Study on Quality Award for CoVEs.
A public consultation was held on 24th October on line and an further webinar took place on 23rd November. The draft indicators and criteria were submitted to a public consultation on line which attracted more than 200 responses.
In February 2023 the revised indicators and criteria were validated by the Consultative Panel. Currently work focuses on developing the digital platform that will host ISATCOVE and preparing for the pilot that will take place from May of this year.