Vocational Education and Training (VET) has been part of education systems across the European Union for a very long time and well before the birth of the EU itself.

Europe is in a transition phase towards a greener economy accompanied by digital transformations. Even if the covid-19 pandemic slowed down economic activity, the transition continues, leading to changes in industries and occupations, bringing about the need for new and different skills.

High quality VET is needed to prepare the workforce of the future, be it in initial VET or continuous VET.

In order to accompany the transition process at education level, the European Commission launched the “Centres of Vocational Excellence” initiative under Erasmus+.

The initiative on Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) defines a bottom-up approach to excellence where institutions for vocational education and training (VET) are capable of rapidly adapting skills provision to evolving economic and social needs. It aims to foster transnational collaborative platforms, which would be difficult for isolated member states to establish in the absence of EU incentives, technical support, and mutual learning opportunities.

The concept of vocational excellence that is proposed is characterised by a learner-centred holistic approach in which Vocational Education and Training:

• Is an integrative part of skills ecosystems, contributing to regional development, innovation, inclusion, and smart specialisation strategies;
• Is part of knowledge triangles, working closely with other education and training sectors, the scientific community, and business;
• Enables learners to acquire vocational and key competences through high-quality provision that is underpinned by quality assurance, builds innovative forms of partnerships with the world of work, and is supported by the continuous professional development of teaching and training staff, innovative and inclusive pedagogies, mobility and internationalisation strategies.