More than 650 teachers analyse the future of VET at the 8th FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza Congress
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More than 650 teachers analyse the future of VET at the 8th FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza Congress

More than 650 teachers had analysed the future of VET and educational centres at the 8th VET Congress organised by the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza, in collaboration with the Basque Government and the Orange Foundation.

Under the title “Building the VET centre of the future” and over two days, 26th and 27th of october, the Kursaal Conference Centre in Donostia-San Sebastián (Basque Country) hosted the debates on the challenges that schools will face in the medium term, what digital tools they will need and what role companies will play in relation to these same schools and students.

The President of FPEmpresa, Luis García Domínguez, gave a positive assessment of the results of the event and concluded that “working together to think and share what the vocational training centres of the future will be like by asking leading centres, companies, social agents and institutions has been the main objective of the 8th VET Congress. At FPEmpresa, we believe that VET centres need to share and learn in order to plan and design the future necessary for quality VET”.

The director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, expressed her satisfaction with “the success of an event that has become a benchmark for VET professionals and because spaces like this serve to anticipate the challenges that we will have to face in the future and to work in advance on solutions”. San Luis added that “on this path, CaixaBank Dualiza will continue to support all the needs of both schools and teachers”.

A total of 30 speakers from different sectors, from academic to institutional, took part in the congress in order to highlight the value of the vocational training of the future and share experiences and good practices. Among the speakers were the Secretary General for Vocational Training, Clara Sanz; the Deputy Minister for Vocational Training of the Basque Government, Jorge Arévalo; the head of the Knowledge and Innovation Centre for Vocational Training at CaixaBank Dualiza, Mónica Moso; that of the Regional Secretary for Education and Vocational Training of the Valencia Region, Miguel Soler; and, finally, that of companies such as the Orange Foundation, by the Director of Sustainability of Orange and the Orange Foundation, Daniel Morales; Acciona, Volkswagen and IndesIA, among others.

The FPEmpresa Association also took the opportunity to celebrate its 10th anniversary, promoting vocational training centres with a future. Likewise, the FPEmpresa awards ceremony was held, as well as the awards of the 5th Call for Dualiza Grants.

Also, within the framework of this congress, several visits were made to VET centres in the Basque Country, such as TKNIKA, CIFP Usurbil LHII, CIFP Tolosaldea LHII, CIFP Easo Politeknikoa LHII, CIFP Don Bosco LHII and CIFP Bidasoa LHII.

The Congress has been broadcast live on the official YouTube channels of FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza and can be replayed in the following links:

Wednesday 26th October
Thursday 27th October

If you wish to consult the programme of the 8th VET Congress, click here.

PRALINE holds its fifth PLA in Estonia to discuss improvements in education in the digital age
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PRALINE holds its fifth PLA in Estonia to discuss improvements in education in the digital age

FPEmpresa has participated in the fifth PLA (Peer Learning Activity) of the European project PRALINE (Promoting Adult Learning in Networks) which was held on 6 and 7th of october in Tallinn (Estonia). For this occasion, the Estonian Association For Advancement Of Vocational Education has been the organization in charge of the conferences that have been carried out in the school Tallinna Teeninduskool and Harno.

The conference focused on digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence and on how to improve the re-qualification of adults in the digital age. On these topics, the different speakers presented different proposals with examples of good practices in the country. In addition, the topic of digitalisation was addressed in general aspects of Estonia, which has a population of 1.3 million and is one of the most developed European countries in this area.

Among the participants who also shared their perspective on the Estonian education system and digital skills among adults were Merlin Tatrik, Head of Adult Education Policy at the Ministry of Education and Research, and Karin Künnapas, Head of Adult Education Policy at the Ministry of Education and Research; Karin Künnapas, Director of the company Kood/Jõhvi which offers an autonomous and self-taught education offer; Yngve Rosenblad, Chief Analyst at OSKA, Estonian Qualifications Authority; Keerli Požogina, Digital Competence Project Manager at Harno; and Jevgenia Smirnova, Head of the Labour Market Training Service at The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.

The project partners also visited the e-Estonia Briefing Centre to learn about the latest digital skills that have been acquired by the country. Among them, having a virtual medical portal for the inhabitants, which can be accessed only with the ID card.

After having concluded the presentation of the days, as it was done in the four previous ALMPs, the PRALINE partners have explained their points of view in order to motivate a debate and thus find new ideas among them. In this way, a group dynamic is created on how the actions of the Estonian education system could be implemented in the other countries that are part of the European project.

Finally, the European partners will meet at the 6th ALMP in France next January and it will be organised by the association Union Nationale Des Maisons Familiales Rurales d’Education Et.

PRALINE is an Erasmus+ funded project that aims to strengthen and boost international networks of adult education providers already in operation by learning about good practices.

EFA La Malvesía hosts the New Agronet project to boost the agri-food sector
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EFA La Malvesía hosts the New Agronet project to boost the agri-food sector

EFA La Malvesía, a centre associated to the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa, has held an event to present the ‘New Agronet’ initiative to its educational community. It is an Erasmus + project, made up of teachers and students from France, Italy and Romania, to promote and consolidate the creation of new companies in the agri-food sector. Likewise, ‘New Agronet’ seeks to promote training in methodologies and new technologies among VET students; to increase the opportunities for students by helping them in their professional development; and to help create a more modern and professional environment in VET schools that encourages entrepreneurship. In this way, the project encourages the exchange of culture and knowledge and increases the motivation to work in the agricultural world.

Day

EFA La Malvesía was selected as the host entity for the international delegations to carry out this event. The ‘New Agronet’ programme was held at the end of September and proved to be a success for all participants. The day started with several participatory work sessions in the classroom. These sessions were in turn combined with visits to farms of interest. This helped students to refine and better define their agri-food business model proposals.

In addition, they visited the livestock farm ‘els Masets’, which became an example of the renovation of a family farm: from merely producing lamb meat, it has gone on to produce milk and quality dairy products, offering, among others, typical products of the area.

Finally, the attendees took advantage of the visit to the agro-ecological farm ‘Saifresc’ to learn about a production model that focuses on local, fresh and seasonal products.

 

FPEmpresa associated centres meet with Canadian institutions of CBIE
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FPEmpresa associated centres meet with Canadian institutions of CBIE

FPEmpresa attended a meeting with the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) at the Embassy of Canada in Spain. The event, held on thursday 21th of september, consisted of creating a networking space dedicated to international collaboration with Canada. The event was attended by secondary schools and vocational training centres as well as public and private universities, both spanish and canadian. Among the attendees were the associated centres IES Clara del Rey, IES La Arboleda, IES Isaac Peral, CIFP José Luis Garci and IES Antonio Machado.

In addition, this is the second meeting this year between FPEmpresa and Canadian associations to promote partnerships in relation to international mobility. Carlos de Olagüe Smithson, International and Madrid coordinator of the Association, was in charge of presenting FPEmpresa to the representatives of the Canadian and Spanish educational centres.

International alliances

The international representative of FPEmpresa was the second to speak, explaining the function of the spanish education system; the different training options available to students; and how vocational training works in Spain. Finally, Olagüe explained the structure and projects of the Association.

“This meeting allows us to deepen and improve relations with vocational training institutes in Spain. It is a great opportunity for the schools in Barcelona, which were there at the beginning of the week, and the schools in Madrid to make contact with schools in Canada. In this way, links can be established on student and teacher mobility, scientific collaboration and skills development,” said Carlos de Olagüe.

The event was held with the support of FPEmpresa, the Spanish Service for the Internationalisation of Education (SEPIE) and the Canadian Commercial Delegates Service in Spain. Likewise, here the Association has been able to generate this meeting together with CBIE in order to open the borders between both countries and generate new experiences for higher education students.

FPEmpresa, the new representative of EfVET Spain, meets with EfVET Committee to determine a budget and work plan for 2023
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FPEmpresa, the new representative of EfVET Spain, meets with EfVET Committee to determine a budget and work plan for 2023

FPEmpresa, member and new representative of EfVET Spain, has met with the EfVET Europe Committee on 10th of september in Brussels to propose a new work plan for the year 2023. FPEmpresa was represented by Carlos de Olagüe Smithson, International and Madrid coordinator of the Association.

The EfVET representatives that also has attend at the event were Professor Joaquín James Calleja (Malta); Stefano Tirati (Learningdigital.eu – Italy); Arja Flinkman (South Savo Education Ltd – Finland); Marta Almeida Santos (Ensinus Group – Portugal); Panagiotis G. Anastassopoulos (P- Consulting – Greece); Leif Haar (Denmark); Vibeke Holtum Norgaard (Technical Education Copenhagen – Copenhagen); Silvia Liuti (FORMA. Azione srl – Italy); Gaby Tinnemeier (Germany), Giorgos Giorgakis (Eurosucess Consulting – Cyprus); Paulius Cepas (Kaunas technical vocational education centre – Lithuania); Tibor Dori (Euro-Contact Business School – Hungary); Marloes de Vries (The Netherlands), Jussi Kajander (Luovi Vocational College – Finland), Luis Costa (ANESPO – Portugal) and Jon Harding (Bridgwater College – UK).

This meeting has been very important for all the members of EfVET Spain, including FPEmpresa. From now, Carlos Olagüe will be the new representative of the Spanish EfVET members, taking over from Nacho Camacho. “I will take over the position held until now by Nacho Camacho, from the company Incoma, as representative of EfVET Spain. He has carried out his work as a representative with great professionalism for many years and now it is my turn to take on this new challenge, which I am looking forward to”, says Carlos de Olagüe.

Points to discuss

The main point of the EfVET Council was to prepare the organisation of the next Annual Congress will take place at the end of october in Kuopio (Finland), under the slogan “The Future Skills Revolution for VET and CVET in Europe”.

Other important issues were also discussed, such as analysing the activities carried out during the year 2022 and proposing a new work plan and budget for 2023. “I called a meeting tha last 6th of september with the different members of EfVET Spain to pick up their opinions and take them to the assembly in Brussels. Once there, a new line of work for 2023 was created, including a new strategic plan 2022-2026 that will be presented at the Kuopio Congress. This will be the big moment when we all meet again to exchange views with each other”, concludes the international representative of FPEmpresa.

FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress
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FPEmpresa’s Board of Directors starts to prepare the VIII VET Congress

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association has celebrated the first meeting of the new Board of Directors in Santander. The new members were selected in the General Assembly 2022 of the last month of June. They have been working in their Strategic Plan 2022/2025 and have started to prepare the next Congress. Apart, they have visited the associated center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’.

The VIII Congress of the Association will be celebrated in San Sebastián the 26th and 27th of October. An event that will join the associated centers of FPEmpresa and organized with CaixaBank Dualiza, main strategic ally of the Association. Also, this congress will focus on the VET centers of the future and will mark the tenth anniversary of FPEmpresa.

Visit to ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’

The second day of the meeting has taken place in the center ‘CIFP La Granja de Heras’, whose director is Sergio Silva, FPEmpresa’s coordinator in Cantabria. The center offers education cycles of the Agrarian Professional Family and works with more than 50 companies of the sector. Furthermore, it belongs to Agrocantabria.

During the activity, the visitors have covered the CIFP’s facilities, that has 70 hectares with different uses. Likewise, the managers of the institution have talked of some of the programs, like ‘Friesian goat’s recovery’. In addition, the center is leader in floral art and participates with an association created by the student body to promote the employment in the territory.

“Gather the coordinators of other areas in Cantabria boosts the VET of the community and shows our educative reality”, explains Silva regarding to the meeting of the Board of Directors and the visit. “We feel supported celebrating this event in a small community as ours”, adds.

Apart of the CIFP La Granja, there are other five associated centers to FPEmpresa in Cantabria: IES Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, in Guarnizo; IES Lope de Vega, in Santa María de Cayón; IES Alisal, in Santander; IES Valle de Camargo, in Revilla de Camargo, and CIFP Nº1 of Santander.

The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the fourth mobility of “Creative Skills 21” in St. Gallen
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The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the fourth mobility of “Creative Skills 21” in St. Gallen

The Erasmus+ KA202 project, in which the secondary school Puerta Bonita (center associated with the FPEmpresa VET Schools Association) is a participant, has held its fourth mobility in St. Gallen (Switzerland). An initiative carried out from May 16 to 20 under the title “Creative Skills 21. Improving teaching and learning of 21st century skills for the creative industry”. The project arises with the aim of providing the participating teachers with tools to work “competences for the 21st century” with their students.

Throughout the project, the students have worked with a problem associated with the UN 2030 Agenda on which they have developed a communicative solution to raise awareness and have prototyped it. To do this, they have worked in multinational and interdisciplinary groups guided by two teachers.

Creative Skills 21 between Madrid and St. Gallen

In order to create a time frame that would achieve the objectives, the mobilities have been grouped by pairs of countries. The first mobility organized in Madrid has suggested the problem to the students, who have analyzed it and, consequently, have outlined the objective and recipient of the message, as well as a solid idea. However, in the second mobility, the idea has been prototyped and presented to experts in the field.

Gender inequality related to access to education and social exclusion was the topic proposed at the first meeting. With that idea, the groups have been able to work in St. Gallen.

On the other hand, the teachers have received training in the 21st century skills “collaborative work”, “problem solving” and “the blended learning methodology”.

“Creative Skills 21” has worked with a group of 50 people from 7 Vocational Training centers in Rotterdam, Ghent, Newcastle, St. Gallen, northern Italy, Jyvaskyla, Lisbon and Madrid. An initiative that has allowed members to create a great network of contacts while they have known the Spanish capital and the Swiss capital of the San Galo district.

You can learn about the extraordinary products made by the student groups, from applications for mobile devices to external marketing actions, on the website www.cs-21.eu and the Instagram profile @creative_skills21

The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the DOCE project together with 7 European centers
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The secondary school Puerta Bonita participates in the DOCE project together with 7 European centers

The secondary school Puerta Bonita, a center associated with the FPEmpresa VET Schools Association, has participated in the Erasmus+ KA226 project entitled Digital Online Creativity Education (DOCE). An initiative that arises from the difficulties in the teaching process that arose during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and in which new strategies have been designed to deal with online learning. In addition, the DOCE project has been coordinated by the Grafisch Lyceum in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and the secondary school Puerta Bonita has participated together with high schools in the European cities of Jyväskyla (Finland), Newcastle (United Kingdom), Lisbon (Portugal), Ghent ( Belgium), Sankt Gallen (Switzerland) and Verona (Italy).

The Erasmus+ DOCE project has helped teachers to share their own experiences on how they have taught lessons during confinement. A process in which not only theoretical sessions have been organized, but also practical ones telematically. “This exchange of ideas and proposals has allowed all of them to increase their technological and educational updating through the different activities,” said Raúl Martínez, head of studies at the secondary school Puerta Bonita.

This dynamic has contributed to the increase in the collaboration and commitment of the participating institutions through the practice of investigating and exchanging new ways of dealing with digital learning. Likewise, different telematic meetings and one face-to-face meeting have been held in the city of Verona (Italy).

On the other hand, the participating secondary schools and their teachers have established a better contact with the new reality of online learning, creativity and digitization in the field of media and design.

In conclusion, the DOCE project has been an opportunity to transfer knowledge and take advantage of synergies in the development of digital content as prototypes that can be used by other teachers and schools.

FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet to deliver the I VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards
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FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet to deliver the I VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association and Group Esprinet have delivered the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards in an event that has taken place in IES Francisco Tomás y Valiente, associated center to FPEmpresa. A meeting celebrated the Wednesday, 29th June, where the high schools IES Pedro de Tolosa, IES Alonso de Madrigal and IES Centro de Capacitación Agraria have picked up their prizes.

“I want to congratulate to all of you for the quality of the ideas presented, the knowledge to encourage the role of the women and for reflect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)”, has explained Silvia Sánchez, Marketing and Communication of the Group Esprinet.

Tomás Alonso, vicepresident treasurer of FPEmpresa, has joined in the event and has shown gratitude to the technological for recognize VET in this great project.

The winners to promote the participation in the contest

The winning associated centers of the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards have appreciated the contest. Between them, José María Pérez, IES Alonso de Madrigal’s teacher, has presented that “to create the group, I have selected students from different VET groups”. This has been due to the need of women in studies as Information Technology or Communications, reason why Pérez wants that his participation in the contest encourage more women the next years.

By their hand, Verónica Crespo and Mar López, teachers of IES Pedro de Tolosa and IES Centro de Capacitación Agraria, have focused on the teamwork done, just like the confidence generated after the Awards.

Finally, the participants have visited IES Francisco Tomás y Valiente, where they have known some projects of the students and the facilities the center has like their Garage Lab.

FPEmpresa and Group Esprinet signed an agreement the last month of February to promote the VET female talent. A collaboration that has developed actions to have an impact on educative system as the session of Marketing and the VET Knowledge’s Transfer Awards, where more than a 50% of the participants had been women.

FPEmpresa obtains bronze medal in Awards of Excellence 2022 with SCoopConSS
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FPEmpresa obtains bronze medal in Awards of Excellence 2022 with SCoopConSS

FPEmpresa VET Schools Association has received the third prize in the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ category of the Awards of Excellence 2022 for the European projects SCoopConSS. A recognition delivered by the World Federation of Colleges and Polythecnics (WFCP) in the closing of the world congress 2022 in Donostia-San Sebastián. The people in charge to gather up the prize have been the president of the Association, Luis García, and the vice president treasurer, Tomás Alonso.

Colleges and Institutes of Canada (CICan) has finished in first place of the category. The second has been for Centro de Formación Somorrostro, associated center of FPEmpresa, followed for the Association with the bronze medal. Finally, the organization has recognized to Harare Polythecnic with an honorable mention.

The different categories of the Awards of Excellence 2022 have been: Applied Research and Innovation’; ‘Construction’; ‘Sustainable Development Goals’; ‘Cyber and Data Security’; ‘Teacher Professional Development’; ‘Global Citizenship’; ‘Leadershhip in Diversity and Inclusion’; ‘Indigenous Education’; ‘Lifetime Achievement’; ‘Strategic Leadership’; ‘Outstanding Educator’; and ‘Outstanding Student Achievement’.

SCoopConSS

ScoopConSS project (Social Cooperative Contest for Secondary Schools) is a European initiative where FPEmpresa and other six organizations work together: Camera Commercio Italiana per la Spagna; aCapo Società Cooperativa Sociale Integrata; EGInA Srl.; AKETH-DCT (Developmental Centre of Thessaly); Portuguese Association of Startups (APSU); and Centre of Technical Culture Rijeka.

An initiative that has taken to the associated center, EFA La Malvesía, to participate in an international contest celebrated in the National Festival of Civil Economy of Florence. In addition, SCoopConSS is financed by the European Union in the framework of the Horizon2020 funds.

Furthermore, SCoopConSS objective has been to build a Practice Community for European secondary teachers interested to boost their experience by different method business. For that, the initiative has taken advantage of the cooperative principles of self-help, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.