VocFlo responded to current developments in VET policy in the European Union. These in turn are a response to the economic policy objectives of Agenda 2020. The EU wants to ensure that by the year 2020 75% of the people in working age are in employment. The currently extremely high levels of youth unemployment in many regions of Europe make clear what efforts are needed to achieve this goal. One of the causes of youth unemployment is seen in the lack of employability of vocational training graduates. It is criticized that many VET systems are too remote from the economy and offer insufficient opportunities to acquire the professional and personal skills required by the labor market. The EU therefore calls on its members to reform VET. VET and the economy have to cooperate with each other to compensate for the existing deficits.At this point the project VocFlo starts. Educational institutions at various levels and professional associations of floristry, together with experienced project coordinators, agreed on conceptual foundations for economic and European cross-border vocational training in this sector. They described units of learning outcomes and assigned learning outcomes to them. In order to facilitate the transfer of these units of learning outcomes into educational practice, methodological-didactic guidelines were designed for teachers. The results of the project were examined during its runtime in a Methodology Workshop for teachers as well as a Student Camp for their practicality and compatibility with the different vocational training systems. A training program has been developed and tested, which will enable further teachers and multipliers in floristry to implement the learning outcomes approach in their institutions.To ensure sustainability and to support the transfer of results into VET practice, a network, the European Mobility Network for Vocational Training in Floristry, has been established and cooperation with new network partners has been initiated. In the future, this network will offer cross-border mobilities where participants can complete selected units of learning outcomes. The project's products therefore include a organizational handbook for mobilities. The course of the project is documented in a field report, which is also used to disseminate the project results.The project contributes to improving the quality of training in floristry (strengthening the economic relevance of training), contributes to improving the transparency between European vocational qualifications and opens up possibilities for strengthening cross-border training cooperation (mobilities).

<< Objectives >>The objective of the project is to develop an education and training system to train barbers. As a result of this project, a high quality training system would be developed, a curriculum for training aspiring barbers from scratch would be assembled, educational materials and teaching instructions would be compiled for teachers to apply in courses. << Implementation >>To achieve the results, a cycle of courses would be held for the teachers of the partner school, based on which we would begin assembling the curriculum and study materials for the basic training of barbers. For this, we would hold courses, meetings and brainstorming sessions.When working on this project, we would be following principles of sustainability - we would not use air travel, the distribution of the results would be via modern solutions using the internet instead of printing.<< Results >>As a result of the project, a comprehensive, high quality curriculum for educating barbers would be created. In addition to the participants of the project, this could also be used by other educational establishments that give education in this field.

The project “Acquiring knowledge of European standards for development cosmetic products of organic origin” is a product from the previuos cooperation between PSU Academy Leontic, Drottning Blankas Gymnasieskola AB and Vilniaus paslaugų verslo darbuotojų profesinio rengimo centras. Our institutions have realized cooperation on many projects, and along that cooperation we recongnized the need to continue the cooperation on this project. Our education and market research showed that there is a gap, related to transfer of know-how about processes and methodologies in organic cream production. One of our main objectives is to involve as much as possible more participants. So, in our plan we anticipated to target two types of participants: direct and indirect. We planned to involve 30 participants which will be involved in conducting our project activities. But, our focus is put on our indirect participants, which are 5 000, because we want these project to bring closer to as many people and stakeholders. Our main objective we will achieve through performing our main activities: -Short-term joint staff training event: The training is going to refer to the process and methods for making creams and it is going to be held by experts from private laboratory Natural BEAUTY & HEALTH – AROMATA MIRABILIA, which produce organic creams, perfumes, face and body care cosmetic and decorative cosmetics. The training itself will be used as a basis for making of the intelectual output.When the training is finished, certificates of attendance will be issued,signed by the experts who run the training and by the institution where the expert works,in order to emphasize the international and of course the european dimension of our partner’s institution and of our project. -Creating intellectual output: Manual for making creams - The manual is going to be made on the basis of the valuablle experience of our partners and on the basis of our previous cooperation with the private laboratory Natural BEAUTY & HEALTH – AROMATIA MIRABILIA , which produce organic creams, perfumes, face and body care cosmetic and decorative cosmetics; as well as on the basis of the the training held. Our institution and the partners will contibute for the manual making as a result of the participation in the training. -Organizing Multiplier event Through organic creams towards beauty and health – Conference - The multiplier event (conference) will be conducted with more than 100 local participants from the cosmetics sphere and 5 participants from each of the partners. The manual is going to be presented on that conference. The conference itself is a great opportunity to disseminate the Manual and to promote the institutions and experts who take part in this project,and it is also a possibility for market expansion and establishment of future projects and business relations. We have also anticipated to have speech from the representatives of our partners at the conference in order to highlight the European aspect of our project, and of course, our partners would get a chance to present their institution and sphere of action in front of potential partners and clients. We envisage to achieve the following results, which are of great importance: - increased attention and awareness for organic creams production and usage - improved resources and knowledge in the areas of organic creams production and usage, natural resources exploitation and know-how transfer - Kindle the staff professional development, knowledge and abilities for achieving their full potential in organic creams production - Enable the participants in the project and partner institutions to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of the wider communities so that they can deliver even better services; - Equip the participants with the skills, which are essential for organic cream production - Transfer the European best practices to the participants from organic cream production - Establish a professional and personal contacts, which further on will be used for exchange and passing on know-how for organic cream production - Establish a general rules to maintain health and safety practices - Be able to prepare various organic creams - Be able to properly and adequately apply organic creams The expected impact on the participants and all target audience is as follow: - Improvement of the level of key competences and skills - strengthened professional profile of the teaching professions - increased capacity to cooperate on international level - Internationalization at the level of education - Encouragement of sharing best practices, ideas and materials between colleagues within the EU - improved abilities to use innovative approaches - Acquisition of practical language to be used in the process of the creation of the Manual - Acquisition of new techniques, ideas, sources of materials

Four partner schools from Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania and Latvia have joined their interest and motivation to work in “A Star is Born: empowering creative arts talents through competitions and with online tools” project.The main idea for this project came out considering these aspects:-the need of collaborative initiative in exchanging good practice and educational tools for schools to increase creativity of students for boosting their talents and achieving good results-the need of collaboration in Europe facing the significant challenges in youth employment-the importance of building young people’s digital skills as ability to prepare and compete in local, national and international labour market, multicultural teamwork and fluency in foreign languageOur project will be one of the key solutions for 21st century challenges. Youth unemployment was already and during the coming up economic crisis will increase as a challenge in the whole Europe. Schools are still playing a crucial role in preparation of young talents to be competitive in the local, national and international labour market. Teachers and students will need to be equipped with digital tools and increase their ability to solve problems with relevance and novelty which is a creativity.A Star is Born project partners have diverse experience in preparing students for international competitions. Lithuanian and Latvian partners are great one; Czech – mainly national, but Slovenia does not organise national competitions for Hairdressers. Therefore, they have a gap in this area. All partners want to share experience and one of the main focuses will be to empower creative art students with high levels of skills that are needed to achieve high results not only at the national level, but international one as well.Combination of key elements will be covered within our project: Star quality + Creativity + Social MediaThe main objectives:-to motivate students to be active in learning process and to equip them with skill sets to help them to be successful in their future jobs, to become responsible citizens and attractive for international labour market-to empower talented creative art students no matter their background-to increase students’ digital skills-to enhance knowledge and expertise of teachers-to enforce creative and critical thinking and to promote fair competition-to motivate students to take responsibility of their learning and self-evaluating-to support active language learningProject will focus to achieve these results:-9 trained teachers-48 students (15-25 years old) will increase their personal and professional skills-4 schools will improve their quality of education for creative art students-1 Guide for teachers on cooperative learning activities; preparation methods for competitions; online tools for students’ professional profiling-Videos from the students´ exchanges-Students´ created materials (creative projects, professional online profiles, articles)-Project outcomes will be disseminated via various on-/offline channels to inspire more teachers and schoolsIn order to achieve these objectives partners have planned:-1 teachers training will bring teachers who are working with creative art students, on career guidance, support and motivation of students. It will be essential to exchange good practice in cooperative learning methods, to find creative ways of working with students and to support students in the preparation for competitions, to prepare them to work in multicultural teams, to evaluate students’ progress successfully.-4 students exchanges will include international competitions where multicultural teams of students will work online before each mobility. Preparation of their professional online profile will be part of their preparation as well.-Local events will be organised in each partner school.During this project we will use methods of cooperative learning (on/offline), multicultural teamwork, problem-based learning and other student-centred approaches, as creating collaborative learning groups, using debates, discussions, workshops and also previous project developed tools.The implemented activities will be a part of schools’ internationalisation strategy that will ensure continuation of work on “A Star is Born” project objectives. Shared experience and presented project outputs in the community and other organisations will ensure the awareness of importance of cooperative learning methods, preparation for competitions, creativity and impact of social media to professional image.After completion of the project, trained teachers will act as trainers to creative art students and “ambassadors” of cooperative learning and social media impact advocates to make the project sustainable. They will pass the knowledge within and outside the partnership throughout online and offline channels and networks.Future projects will be discussed and planned during the cooperation.

<< Background >>Four partner VET schools from Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania and Latvia have joined their interest and motivation to work in “A Star is Born: empowering creative art talents through competitions and with online tools” project.The main idea for this project came out considering these aspects:-the need of collaborative initiative in exchanging good practice and educational tools for VET teachers who supports creative art students, prepares them for competitions, develop their talents and seeks to reach good results-the need of collaboration in Europe facing the significant challenges in youth employment-the importance of building students’ digital skills as ability to prepare and compete in local, national and international labour market-the need to create more opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in hairdressing competitions-the need to improve image of VET qualification as attractive and appealing to young peopleExploiting the potential of different approaches on preparation of art students for competitions and developing digital skills can best be achieved through strategic partnership of European VET organisations who specialises in creative study programmes and have interest development of students’ talent and their professional skills. The project should be carried out transnationally because the intended results could not be achieved in isolation and reach planned results.Project corresponds strongly to identified priorities at internal strategies, regional, national and European policies. European Skills Agenda clearly shows how important is to develop students personal and professional skills in order to be adaptable in competitive labour market (transversal skills). A Star is Born project also will foster digital skills development of teachers and students.<< Objectives >>Our project will be one of the key solutions for 21st century challenges. Youth unemployment was already and during the coming up economic crisis will increase as a challenge in the whole Europe and beyond. Schools are playing a crucial role in preparation of young talents to be competitive in the local, national and international labour market. Teachers and students are in need to be equipped with digital tools and increase their ability to solve problems with relevance and novelty which is a creativity.A Star is Born project partners have diverse experience in preparing students for competitions. Lithuanian partner has quite good system in supporting students; Latvian – has extensive experience in taking part in competitions; Czech – mainly national competitions, but in Slovenia there are no national competitions for hairdressers. Therefore, there is a gap between partner countries in this area. All partners want to share experience and improve students talent development. One of the main focuses will be to empower creative art students with high levels of skills that are needed to achieve high results not only at the national level, but international one as well.Combination of key elements will be covered within our project: Talent development + Creativity + Digital skillsThe main project objectives:-to motivate students to be active in learning process and to equip them with skill sets to help them to be successful in their future jobs, to become responsible citizens and attractive for international labour market-to empower talented creative art students no matter their background-to increase students’ digital skills-to enhance knowledge and expertise of teachers-to enforce creative and critical thinking and to promote fair competition-to motivate students to take responsibility of their learning and self-evaluating-to support creation of international competitions for hairdressersProject greatly supports Erasmus+ programme objectives for VET schools in a way to help realise the full potential of teachers and students by the use of new ways of learning, technology and digital tools. Creation of competitions is part of skills development agendas in Europe as well.<< Implementation >>In order to achieve these objectives partners have planned: -1 teachers training which will bring teachers who are working with creative art students, on career guidance, support and motivation of students. It will be essential to exchange good practice in cooperative learning methods, to find creative ways of working with students and to support them in the preparation for competitions, to prepare them to work in multicultural teams, to exchange experience in talent development approaches.-4 students exchanges will include international competitions where multicultural teams of students will work online before each mobility (blended). Preparation of their professional digital portfolio will be part of their training during the mobility.-1 Guide for teachers - A Star is Born will be developed and showcase gathered best practice about students preparation for competitions, digital tools for students professional portfolio creation and practical experience in organising international competitions for creative art students.- Local events will be organised in each partner school.During this project we will use methods of cooperative learning (on/offline), multicultural teamwork, problem-based learning and other student-centered approaches, as creating collaborative learning groups, using debates, discussions, workshops and also previous project developed tools. The implemented activities will be a part of schools’ internationalisation strategy that will ensure continuation of work on “A Star is Born” project objectives. Shared experience and presented project outputs in the community and other organisations will ensure the awareness of importance of talent development, digital skills development, preparation for competitions, creativity and impact of trained teachers in quality of education.<< Results >>Project will focus to achieve these results: -12 trained teachers will improve personal and professional competence-4 blended mobilities will be organised for students from creative art study programmes (hairdressing, beauticians, etc.). All 4 partner organisations will have experience in organising these type of mobilities-64 students (16-25 years old) will increase their personal and professional skills -At least 12 students will take part from disadvantaged background-4 blended mobilities will be organise for students from creative art study programmes (hairdressing, beauticians, etc.)-4 VET schools will improve their quality of education for creative art students -1 Guide for teachers will be developed on methods of preparation of creative art student’s for competitions; digital tools to create students’ professional portfolio; sharing best practices from practical cases-At least 4 videos from the learners´ exchanges to inspire peers to make a step and become their own level stars in labour market-Students´ created materials (creative projects, professional digital portfolios, articles) -Teachers and VET schools increase their capacity and knowledge how to organize international competitions for creative art students (e.g. hairdressers) and support student’s skills development-Project outcomes will be disseminated via various on-/offline channels to inspire more teachers and schools to integrate sustainable systems to support talent developmentProject will develop sustainability plan with activities to ensure integration of gained knowledge into practice after project ends. Needless to say that after completion of the project, trained teachers will act as mentors to creative art students to foster their skills for international competitions. They will become “ambassadors” of cooperative online learning and experienced teachers to use digital tools to create one of the essential element for creative art students to become successful in competitive labour market – professional portfolio. Teachers will become advocates on these aspects to make the project sustainable. They will pass the knowledge within and outside the partnership throughout online and offline channels and networks. Students will become examples of raising stars for their peers. Future projects will be discussed and planned during the cooperation.