One of the challenges that crafts and small businesses will face in the coming years will concern the transformation of business processes to address new markets and the demand for services and products that will emerge from them.
In this scenario, a thorough analysis of training needs becomes crucial to allow the “small and micros” to respond effectively to new needs and seize the opportunities that may arise.
Taking this into account, the VET NET consortium, consisted of ECIPA Foundation as the leading partner, in collaboration with key partners at the European level, such as SME Academy Avignon, Small Enterprises Institute of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals Craftsmen & Merchants (IMEGSEVEE), Petita i Mitjana Empresa de Catalunya (PIMEC), European Foundation Quality in Blended Learning (EFQBL), has promoted a platform, the Craft and SMEs VET NET Community with the collaboration of CEDEFOP and European training institutes.
The platform is dedicated to the creation of the first European Community of Practice of professional training bodies and institutes for small and medium-sized craft enterprises and to continuous training for adults, with the aim of creating a space where a common European perspective can grow and flourish.
The project, in this initial phase, was divided into four events: the first two were dedicated to trainers and training institutions and bodies, the third and the fourth, which was the final one, were dedicated to the presentation of the results and prospects of the project to the stakeholders and political interlocutors.
Image: The presenting team in Rome (from left to right): Vassilis Siomadis, Claudio Cappellini, Dimitris Bimpas, Stylianos Mystakidis
In the final event, which took place in Rome on March 22nd, the final recommendation paper was presented and discussed, one of the main outputs of the Community, which lists the key propositions on the issues of continuing education that the representative associations of SMEs in European countries report at the European and national political level. The document is the result of the interactions and sharing of ideas and points of view that emerged from the Craft and SMEs VET NET platform.
During the event, the impact of the platform on the community of educational institutions was examined and the results analysed, as well as proposals from project partners and members of the community of practice. Finally, the future prospects and the potential further development of the C-VET network and the collaboration between stakeholders in the field of vocational training for crafts and SMEs, exchange of VET SMEs’ good practices, EU VET excellence for craft new skills and competencies (green and digital) and energy transition were explored.
MEP Daniela RONDINELLI (9th Parliamentary term). Source: Official webpage of the European Parliament.
The project aroused the interest of MEP Daniela Rondinelli who expressed her support for its continuation, focusing on the need to open a space for discussion between the training actors of Craft and SMEs VET NET community and the European Parliament, through a table dedicated to the Continuous VET.
“Professional training, which is now entrusted exclusively to individuals, should be considered a citizen’s right” – said Rondinelli – “in this way Europe can be closer to its citizens and businesses”.
The official document “Key Recommendations” can be downloaded from the VET-NET Platform or directly here: Document Key Recommendations
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