Events at the European Vocational Skills Week 2019 emphasise positive effects of vocational training on employability

As part of European Vocational Skills Week 2019, organisations from around the EU are hosting events and activities emphasising the benefits of vocational education and training (VET). Some of these events serve to highlight the way VET can challenge inequality and offer hands-on training for all ages.

Ensuring Equal Access to Digital Skills for Young People - Learning from the Grassroots, Belgium, 20 June 2019

The 'Learning from the Grassroots' event was a powerful and inspiring look into how digital vocational training can challenge inequality in EU Member States.

Organised by the European Policy Centre, this event presented inspiring case studies from Italy, Spain, Romania and Belgium. These stories highlighted the impact VET has had on individual career paths.

It was stressed that, although the world is becoming digital at a rapid pace, only 74% of people from poor European families have internet access. Digital technology can create significant opportunities to help vulnerable groups enter the labour market.

The speakers also engaged in a policy dialogue, suggesting new initiatives for digital training.

Jan Wilker, Project Manager for StartNet, Goethe-Institut took part in the event. He emphasises VET as a good option for young people, saying: “Facts prove that job opportunities, salaries and working conditions can be better for VET tracks than academic profiles”.

Find out more about this event here.

From Home to Work, Belgium, 12 June 2019

The 'From Home to Work' initiative aimed to improve the training of educators and employment officers working with long-term unemployed adult learners.

Event Organiser Valentina Chanina from EfVET says: “It's never too late to learn”, and that adult learners on the programme could “see the results of the training on their employability.”

VET has proven an effective means of enabling long-term unemployed adults to re-enter the work force. Chanina emphasises that ”finding a job today lies more in practice than theory.”

Organisers also gave adult learners the opportunity to 'reskill' via the Blending Learning Programme, an online platform that focuses on soft-skills.

Find out more about this event here.

The "Futuretrain": a tour through Sweden, Sweden, 2 September 2019

'Futuretrain: a tour through Sweden' was an interesting event that explored the benefits of VET as a career option.

The tour moved through Sweden with representatives from WorldSkills and the Swedish National Vocational Skills Team, aiming to meet as many young people as possible.

One of the main project aims was to meet young students on the brink of choosing their high school and encourage them to consider VET as a way forward.

Pontus Slättman from WorldSkills Europe, and also European Vocational Skills Week Ambassador for Sweden (pictured), says that young people should consider their own gifts when weighing up their career goals.

He advises: “Let your talent and interest play a role in [your] choice of education”.

Find out more about this and similar events by WorldSkills here.