Successful Kick-Off Meeting for the VET WEB Project

Valorising Experiences for Training in Western Balkans (VET WEB): IHF Europe Participates in the Online Kick-Off Meeting

On April 13, 2023, representatives from IHF Europe attended the online Kick-Off Meeting for the VET WEB project. This project, co-funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission under the Capacity Building in Vocational Educational Training action, brings together seven partners from six countries – Belgium, Italy, Spain, Albania, and Montenegro. The Kick-Off Meeting, hosted by IHF Europe, took place in Brussels.

VET WEB aims to enhance the relevance of VET providers in the Western Balkans, specifically Albania and Montenegro, by promoting social and economic development in rural and marginal areas. The project targets managers, trainers, and staff of VET providers, operators, HR managers, CEOs of enterprises, operators and managers of third-sector social enterprises, and operators and decision-makers of employment centres and social services. Additionally, the project focuses on low-skilled young people aged 18-24 facing vulnerable situations due to social, geographical, or gender reasons.

During the Kick-Off Meeting, partners discussed various aspects of the project, including its priorities in inclusion, diversity, increasing flexibility in vocational education and training, common values, civic engagement, and participation. The VET WEB project intends to develop innovative models for EU-WB VET cooperation, training, and tools to address the challenges currently hindering competitiveness and attractiveness in the Western Balkans VET system.

The meeting featured presentations and brainstorming sessions on different work packages, capacity building workshops on EU models, frameworks and tools such as ESCO, EQF, EURES, EUROPASS, and Cedefop, as well as the EntreComp Framework. Participants also discussed organizational aspects and tentative calendars for VET-WEB mobilities, valorization, and sustainability of VET-WEB.

The VET WEB project is committed to promoting long-term services and outputs that can affect and influence the entire VET community of the Western Balkans. With the successful completion of the Kick-Off Meeting, partners now look forward to working together to achieve the project’s objectives and make a lasting impact on the VET landscape in the Western Balkans.