Funding programme

Erasmus+ is the EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027. Read more about ERASMUS+ here.

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Call overview

This call supports the gradual establishment and development of European platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence, contributing to regional development, innovation, and smart specialisation strategies as well as to international collaborative platforms.

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Call details

The initiative on Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) defines a bottom-up approach to excellence where institutions for vocational education and training (VET) are capable of rapidly adapting skills provision to evolving economic and social needs. It aims to foster transnational collaborative platforms, which would be difficult for isolated member states to establish in the absence of EU incentives, technical support, and mutual learning opportunities.

Centres of Vocational Excellence will operate at two levels:

1. At national level in a given local context, by embedding CoVEs closely in the local innovation ecosystems, and connecting them at European level.
2. At transnational level through platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence to establish world-class reference points for vocational training by bringing together CoVEs that share:  

• a common interest in specific sectors (e.g. aeronautics, e-mobility, green and circular technologies, ICT, healthcare, etc.) or  
• innovative approaches to tackle societal challenges (e.g. climate change, resource depletion and scarcity, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, Sustainable Development Goals, integration of migrants, upskilling people with low qualification levels, etc.).

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Activities

Features that characterise transnational cooperation platforms include a set of various activities grouped under the three clusters mentioned below:  

1. Teaching and learning – including providing people with skills relevant to the labour market, in a lifelong learning continuum approach; developing innovative learner-centred teaching and learning methodologies including distance learning resources developing modular and learner-centred transnational VET learning provision (curricula and/or qualifications) thus facilitating the mobility (including virtual mobility) of learners and staff, as well as the recognition at regional and/or national levels.
2. Cooperation and partnerships – including contributing to the creation and dissemination of new knowledge in partnership with other stakeholders; and establishing business-education partnerships for apprenticeships, internships, sharing of equipment, including resources for distance learning, exchanges of staff and teachers between companies and VET centres, etc.
3. Governance and funding – including ensuring effective governance at all levels involving relevant stakeholders; and making full use of EU financial instruments and funds.

The project must include relevant deliverables linked to:  

• at least 3 of the activities listed in the Application Form under Cluster 1 - Teaching and learning,  
• at least 3 of the activities listed in the Application Form under Cluster 2 - Cooperation and partnership, and  
• at least 2 of the activities listed in the Application Form under Cluster 3 - Governance and funding.  

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Eligibility

Any public or private organisation active in the field of vocational education and training, or in the world of work and legally established in a Programme country or in any Partner Country can be involved as full partner, affiliated entity or associated partner. See section "Eligible Countries" in Part A of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide

For example, such organisations can be:

• VET providers
• Companies, industry or sector representative organisations
• National/regional qualification authorities  
• Research institutes  
• Innovation agencies  
• Regional development authorities

CoVEs are intended for organisations providing vocational education and training, at any EQF level from 3 to 8, including the upper-secondary level, the post-secondary non-tertiary level as well as the tertiary level (e.g. Universities of applied sciences, Polytechnic institutes, etc.). However, applications cannot include only activities that target learners at tertiary level; applications that focus on VET at tertiary level (EQF levels 6 to 8) must include at least one other VET qualification level between EQF levels 3 to 5, as well as a strong work-based learning component.

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Consortium Composition

The partnership must include at least 8 full partners from a minimum of 4 Erasmus+ Programme countries (including at least 2 EU Member States) involving:

a) at least 1 enterprise, industry or sector representative organisation, and

b) at least 1 vocational education and training provider (at secondary and/or tertiary level).

Further composition of the partnership should reflect the specific nature of the proposal.

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Budget

The maximum EU grant per project is 4 million euros.

Project duration

4 years.