Corporate Volunteering as a Tool for Connecting Business and Education Worlds Erasmus Project

Project Title

Corporate Volunteering as a Tool for Connecting Business and Education Worlds

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

There is a significant gap between the reality of the workplace and the educational world that need trimming. Corporate Volunteering is a strategy (linked to the Corporate Social Responsibility) that provides an opportunity to connect both realities. According to “Business in the Community” (reference organization in Europe in the field), Corporate Volunteering is “voluntary activities and personal commitment made by employees in an organized and on an informal, unpaid, and for the benefit of other individuals framework. These activities include: mentoring and coaching, training and knowledge transfer schemes, workplace learning and training, community service, team projects building and conference dedicated to volunteering.

Corporate Volunteering in educational centres have relevant benefits for both:
– For the educational centres, joint work with companies provides them with new perspectives, contents, methods, resources for students and teachers. It also provides with an updated vision on the skills and competences that the labour market demands, from a general and specific point of view.
– For business, this collaboration contributes to increase their positive image and reputation but above all to improve the commitment and sense of belonging of employees, thus contributing to a better internal working environment. Volunteering activities also improve participating employees’ competences (such as: self-management, organizational and communication competences).

CV PLUS project seeks to contribute to improve the connection between the education and business world through Corporate Volunteering. Its objective is offering to those responsible for business organizations and educational centres, resources that enable them to understand what Corporate Volunteering is, how to integrate it into their strategic plans/educational program, how to design joint actions and how to measure the impact of these actions on the company and on the educational centre and their staffs.

The project Consortium is formed by seven organizations from six EU countries (ES, DE, IT, PL, FI, BE) that are both business organisations (such as CEBEK, Hanse-Parlament and VOKA), schools and VET practitioners (such as CCOOS and KCZIA), and specialists on innovative pedagogies and business management (such as Learnmera Oy and Inveslan)

They will enjoy their theoretical background and practical experience for the development of:

1. An online platform for open educational resources, which will include
– A database of good practices on Corporate Volunteering linking companies and educational centres (with video testimonials from people who have been involved in corporate volunteering experiences with educational centres);
– A training course to train managers of companies to design a strategic plan of Corporate Volunteering and evaluate his impact;
– A training course for school and VET centres leaders, trainers and teachers to empower them to organise CV initiatives in their centres.

2. A Methodological Guide for companies in which methods and tools for planning, implementation and evaluation of actions of Corporate Volunteering in cooperation with schools will be offered.

3. A Methodological Guide for schools in which methods and tools for planning, implementation and evaluation of actions of Corporate Volunteering in cooperation with companies will be collected.

CV PLUS project will contribute:
– To disseminate information about what Corporate Volunteering is, and which opportunities and benefits it offers;
– To improve the links and cooperation between companies and educational sectors through the implementation of Corporate Volunteering projects;
– To improve the capacities of the business and educational management to design and implement effective Corporate Volunteering programs and activities.

The long term benefits of CV PLUS activities will be a better collaboration between business and educational worlds, which will translate in:
– A more socially committed business world,
– An educational world closer to real work market needs;
– The improvement of students’ competences and employability.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 237133 Eur

Project Coordinator

Confederación Empresarial de Bizkaia-Bizkaiko Enpresarien Konfederazioa & Country: ES

Project Partners

• XXI INVESLAN, S.L.
• HANSE-PARLAMENT EV
• COOPERATIVA SOCIALE COOSS MARCHE ONLUS SOCIETA COOPERATIVA PER AZIONI
• Krakowskie Centrum Zarzadzania i Administracji Sp. z o.o.
• VOKA-KAMER VAN KOOPHANDEL OOST-VLAANDEREN
• Learnmera Oy