Orienta4VET – VET: an attractive and viable pathway. Innovating in VET through guidance processes and exploring flexible and diversified opportunities in VET

The second phase of learning, after completing lower secondary education, is essential both for continuing education and/or vocational education and training (VET) in order to enter the labour market (OECD, 2020). According to OECD, vocational education and training is a successful path for entering the labour market and countries with better developed and consolidated vocational training programs are more effective in containing youth unemployment.

Despite today's improved social acceptability of VET and the diverse access opportunities to the labour market, vocational training is still the last choice for students for their professional future in many countries (OECD, 2020). The aim of Orienta4VET is therefore to improve the perception of VET in the national context, to identify and describe challenges and social impacts, to work out suitable orientation and learning strategies in VET plans, to show alternative paths into VET and to present strategies for diversification and flexibility. Essential for this is the cooperation with VET schools for the purpose of exchanging information on advisory processes and orientation strategies as integrated elements of teaching practice, which is why in each country there is cooperation with 8 general or vocational schools that offer orientation courses.

Three products are to be created as part of the project:

  • Orienta4VET Interactive Guide: is an orientation aid for the implementation of VET-orientation and learning strategies, which are understood as innovative teaching and learning approaches. The most important feature of this guide is that it is created together with VET-school teachers involved in the project and evaluated during the project's lifetime.
  • Orienta4VET Interactive Map: is an online tool for counsellors, teachers/educators/trainers, young people, researchers, training centers and VET administration. The Interactive Map is an answer to the specific requirements and needs of the actors involved in the partner countries involved in this project. It contains:
o Information on current vocational training difficulties
o Information on alternative and flexible access pathways to vocational training
o Information on career orientation and advice.
  • Orienta4VET MOOC: Training resource to implement counselling processes as well as orientation and tutoring action strategies as integrated elements of teaching and learning processes for VET practitioners.
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