- Europe is preparing to become more competent in the labour market and in 2023 it will celebrate the year of skills, a year in which the VET environment will gain in importance.
- DESTINE partners join forces to achieve a tolerant and equal VET adaptation to the e-environment.
Nowadays, the labour market does not focus on academic background, but on experience. A Covid-19 consequence seeing that during that period many people start to broaden their theoretical knowledge without any practical experience. It is in this situation when Vocational Education and Training (VET) comes into play, as it includes the theoretical-practical combination that is so much in demand currently.
According to the last report of Eurostat, in 2019 the 48,4% of all upper secondary school pupils in the EU followed Vocational Programmes, a percentage that increased up to the 94,5% in the case of post-secondary non-tertiary education students. These figures outline the importance of vocational education, an area that is often neglected within education systems, prioritising theoretical knowledge without applying it in practice.
Having not only the knowledge, but also the tools and skills needed to develop a professional career is vital. Nevertheless, there are a lot of challenges to face for achieving the adaptation to the digital world. For that reason, the European Union is developing several projects under the Erasmus+ programme such as DESTINE, which aims to contribute to the advancement of vocational education in the digital environment, ensuring tolerance and equality so that young Europeans become examples of qualified professionals in both theoretical and practical fields.
The DESTINE partners are already working on it and have analysed the needs and provided possible solutions such as the creation of an attractive platform, in which through gamification processes, the development of a practical guide for teachers and the search for interaction with the student they will try to achieve the adaptation of the digital environment to practical teaching.
A challenge that does not go unnoticed, and after the celebration of the year of youth in 2022, the commitment to young people as a solution to the empowerment of Europe will continue in 2023 with the celebration of the year of skills, a period in which VET will acquire special attention given its benefit.
About DESTINE
In a context marked by recent technological changes, shifts in global economic power, accelerating urbanization and demographic changes, coupled with the importance of digital as recently highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the DESTINE project, funded by the Erasmus + programme, responds to the challenge of addressing the issues of inclusion, diversity and tolerance in the online and distance learning environment. Specifically, the project aims to develop and improve the skills and competences of teachers, trainers and mentors in the field of inclusion and diversity as applied to e-learning.
About ERASMUS +
Erasmus+ 2021-2027 is the European Union’s renewed programme in the fields of education and training, youth and sport, offering opportunities for all people and in all education sectors (School Education, Professional Training, Higher Education and Adult Education). This new Erasmus+ is more international, more inclusive, more digital and greener, supporting digital transformation, inclusion and diversity, as well as the environment and the fight against climate change. With a budget of more than €28 billion, it will fund learning-related mobility and cross-border cooperation projects for 10 million people of all ages and from all backgrounds.
“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
