Social Innovation through VET and Social Enterprise Networks Erasmus Project

Project Title

Social Innovation through VET and Social Enterprise Networks

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Social entrepreneurship / social innovation

Project Summary

City College Plymouth will establish a new two year Erasmus+ funded Strategic Partnership project with the Plymouth Social Enterprise Network, Foreningen Urkraft (Skelleftea, Sweden); Materahub, Matera, Italy and Fundatia Danis, Cluj-Napoca, Romania: working within an established partnership that recognises that the economic recovery that needs to happen once the Covid 19 crisis abates will have the opportunity to prioritise social wellbeing and combat social isolation.

The social enterprise sector already has a strong track record in doing this, with successful businesses delivering on social and environmental objectives whilst prioritising the wellbeing of their staff and communities. Therefore, this project seeks to learn from the social enterprise sector, ensure that the knowledge, skills, and mindset applicable to working in a social enterprise is embedded in Vocational Education and create enhanced opportunities for the growth and internationalisation of social enterprises.

This will allow the transfer of knowledge, enhancing the most engaging working practices and aspects of working in the social enterprise sector for work placements which will benefit young people’s health and wellbeing as well as advancing VET staff knowledge/CPD to embed innovative provision.

Evidence shows that people, particularly young people, want to work in socially responsible businesses. A social purpose at work leads to a higher level of engagement and higher levels of productivity. Unfortunately, people are not always made aware of the opportunities that exist in the social enterprise sector and social enterprises do not do enough to spread the word. Sometimes, social enterprises do not do enough to connect their staff to their social purpose and fail to instil in them the benefits of working for a social enterprise. All of this has led to talent becoming a bigger issue for social enterprises, particularly larger employers. VET colleges, as well as schools and universities should work with social enterprises to ensure that young people entering the workforce are aware of the opportunities to work in social enterprise.

A 24-month timeline will enable partners to undertake a comprehensive range of activities and establish a strong collaboration

Target participants and beneficiaries will support the provision of skills for a global economy, to include:

VET/HE educators: impact on the ability/ease that staff can internationalise their provision. Building on competences/understanding of SEN opportunities & a positive attitude towards embedding EU values, reducing the distance between these sectors & the educational world
SE network employers: encourage/enable VET/HE organisations to work more effectively to internationalise their work experience programme through an accredited provision in sectors that belong to the “new economy” & “social innovation” where this educational approach is missing to develop new work placement pathways, stimulating innovation in the transition from education to employment in this sector.
Work placement participants: who will then become ‘ambassadors’ for the programme providing case studies demonstrating the positive impacts that participation has had on their professional/personal development to raise the profile/appeal of the programme to the wider stakeholder cohort, demonstrating the opportunities for work/ travel in the wider EU SE Network

Our project will create innovative transnational opportunities for:
Combined training/development based approach of the Vocational Education and Training sector of all partners with the social and environmental aims/culture of the Social Enterprise sector
The take-up of future paid employment opportunities by providing a work placement exemplar to enhance the attractiveness of opportunities to young people and of young people to leaders in this sector
The enhancement of new and existing opportunities and work placement frameworks through the development of effective partnerships between employers and educational institutions to support the internationalisation of working in this sector
Relevant local/national economic plans encouraging innovation and internationalisation of young persons within this sector
Productivity through the transfer of best practices of European social enterprise sector including work placement delivery into mainstream training in VET
Acting as intermediaries that could bridge VET and SE, partners have a large reach of partners in the educational sector as well as in the corporate and government sectors

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 142945 Eur

Project Coordinator

City College Plymouth & Country: UK

Project Partners

• FUNDATIA DANIS PENTRU DEZVOLTARE MANAGERIALA
• Plymouth Social Enterprise Network CIC
• Föreningen Urkraft
• CONSORZIO MATERAHUB INDUSTRIE CULTURALI E CREATIVE