CENTRES OF VOCATIONAL EXCELLENCE (CoVEs)

Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) bring together a wide range of local partners, such as providers of vocational education and training, employers, research centres, development agencies, and employment services (among others), to develop "skills ecosystems" that contribute to regional, economic and social development, innovation, and smart specialisation strategies. 

They aim to provide high quality vocational skills, support entrepreneurial activities, diffusion of innovation, and act as knowledge and innovation hubs for companies (particularly SMEs), while working with centres in other countries through international collaborative platforms.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) has an important role to play in research, education and innovation. It can contribute to smart specialisation strategies that lead to sustainable growth, innovation, job creation and social cohesion.

At a European cooperation level, the Commission would like to bring a holistic approach to vocational excellence. 

The Platforms for Centres of Vocational Excellence initiative introduces a European dimension to vocational excellence by supporting the development of Centres of Vocational Excellence, operating at two levels:

• National: linking Centres of Vocational Excellence closely to local innovation ecosystems, and connecting them at European level
• International: establish major hubs  through Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence for vocational training, by bringing together centres that share a common interest in specific sectors or trades, or innovative approaches to tackle specific societal challenges

Background

Centres of Vocational Excellence are intended to be world-class reference points for training in specific areas for both initial training of young people as well as for continuing up-skilling and re-skilling of adults, through flexible and timely offer of training for the skills needs of companies. 

They operate locally, being closely embedded in the local innovation ecosystems. CoVEs act as catalysts for local business investment, and ensure supply of high-quality skilled workers. They also support entrepreneurial initiatives of their learners (incubators), and act as knowledge and innovation hubs for companies (in particular SMEs).

VET excellence ensures high quality skills and competences that lead to quality employment and career-long opportunities, which meet the needs of an innovative, inclusive and sustainable economy. 

Vocational excellence

The concept of vocational excellence entails a holistic learner-centered approach in which VET: 

• Is an integrative part of skills ecosystems, contributing to regional development, innovation, and smart specialisation strategies 
• Is part of research, education, and innovation, working closely with other education and training sectors, the scientific community, and business 
• Enables learners to acquire both vocational and key competences through high-quality education that is supported by quality assurance, builds innovative forms of partnerships with the world of work, and is supported by the continuous professional development of teaching and training staff, innovative teaching methods, mobility and internationalisation strategies. 

Elements for success of CoVEs

CoVEs are expected to go far beyond simply providing a quality vocational qualification. Keys to CoVEs' success include: 

• Strong and enduring relationships between stakeholders - stakeholders include VET providers (including VET at the tertiary education level), higher education institutions, and businesses, in which interactions are reciprocal and mutually beneficial. 
• Being integrated in frameworks of regional development, innovation and smart specialisation - this allows synergies to be identified between policies and amongst stakeholders. 
• Integration of activities - there is great potential in CoVEs to achieve more than sum of their parts, in particular, where CoVEs build relationships between activities and research. 

In 2019 and 2020, a first set of 12 CoVE pilot projects were supported through Erasmus+ funding, and are now being implemented. They cover a wide variety of sectors related to the digital and green transitions such as Green Innovation, Microelectronics, Advanced manufacturing, Water technologies, as well as the Furniture and wood sector, and Social inclusion.

Erasmus +2019 & 2020 Pilot Projects

1. Advanced Manufacturing 4.0 https://examhub.eu/  (driving innovation in the advanced manufacturing sector. The project will establish a platform of excellent advanced manufacturing VET centres. The EXAM 4.0 hub aims at becoming a reference in skills governance in the participating regions/countries and at European level, setting up European regional skills ecosystems that bring together VET/HVET centres, companies, policy makers and individual lifelong learners. The project is led by TKNIKA, in Spain)
2. Water Sector https://povewater.eu/ ( a transnational project that draws on existing and emerging vocational competences and skills needs in the water sector, translating them into an approach of vocational excellence. The project is led by Freisland College, in The Netherlands)
3. Digital Innovation Hub https://dihubcloud.eu/ (To establish a state-of-the-art European wide cluster of interconnected nodes for innovation development, education, and for generation of new start-ups benefiting from the latest cloud computing technologies. The project is led by Helsinki Business College in Finland)
4. Cultural and Creative Industries http://deuscci.eu
5. loT in Smart Manufacturing https://talentjourney.si/ ( transnational platform of vocational excellence in the field of Connectivity Devices and Services/CDS (Internet of things) in smart manufacturing. The project is led by Solski Center Nova Gorica, in Slovenia)
6. Inclusive Excellence https://www.efvet.org/portfolio-items/give-governance-for-inclusive-vocational-excellence
7. Microelectronics https://ecovem.eu  (ECoVEM project brings together VET centres, polytechnics, industrial associations, social partners to establish European Cooperation platform of Vocational Excellence in Microelectronics to tackle the challenges of: digitalisation, artificial intelligence, green technologies, gender equality and technology, integration of migrants. ECoVEM builds on and complements the strengths of national VET systems in countries with more-advanced VET and supports the not so advanced regions to achieve VET excellence. ECoVEM implements innovative instructional approaches towards life-long capacity to self-regulate learning, hard skills and soft skills using the ecosystems-based theoretical models and performance support systems.)
8. Finfish Industry http://www.bridges.eu
9. Furniture and Wood https//www.allview.eu ( The purpose of ALLVIEW is to implement the first European dual vocational training network of centers of professional excelelnce in the furniture and woodworking sector).
10. Green Innovation http://www.greenovet.eu/ ( The Project will foster the development of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Excellence in Green Innovation across Europe and through the establishment of Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) that will enable an innovative, inclusive and sustainable econiomy. The CoVEs will focus the knowledge, resources and infrastructures of the key stakehiolders in the development of innovation and skills ecosystems, contributing to regional development, and promoting environmental, social and economic development in Europe, through green and sustainable innovation processes enabled by VET Excellence. In an early stage, the project includes four regions, in different parts of Europe with different development and challenges: Styria (Austria), Vaasa (Finland), Skopje (North Macedonia, Leiria (Portugal).
11. Urban Greening https://www.facebook.com/European-Platform-Urban-Greening-106220718115727
12. Innovation in the Green Economy https:://3.loe.eu/ (The comprehensive provision of green skills is a key priority of 3LoE. Addressing the challenges of energy, climate and environmental protection, 3LoE establishes Centres of Vocational Excellence on green economy and implements a wide range of vocational education, training and higher education measures concerning green economy, digitalization and entrepreneurship. Objectives: Sustainably upgrade skills, secure the need for young professionals/managers and entrepreneurs, and strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs in the green economy; Realise energy savings, use renewable energies and environmental and climate protection through qualified and innovative SMEs. Deliverables: Implementation of dual vocational training in education, training and higher education, with an intensive partnership between the places of learning (companies – centres); Development of sustainable partnerships between centres of excellence and SMEs, organised and secured on a permanent basis by chambers; Improvement of the skills of SME professionals and managers in green economy activities; Promotion of entrepreneurship in the green economy and securing of business transfers and startups by increasing the number and quality of young entrepreneurs’ activities)

The initiative will be strongly supported through the new Erasmus+ programme with an indicative budget of €400 million to fund 100 CoVE platforms in the period 2021-2027.

A first call for proposals of the CoVE initiative under Erasmus+ 2021-2027 was published on 25 March 2021. Erasmus+ will fund activities related to the transnational cooperation of these CoVE, notably related to the establishment of the transnational platforms, initial operation, and capacity building (among others). Grants of up to €4 million will be awarded to the best project proposals.