The other side of VET

The CERF project brought together skills, expertise and experience from four EU countries to develop a comprehensive training package for key life skills.
Foreign languages, digital skills, social skills, initiative and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness – these are some of the skills the EU believes people should possess in order to boost their employability and take an active role in society. The CERF project took this to heart and set about developing training materials to help disadvantaged groups expand their skillsets in these key areas.
The project was led by DIMITRA, a VET institute in Greece, with partners in Cyprus, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Funded through the Erasmus+ programme, CERF produced a training curriculum and trainers’ package, which were then piloted in sessions with disadvantaged people and potential training providers. Other project activities included ‘train the trainer’ seminars, educational workshops and the creation of a virtual community for stakeholders.
A strong characteristic of the CERF project was its scope, as it involved not just disadvantaged groups but also businesses, VET providers and policy makers. Each saw different benefits with end users praising the training modules, companies planning to use the materials as part of their induction courses and policy makers highlighting the need for innovative projects like CERF to tackle unemployment.
While the CERF project concluded in 2013 after two years, it left a legacy of valuable training materials for potential students, schools and businesses in the partner countries and beyond.
Want to find out more? Check out the links below:
About the project
CERF website
Erasmus+ Project Results Platform (VET)
Social inclusion (ESF website)
Entrepreneurship support (ESF website)
Better education (ESF website)
Digital skills (Digital Competence Framework)
Entrepreneurial skills (Entrepreneurship Competence Framework)