Knowledge Package 1

The context

A key pillar of vocational excellence is establishing and working in effective collaborations with industry and enterprise. Strong partnerships bridge the gap between education and industry, ensuring that training programmes remain relevant to real-world needs. This is one of the first 'stations' to go through and focuses on finding the right partners, formalising collaborations, and embedding partnerships into institutional practice. By formalising and showcasing these partnerships, the centre can build trust, promote long-term collaboration, and enhance learning opportunities for students.

But how can centres find the right partners and keep them on board throughout the journey to vocational excellence - and beyond? Centres face many challenges in their efforts to build sustainable partnerships. With the following examples of concrete actions and resources for building partnerships, centres will better understand what they need to do to set goals for collaboration on their journey to VET excellence.

The main challenges

To build sustainable partnerships, the main challenges are:

• Finding partners and establishing cooperation with the private sector.
• Engaging all stakeholders to ensure sustainable (international) cooperation.   
• Formalising and promoting the cooperation.

Where to start?

• Set up dedicated teams: Establish departments or teams within your organisation to manage the partnership, with clearly defined roles.
• Agree on a strategy and objectives: Define the purpose of cooperation with the private sector. Start to define the strategy for vocational excellence at the level of the vocational centre. Why is collaboration important for the centre and what challenges does the partnership want to address (at local, regional, sectoral, international level)?
• Map stakeholders and identify needs: Draw a landscape of relevant stakeholders and identify which partners are needed to achieve your goals.
• Identify suitable partners: Search for partners through (personal) networks, international networks like EfVET, EVTA, EVBB, ENE, project databases, and other collaborations.
• Create a shared vision and goals: Define the added value together with partners and divide roles according to their strengths, expertise and expectations.
• Initiate a cooperation project: Develop a project proposal with a focus on impact, results and activities to engage potential partners (e.g. Erasmus+).
• Establish a management and communication structure: Set up communication platforms, regular meetings, mailing lists, newsletters, and events to facilitate coordination.
• Formalise the partnership: Draft and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Partnership Agreement outlining roles and responsibilities.
• Define success indicators: Determine how to measure the success of the collaboration by defining indicators and using research methods such as surveys and interviews.
• Involve local authorities: Involve municipalities and other local authorities and keep them informed about the activities and results of the partnership.
• Foster international cooperation: Enhance cooperation through conferences, workshops, and mobility programmes to share best practice and innovative approaches.
• Invest in team-building: Build trust between partners through informal activities, field trips, and other relationship-building activities.
• Learn from other centres of excellence: Engage with networks such as the ETF Network for Excellence (ENE) and the Community of Practice for Centres of Vocational Excellence to exchange ideas and share experiences.

The context

This station offers inspiration for enhancing and developing industry-aligned training programmes, responsive to labour market data and designed in collaboration with partners.

Vocational training centres face key challenges in ensuring their programmes remain relevant and responsive to labour market needs. These challenges include effectively using labour market data (LMD) to develop and improve training programmes, consulting employers and social partners on skills needs, and involving industry partners in developing relevant training content.

Addressing these challenges requires a proactive and structured approach, and this station provides concrete actions, recommendations, and resources.

The main challenges

To develop training programmes with the input of the private sector, the main challenges are:

• Using labour market data (LMD) as input for relevant and responsive training programmes.
• Consulting employers and social partners on skills needs at regional and international level.
• Involving employers in the development of innovative training content.

Where to start?

• Establish dedicated industry liaison teams: Establish dedicated teams within the institution to maintain an ongoing dialogue with industry stakeholders and align training programmes with market needs.
• Establish an advisory board: Establish a board of industry experts to provide regular input on labour market developments and skills needs, with regular roundtable discussions.
• Participate in industry associations: Encourage management and staff to participate in industry associations to keep abreast of industry trends and facilitate curriculum adaptation.
• Consult existing labour market data: Use regional, national, and international labour market reports to identify current trends and skills needs. Where capacity and time allows, use labour market data as a basis, but validate with local industry networks.
• Analyse job vacancies and LinkedIn profiles: Review sector-specific job postings and professional profiles to understand the skills and qualifications in demand.
• Engage alumni through surveys: Conduct surveys with alumni to gather feedback on their work experience and assess the relevance of training content.
• Modular design: Ensure that training content is adaptable to emerging trends and technologies by making it modular and stackable. A modular approach is essential to connect students to the world of work and to promote lifelong learning for workers and job seekers.
• Consult companies on real-world project cases: Work with employers to provide real-world business challenges for students to work on as practical learning projects. Work-based learning not only benefits student progress and development, but also strengthens partnerships with industry.
• Develop virtual reality (VR) training scenarios: Co-create VR environments that simulate practical work situations, including hazardous tasks, for use in training programmes.
• Serious gaming experiences: Use industry input to develop scenario-based training games that mimic real-life decision making.
• Role-playing exercises: Develop customer service role-playing exercises and conflict resolution scenarios.

The context

Achieving vocational excellence requires a strong focus on work-based learning, where students, teachers and other staff gain practical experience. Collaboration with companies enhances the relevance of training programmes and ensures that learners acquire skills that are in line with the needs of industry. These partnerships can take many forms, including work placements, internships, guest lecturers, study visits and access to company infrastructure and equipment.

Organising work placements is essential to provide learners and educators with real-world experience. Practical training opportunities in enterprises, whether through work placements, simulation environments in VET centres and/or hybrid models, encourage collaboration and critical thinking. 

In addition to placements, enterprises play a crucial role in supporting VET centres with resources and expertise. This can include providing equipment, sponsoring simulation labs or organising demonstration events to showcase new technologies and tools. Industry experts can also provide lectures and mentoring. Conversely, training centres can provide training to industry through tailor-made training programmes to encourage cross-fertilisation. 

International activities such as staff mobility, international capacity and cooperation projects and student placements are effective means of keeping training materials innovative, relevant and benchmarked.

By embedding these strategies in vocational education and training, institutions create dynamic learning environments where students gain practical experience, technical skills and real-world insights - essential components of professional excellence.

The main challenges

To deliver innovative training in collaboration with the private sector, the main challenges are:

• Organising (work)placements for teachers, staff, and learners.
• Organising international activities.
• Making agreements with companies on support for infrastructure or equipment.

Where to start?

Organise (work)placements for teachers, staff, and learners:

• Focus on student-centred learning: Use team-based learning in the classroom to simulate workplace dynamics and encourage collaboration, problem-solving, and peer feedback.
• Develop practical training opportunities: Work with companies to create or define modules students can practice in real work environments.
• Organise study visits and internships: Arrange in collaboration with (local) companies study visits or short learning experiences for both teachers and staff, either nationally or internationally.
• Provide internship opportunities for students: Arrange practical learning experiences for teachers and staff within your network, either nationally or internationally, for example, via Erasmus+ KA1 grants. Or (for centres outside the Erasmus+ programme), make agreements on hosting international students from EU centres to organise an international week.
• Apply for Erasmus+ mobility grants: Secure funding to support the mobility of students, teachers, and staff for cross-border training and knowledge exchange.
• Organise international weeks: Bring different cultures and expertise into your centre (e.g. through international students) to share experiences and work on joint projects.
• Implement hybrid learning models: combine practical, application-based learning with online instruction to meet different learning needs and scenarios.
• Develop internship ambassadors: Empower students and teachers to become advocates for internships abroad by sharing their experiences and encouraging participation.

Establish agreements with companies on their role in providing training and support for infrastructure or equipment:

• Invite industry experts for guest lectures: Allow students to gain insight into real-world practices through lectures delivered by professionals from the private sector.
• Create simulation labs with industry support: Design and develop hands-on training spaces in the centre, equipped with company-branded tools, technology, and techniques to enhance hands-on learning.
• Establish equipment sharing agreements: Agree with companies whether they can provide specific technical equipment, tools, or sponsorship for use in VET centres. Some incentives and added value for companies could be:
  • Providing industry equipment to centres ensures that students are trained to industry standards, producing employable graduates with the skills that companies need. The company will have to invest less time during the internship as the student will be well-prepared.
  • Equipment sponsorship enhances the company’s corporate reputation and brand exposure in education and skilled trades.
  • Co-branded training spaces or "sponsored labs" in the centre position the company as a leader in technical innovation and educational support. This is a mark of quality for both the centre and the company.
  • Companies can donate or lend slightly older but still functional equipment instead of discarding it, or lend it for practical machinery repair (in case of mechanical engineering).
• Adopt enterprise working methods: Co-create realistic work scenarios and integrate workplace methods and technologies, including VR simulations, into training programmes to practice real work environments in preparation for work placements.
• Host demonstration and exhibition days or thematic weeks: Invite companies to showcase new tools and technologies at the VET centre to keep students and staff up to date with industry developments and innovations.
• Organise excellence events: Promote vocational excellence through events such as meet-and-greets, skills weeks, or competitions to motivate and inspire both students and stakeholders.
• Engage students in industry-driven projects: Encourage participation in projects that tackle real business challenges, and help students develop practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking.