Inspired by the Erasmus+ strategic goals, the current project idea has been developed with the aim to ease transitions and contribute in reducing the gap between the labor market and education systems. EAfA continues to identify major problems related to lack of broker actors, able to bridge the education and employment sectors, and offering support in the implementation of apprenticeship schemes. This role could be best handled by youth organizations, since the youth sector has a great potential for leading such networking, due to already well-established expertise in this field, and direct contact with youth.As committed bodies within the education and youth fields, the consortium members have decided to provide their quality contribution for bringing some relevant answers to the above stated situation. Therefore, after implementing a very successful project in the same field for the past 2 years, the current Pan-European partnership seeks to provoke a larger long term impact for enhancing youth empowerment, through the provision of a rich offer of WBL opportunities for young people. “Work Based learning – Pathway to youth empowerment” aims at facilitating the creation of WBL solutions for enabling more youngsters to enrol in. It promotes a deep holistic approach for fostering youth empowerment and employability by bridging non-formal, formal education and labor market sectors, contributing to the creation of a long term multilevel cross-sectorial cooperation. Such follow up initiative is meant to upgrade the already achieved results and to further stimulate quality and excellence within the education, training and youth systems across Europe in the future. The project objectives are described as follows: •To provide youth organizations with further guidance for bridging sectors, in view of operating sustainable strategies that promote WBL paths as complementary educational patterns for boosting youth empowerment•To foster the effective use of EU funding instruments, support the implementation of initiatives and dissemination of relevant EU tools in the field of education, training and youth systems•To strengthen cooperation among youth NGOs and WBL providers, by engaging them in mutual learning and peer counselling, aimed at raising the quality and attractiveness of WBL provision•To reach-out and involve new WBL providers that do not yet contribute or benefit from European cooperation•To launch the development of a multilevel networking system that concretely stimulates learning through other than formal educational means and especially through direct involvement in practical assignments•To support the development of internationalisation strategies at institutional level that increase cooperative work in this directionThe project addresses youth NGOs and educational institutions from 8 EU countries.The overall project idea relates to the creation of bottom up partnerships that will encourage the work in network for transnational apprenticeship providers, in view of further improving youth professional competences at EU level. The created network and partnerships will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of WBL and traineeship schemes across Europe, enhance the impact and relevance of vocational education for the youth, as well for employers. The strategic actions undertaken shall be seen as a prerequisite for building cross-border cooperation that offers greater attractiveness of such educational options. The main final outcome of this strategic cooperation consists of the establishment of cooperative network that will support the quality implementation of WBL schemes and will facilitate the creation of such environments across Europe. Also, sustainable promotion of WBL strategies will be achieved, thanks to new transnational projects and capacity building actions among youth organisations and other types of educational providers, in particular for countries that have limited representation arrangements within the chain of apprenticeship actors. The network of stakeholders, interested to work further for fostering youth employability through WBL, represents a positive long-term impact to be achieved through this project. It will indirectly work for building up professionals skills of youth, through provision of WBL opportunities, in order to allow target groups to easily gain positions in the labor market and make smooth transition from education to work. The fact that various stakeholders and institutions will cooperate together is of significant importance for the future of policy-making procedures regarding WBL and youth employability on national and EU level. The project is a step towards a cooperation which on a long term basis shall impact the EU society on a larger scale and shall become a way to deal efficiently with the youth unemployment, educational difficulties, economic crisis, as well with other relevant EU issues such as social exclusion or school dropout, etc.

"TourX is a 48-month project, under the call for Centres of vocational excellence – KA2 Cooperation among organisations and institutions. The general objective of the project is the development of a bottom-up approach to excellence in the Tourism Sector, where the partnering Educational Providers (VET, HEIs) are increasing their ability of rapidly adapt skills provision to evolving economic and social needs, while its specific objectives include the a) fostering of national/ transnational collaboration (WP2) b) increase of skills anticipation in the tourism industry and of sectoral employability (WP3,5) c) increase of investments in tourism related human resources (WP3) d) achievement of a fairer, sustainable and resilient model in tourism (WP3, 4) e) fostering of internationalization to address long standing structural weaknesses (WP2) f) creation of feedback loops to adapt VET provision (WP3) and g) increase the image of VET in the sector (WP6). In order to achieve these objectives, we are to implement the following activities: •Creation the of TourX - Transnational Ecosystem for Excellence in Tourism. •Design of a TourX ""Hospitality Labs"" ToolBox•Pilot Operation of ""Hospitality Labs"" for the Creation of Excellence at a Regional Level•Creation of Sustainable Systemic Impact and•Dissemination and Exploitation Activities.During these activities, we are to involve institutions and individuals to create “knowledge triangles” (KT) among VET providers in Tourism (along with their learners and staff), Market Representatives (tourism enterprises, EU associations, Tourism Chambers) and Regional Authorities. Through the creation of 4 KT, we are to train 1500 learners and award 5000 microcredentials, while 280 persons will participate in short-term mobilities. In this context, the following results are expected after the end of TourX: a) 1 platform for CoVEs b) 4 KTs c) training programmes, Mooc, WBL d) ILAs e) 1 Skills anticipation Mechanism Box."

The Europe for VET+ 2 project involves the implementation of a strategic partnership (exchange of good practices) for improving the quality of vocational education with organizations from Spain (Sun Dreams Global), Spain (Assiociation Mundus), Italy (Istituto per la Formazione, l'Occupazione e la Mobilità) and Poland (Lotnicze Zakłady Naukowe in Wrocław, Zespół Szkół Technicznych in Kłodzko).The main goal of the project is to improve the quality of activities in VET sector projects implemented by the partners participating in the Europe for VET + 2 project. In particular, to improve the quality of work of project teams and project management.This goal will be achieved through:1) Implementation of a series of trainings for partnership members and selected representatives of hosting organizations (C1-C4)2) Building the potential of implementing subsequent projects by strengthening the network of partners (training meetings in at least 8 schools in the VET sector, 8 companies in 3 different countries; C1-C4).3) Development, use and publication of measurement system and measurement tool for assessing quality of hosting companies. This tool will take into account data including information from interns, companies, accompanying persons, intermediary organizations. The tool will be implemented in future activities of the partners.An additional objective will be to support host organizations in the proper implementation of vocational mobilities within the VET sector. This goal will be achieved by developing a Compendium for both hosting and sending organizations. It will describe, among others, specific elements related to the requirements that should be met by the mentor, tools and exercises that he can perform to acquire these skills, sources which he can use in this process - the Compendium will count min. 40 pages. Will be prepared in Polish, English, Spanish, Italian.During the project, procedures, documents and mechanisms for managing VET-type projects (Vocational education and training) will also be developed. Partners will have the opportunity to strengthen the international contacts base.6 international meetings and 4 international short-term trainings for partner employees will be implemented in the project. During the Project participants will have the opportunity to visit 8 organizations hosting international trainees as well as 8 European schools that send their students in the logistics, mechatronic and construction sectors for foreign vocational mobilities. A series of workshops raising the competences of participating organizations will strengthen the potential of each partner and will enable the development of two project results: The Compendium of knowledge and a course for employees supervising international internships in host organizations.The project will also enable closer cooperation between two schools, Lotnicze Zakłady Naukowe in Wrocław, Zespół Szkół Technicznych in Kłodzko.The project will involve at least 46 participants from partner organizations who will work on creating project results, mainly vocational subject teachers, mentors looking after young people during internships in the VET sector, and English language teachers.In the long term, the project will contribute to improving the quality of projects implemented by partner institutions in the VET sector, building a broader partnership and increasing the competences of partners' employees.

GreenVETAfrica (GVA) mission will be to offer an innovative capacity building programme based on a five-pronged approach: i) Pedagogical upskilling, ii) Digital Pedagogy, ii) Digital Tools for teaching, learning, assessment and validation, iv) Green Waste Management technical foundations, and v) Foundation of micro-entrepreneurship skills for Micro-SMEs to two accredited VET providers in West Africa. GVA will also aim to integrate unemployed youth and vulnerable groups into the labour markets in Ghana and Nigeria, by offering technical and entrepreneurial training on green waste management to 100 young people (with a focus on vulnerable groups). GVA will design and pilot an innovative VET programme closing the existing skills shortage of professional figures capable of supporting a twin sustainable transition. The VET programme will use innovative ICT applications, such as a remote expert solution, coupled with smart glasses for augmented reality enabling highly interactive - on the field - learning sessions. GVA will: a) analyse the skill gaps and market demands; b) design a multi-competence programme including: i) technical green waste ii) basic ICT-skills iii) green micro-entrepreneurship; c) deploy a Train-The-Trainers programme engaging 50 trainers in Nigeria and Ghana d) pilot a 3-month dual learning VET programme with 100 students (50 in Nigeria and 50 in Ghana) e) foster i) official accreditation of the GVA VET programme by both Ghana and Nigeria authorities iii) foster valorisation through the replication of the GVA VET programme across Ghana and Nigeria (and possibly beyond through the partners’ international network) ii) promote the learners’ employability.

This project proposal comes from the idea to follow up the Edu-Action project, a CBY implemented from August 2016 to September 2017, in order to capitalise the results of the experiences of the first-round participants (youth workers). The general aim of this proposal was to promote transnational non-formal learning mobility between Programme and Partner Countries with a view to improving participants' level of competences and fostering their active participation in society involving youth organisations aiming at increasing school attendance.The participating organisations are Per Esempio (IT), Asociación Uruguaya de Difusión del Español como Lengua Extranjera (UY), Asociación Mundus – Un Mundo a tus Pies – (ES), Resource Hub for Development (KE), Seiklejate Vennaskond (EE), Campaign for Change (NP). The partners have been combating school drop-out and working for the promotion of education through community development for years.The project lasted 24 months (8 months more than the applied proposal due to the Covid-19 pandemic), starting from September 2018. The Capacity Building activities were: 1 kick off meeting in Italy; 2 study visits in the countries (Kenya and Estonia) where the youth work is formally recognized; 1 social media management meeting in Uruguay; 1 final meeting in Italy (deleted in presence due to the Covid-19 pandemic) virtually implemented. Concerning the mobility activities, altogether 10, instead of 12, youth workers participated in two seminars before and after a one-month-long job shadowing period spent at one of the partner organisations. The activities foreseen were implemented using informal and non-formal learning methods such as learning by doing, peer education, active participation through a socio-educational approach. A transversal activity to all the project was the conduction of a research with the general aim of investigate the impact of non-formal education as well as of youth work on formal education and on the prevention of early school-leaving. The publication as final deliverable is structured into 4 parts: the first is the introduction to the project. The second part is focused on the description of the methodology of the study. The third part is focused on reporting the main findings of the study, highlighting also the similarities and the differences between the countries of the partnership. The fourth part consists in final conclusions and recommendations for improving the impact of non-formal education and youth work on formal education and prevention of early school-leaving.The sample was composed by teachers, educators and youth workers dealing with youngsters aged between 6 and 18 years in all partner countries. Data was collected through quantitative methods and qualitative methods (interviews and focus groups). Their questionnaires were administered through google modules and/or paper-pencil format. Some focus groups and the interviews were conducted during the projects meetings (international setting) as well as in other period of the project at local level (national setting). Data collected during the survey was analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. The publication is available on digital and hard copy and translated into the languages of project partners.An awareness raising campaign was produced to foster the importance of education focusing on the consequences of early school leaving, develop a positive activism. Besides the professional development of youth workers dealing with the issue of ESL and school attendance, in general the project fostered the enlarged capacity of the participating organisations and the development of quality youth work offered by other actors in the field, strengthening the European dimension of their actions.