VETONP: Vocational training placements in leading non-profit European organizations
“Vocational Training Placements in Leading Non-Profit European Organizations” (Project code: No. 2018-1-IT01-KA102-006594) is a project co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme, in the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET), specifically within Key Action 1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals.
The project was submitted by a consortium composed of the Bologna-based non-profit organisation YouNet APS and nine sending organisations: Scuola COSPE, CFM, Sida Group, ISISS “P. Gobetti – A. De Gasperi”, ITCS Rosa Luxemburg, IIS “Antonio Meucci”, IIS Elsa Morante, ITCS Gaetano Salvemini, and IIS Manfredi-Tanari.
The project involved a number of international partners that acted as host organisations for the mobility participants. Among the many organisations involved were PlanBe – Plan it Be it (Nicosia, Cyprus), KANE – Social Youth Development (Kalamata, Greece), Eurocircle (Marseille, France), Mundus (Zaragoza, Spain), the National Student Travel Foundation (NSTF) (Malta), the Association for Participation, Opportunity and Development (Tenerife, Spain), and the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias (Tenerife, Spain).
The initiative consists of the activation of mobility-based traineeships for learners from the training providers and schools of the consortium, who benefited from a work-based learning methodology abroad. The work programmes were designed jointly with the receiving partners to ensure training opportunities closely aligned with the needs of the non-profit labour market.
“Vocational Training Placements in Leading Non-Profit European Organizations” aims to enhance employability within the Third Sector by fostering the development of skilled and motivated technical staff, while providing participants with training opportunities that are closely aligned with the labour market needs of the non-profit sector.
Accordingly, the two key objectives of the initiative are:
To promote employability in the Third Sector by supporting the development of competent and motivated technical professionals;
To provide project participants with training that better reflects the employment needs of the non-profit sector.
In total, the project implemented 76 mobility placements, divided into 49 recent graduates undertaking mobilities in destinations such as Spain, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, and Portugal, and 27 students participating in mobilities in Spain and Greece.
The initiative generated a substantial impact at multiple levels:
Students acquired both technical and transversal skills applicable to the dynamic non-profit labour market, increasing their employability, autonomy, personal satisfaction, and European awareness;
Sending organisations had the opportunity to modernise and structure their training programmes for professionals in the Third Sector, aligning them more closely with labour market needs, overcoming challenges related to the novelty and continuous evolution of the sector, and experimenting for the first time with the use of ECVET for the validation of professional competences;
Non-profit organisations, such as YouNet APS, improved the quality of their impact and the efficiency of their processes through the inclusion of qualified internal staff and, in the medium term, are expected to experience further development driven by new connections and ideas fostered by the European dimension and by the exchange of best practices with partner countries;
Other stakeholders (professional networks, non-profit organisation networks, consortia, researchers, and local authorities) were introduced to a valid and replicable training model, capable of giving new momentum to the evolution of the Third Sector and creating new opportunities for individuals and organisations within it;
A large number of indirect beneficiaries were reached through the project’s impact via dissemination tools, participation in public events, tangible outputs, and follow-up strategies.
