Integration of Disadvantaged Young People in Vocational Education in the Construction Sector Erasmus Project

Project Title

Integration of Disadvantaged Young People in Vocational Education in the Construction Sector

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: Access for disadvantaged; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment

Project Summary

A high percentage of young people in Europe does not participate in any kind of vocational training. The young people concerned often share a history of school and work absences, have social problems or a criminal or drug-related past, and thus generally have little chance of finding a job. The objectives of the Europe 2020 programme include increasing the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 from 69% today to at least 75% and reducing the proportion of citizens below the national poverty line by 25%.

The VETinCon project had three main objectives:

One objective was to improve equal opportunities and to involve disadvantaged young people in vocational training and the labour market. The practical handbook developed in the VETinCon project deals precisely with this target group: examples of good practice for the integration of young people in vocational education and training in the construction sector from six partner countries are presented, their applicability in the respective national contexts examined and conceived in the form of concrete national realization plans, partly tested and finally disseminated. The best practices presented are adaptable and transferable to various European vocational training systems and to other educational institutions and sectors. Thus, the project results promote an entry into successful vocational education and training, from the local to the European level.

In addition, the competence of educational staff and youth workers in vocational training institutions in the construction sector should be promoted. In the multiplier and other dissemination events, the educational staff and social pedagogues of the partners or associated institutions were given knowledge about the respective recipes for success and pitfalls of the best practices used in other countries, and those responsible for training in construction companies and associations were also informed.

The third objective was to improve the quality/labour market relevance of vocational training both for the young people concerned and for companies in the construction industry. Best practices promoting strong networks between training institutions and construction companies, are now part of the handbook and can contribute to promoting the quality of execution in the construction sector.
The project was implemented by seven different institutions from six partner countries. All partners are either vocational training providers or associations of national construction industries with experience and expertise in the field of vocational orientation and the integration of disadvantaged young people into vocational training in the construction industry.

A moderated exchange of experience was implemented in transnational project meetings and work steps agreed for the individual work in the partner countries.
16 national multiplier events were held in each partner country. They served to disseminate the five Intellectual Outputs created in the project:
Output 1: Systematic overview of best practices for integrating young people into vocational training in the construction industry.
Output 2: Questionnaire to identify the most suitable best practices.
Output 3: National realization plans
Output 4: Evaluation report
Output 5: Practice handbook
All results are available in English, German, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Italian and Swedish.

The main project objective of improving equal opportunities and involving disadvantaged young people in vocational training and the labour market was decisively promoted by the project. More and more young people with fewer opportunities on the labour market were continuously integrated into vocational training or employment in the construction sector or into vocational training in general. Not least due to the best practices implemented by the project partners from other European countries, innovative measures could be taken to integrate disadvantaged young people into vocational training or employment in the construction sector at European level, which would not have been possible without the project.
The most promising best practice examples will continue to be considered and developed in the partner institutions in the future. By directly addressing relevant decision-makers, the national or regional prerequisites for the implementation of these implementation plans can be improved and their implementation facilitated in the future. Communication with stakeholders in vocational education and training does not end at the end of the project, but will be supported in the long term by the experience gained in the project.
The announcement of the project results to the social partners of relevant institutions and experts from other sectors will ensure the sustainable use of the project results in the construction sector and other sectors.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 272564,44 Eur

Project Coordinator

BFW Berufsförderungswerk Bau Sachsen e.V. & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Hermods AB
• NADACE PRO ROZVOJ ARCHITEKTURY A STAVITELSTVI
• SVAZ PODNIKATELU VE STAVEBNICTVI VCESKE REPUBLICE
• Bouwmensen Limburg
• CENTRO EDILE A. PALLADIO
• Ostrov pohody DS n.o.