Skills, competitiveness and regional ecosystems
Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) have proven to be an effective instrument to strengthen public-private partnerships and provide a unique way to develop skills and inclusive regional growth. Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, CoVEs bring together vocational education and training (VET) institutions, higher education institutions, businesses, social partners, research institutes, and public authorities. Neth-ER is therefore presents a list of concrete recommendations for the next Erasmus+ programme. These recommendations help to strategically position the Centres of Vocational Excellence in the next Erasmus+ programme and provide incentives for long-term funding certainty and scalability.
About our statement
The statement is drafted in collaboration with Dutch VET providers, Universities of Applied Sciences, employer's organisations, and regional innovation ecosystems. The parties involved are:
- Katapult: A non-profit organisation and network of more than 600 partnerships between education and the private sector.
- MBO Raad: The Netherlands Association of Vocational Education and Training Colleges.
- Nuffic: The Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education.
- Vereniging Hogescholen: The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences.
- VNO-NCW: The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers.
- MKB Nederland: The Royal Association MKB-Nederland, entrepreneur's organisation in the Netherlands.
Context
The Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) are partnerships between public and private partners from multiple regions in Europe. The CoVEs aim to connect vocational education, employers, and regional ecosystems with one another. Since 2019, Erasmus+ has funded 69 CoVE projects from 30 countries.
