Call for proposals
Erasmus+ Programme – KA 2 - Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices
“Sector Skills Alliances” - EACEA/04/2017
(2017/C 26/06)
Objectives and description
Sector
Skills Alliances aim at tackling skills gaps with regard to one or more
occupational profiles in a specific sector. They do so by identifying
existing or emerging sector specific labour market needs (demand side),
and by enhancing the responsiveness of initial and continuing VET
systems, at all levels, to the labour market needs (supply side).
Drawing on evidence regarding skills needs, Sector Skills Alliances
support the design and delivery of transnational vocational training
content, as well as teaching and training methodologies for European
professional core profiles.
Sector Skills Alliances for strategic sectoral cooperation on skills identify and develop concrete actions to match demand and supply of skills to support the overall sector specific growth strategy.
Projects can achieve these objectives by applying to one of the following ‘Lots’:
Lot 1 — Sector Skills Alliances for skills needs identification
Aimed
at identifying and providing detailed evidence on skills needs, and
gaps in a given specific economic sector. This would make it possible to
address such gaps through training provision, whether it be VET-based
or any other education and training sector.
The identification and definition of future skills needs should be supported by research on labour market needs in the sector. Collaboration between public and private actors on the labour market
(such as labour ministries, social partners, training and education
providers, labour market intelligence entities, companies including
SME’s, chambers of commerce, public and private employment services and
national statistics offices) should be organised to identify and
anticipate persistent skills shortages and mismatches at sectoral level
for a set of occupational profiles. It is important to maximise
synergies with other sectoral initiatives.
Lot 2 — Sector Skills Alliances for design and delivery of VET
Aimed
at responding to identified skills gaps and needs in a specific
economic sector, by developing curricula, as well as teaching and
training delivery methodologies. The curricula and training
methodologies and should include a strong work-based learning component,
and support trans-national learner mobility.
Partners
will have to interpret existing research evidence on
profession-specific skills needs when implementing vocational education
and training or designing qualification standards based on occupational
profiles, drawing, where available on European Skills, Competences,
Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO).
The
design and delivery of vocational curricula should follow the following
key principles: i) quality assurance, including effective learner
tracking systems and feedback loops, ii) curricula and qualifications
that are learning outcome oriented, iii) provision which is modular in
all its phases, iv) include significant work-based learning periods, v)
embeds international experience (learner as well as teacher and trainer
mobility). The Alliance partners should demonstrate in the proposal what
measures they will take in the countries and in the sector covered for
the formal recognition of the new or adapted vocational curricula and
qualifications and how they will pursue the project deliverables after
EU funding has ended. Sector Skills Alliances are expected to carry out
the proposed activities in a way that maximises the impact on one, or
several related, occupations in a given sector.
Lot 3 — Sector Skills Alliances for implementing a new strategic approach (‘Blueprint’) to sectoral cooperation on skills
The
Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills is one of the ten actions
in the New Skills Agenda for Europe. It aims to improve skills
intelligence and to provide a clear strategy and instruments to address
skills shortages in specific economic sectors. It will be piloted in six sectors: automotive, defence, maritime technology, space geo information, textile-clothing-leather-footwear and tourism.
The
Alliances under Lot 3 will support its implementation by developing
sectoral skills strategies. A sectoral strategy has to lead to systemic
and structural impact on reducing skills shortages as well as ensuring
appropriate quality and levels of skills to support growth, innovation
and competitiveness in the sector. It must include a clear set of
activities, milestones and well-defined outputs with the goal to match
demand and supply of skills to support the overall sector specific
growth strategy.
The
sectoral skills strategy will contribute to increase the talent pool
and support the adaptation of the workforce to the requirements of
industrial and market developments in the sector, thus contributing to
its long-term competitiveness. Particular attention will be paid to new
technological developments (e.g. digital and key enabling technologies).
The objectives of Lot 1 (forecasting skills demand) and Lot 2
(responding to identified skills needs through design and delivery of
VET) have to be included in the sectoral skills strategy.
The partners are required to set up an EU level Alliance for a sector for cooperation on skills and the implementation of concrete demand-driven actions.
The Alliance will be industry-led and include other relevant
stakeholders, such as education and training providers, social partners,
clusters and networks, research institutes, statistical bodies,
employment services, and qualification authorities (whenever possible).
Eligible activities
The
proposal shall cover a coherent and comprehensive set of activities and
outputs as set out below for each Lot and as relevant for the sector
concerned. For all three Lots, a particular focus must be given to
digital skills as they are increasingly important in all job profiles
across the entire labour market. This should be done in synergy with the new Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and efforts to promote skills for key enabling technologies (KETs). In addition, the transition to a circular economy needs to be supported by changes to qualifications and national curricula to meet emerging professional needs for ‘green skills’.
Lot 1 — Sector skills alliances for skills needs identification
Defining skills and training provision needs in a given specific economic sector:
· gathering
and interpreting evidence of skills needs on the labour market in a
given economic sector, including by drawing on the Skills Panorama (e.g.
Cedefop skills forecasts, various survey data, analytical highlights)
and, where relevant, on the work of European Sector Skills Councils or
previous Sector Skills Alliances;
· analysing
the trends and challenges that shape the sector and its labour market
with focus on drivers of change that may influence skills demand and
supply in the sector (e.g. automation, demography); based on the above
activities, providing a detailed assessment of the current and
anticipated skills shortages, gaps and mismatches in the sector (both
job specific and soft skills), as well as the need for the review of
occupational profiles, indicating the priority in which they should be
addressed, on the basis inter alia of their impact on growth and
competiveness potential in the sector and on employment (e.g. likely job
loss, hard-to-fill vacancies);
· analysing the potential impact of such skills needs on growth and employment in the sector;
· analysing major trends affecting closely interrelated sectors, to capture potential spill-over effects;
· identifying
needs in terms of training provision, drawing on, where available, the
occupational profiles of the classification of ESCO;
· delivering
all relevant EU and/or country level qualitative evidence and
quantitative data on skills, employment and economic performance of the
sector in an electronic form, in linked open data format, so that it can
feed into the Skills Panorama (http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en).
Lot 2 — Sector skills alliances for design and delivery of VET
Designing trans-national sector-wide vocational curricula:
· on
the basis of identified skills needs for specific occupation profiles
in a given economic sector, identify and design VET curricula or
qualification standards (in line with EQF and informed by ESCO), to
respond to those needs;
· translating
skill needs into innovative, learning outcome-oriented modular VET
programmes and/or qualifications (applying ECVET for designing
qualifications composed of units of learning outcomes), to allow for
transparency and comparability, taking also into account needs of
validation of prior learning (e.g. non-formal or informal);
· applying
quality management to the new training content either by applying the
quality assurance principles of EQAVET or by using already existing
quality assurance systems which, however, should be in line with EQAVET;
· integrating
periods of work-based learning into the new training content, including
opportunities to apply knowledge in practical ‘real life’ workplace
situations, and embedding trans-national learning experience whenever
possible;
· designing
VET provision focusing both on job specific skills as well as on key
competences, soft skills, and STEM disciplines (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics), while providing effective opportunities
to acquire or develop those competences, particularly in work-related
training contexts;
· promoting
relevant VET sectoral qualifications (including trans-national joint
programmes awarded by more than one VET provider), and support agreement
for their recognition by implementing ECVET principles, and referencing
qualifications to NQFs and the EQF as well as other relevant European
tools and instruments in the sector concerned;
· increasing
recognition of qualifications at European and national level within a
sector, by promoting and agreeing on sectoral qualifications,
facilitating cross-border certification, and building mutual trust,
contributing to increased learner and professional mobility in the
sector;
· identifying,
documenting and promoting successful skills or qualifications related
projects and good practices, as well as those fostering
multi-stakeholder partnerships, including from other sectors or from
outside Europe and make detailed proposals to replicate or scale them
up, where relevant;
· where
relevant, ensure that results of the project are available in open data
format so that they could feed into the Skills Panorama and ESCO.
Delivering vocational curricula:
· identifying
the most appropriate delivery methodologies for the curricula, using
innovative approaches to teaching and learning, as well as a strategic
and integrated use of ICTs (e.g. blended learning, simulators, etc.),
and open educational resources (e.g. MOOC’s, and VOOC’s);
· identifying
ways to implement innovative VET teaching and learning methods to
respond to the needs of specific target groups of learners; and through
the provision of work-based learning;
· developing actions to facilitate inter-generational transfer of knowledge within VET;
· describing
the ways on how assessment methodologies and procedures can embed all
forms of learning, including work-based learning and facilitate the
validation of skills and competences acquired prior to training;
· identifying
adequate measures to track learners after completing their training in
order to provide ‘feedback loops’. These tracking and feedback systems
can build on information from companies, learners/employees, as well as
public information resources and labour market stakeholders;
· proposing
the appropriate measures for the formal recognition of the new or
adapted vocational curricula and qualifications in participating
countries and in the sector(s) covered;
· planning the progressive roll-out of project deliverables leading to systemic impact.
Lot 3 — Sector Skills Alliances for implementing a new strategic approach (‘Blueprint’) to sectoral cooperation on skills
Sector
Skills Alliances under this Lot shall set up sustainable cooperation on
skills development between key industry stakeholders in a given sector,
education and training providers, and public authorities.
The
alliances shall develop a sectoral skills strategy to support the
objectives of the established growth strategy for the sector. This
strategy should be the first key deliverable of the project, identifying
concrete actions and indicating clear set of activities, milestones and
well-defined outputs, to suggest how to match demand and supply of
skills. The strategy should detail how major trends, such as global,
societal, and technological developments in the sector, are likely to
affect jobs and skills needs. It should describe the expected timeline
and give particular attention to the impact of digital and key enabling
technologies.
Alliances
in this Lot cover activities of Lot 1 (as appropriate for the sector)
and Lot 2. In particular, they have to cover the following activities:
· providing
a detailed assessment of the current and anticipated skills shortages,
gaps and mismatches in the sector, as well as the need for the review of
occupational profiles, indicating the priority in which they should be
addressed, on the basis inter alia of their impact on growth and
competiveness potential in the sector and on employment (e.g. likely job
loss, hard-to-fill vacancies);
· developing
a common methodology for assessing the current situation and
anticipating future needs as well as monitoring (on a yearly basis)
progress and the evolution of the demand and supply of skills based on
credible foresight scenarios;
· identifying
occupational profiles that need to be revised or created and their
corresponding skill needs as well as the required proficiency level,
drawing on, where available, the occupational profiles in ESCO and
existing competence frameworks; where relevant, the development of
sectoral competence frameworks may be considered;
· identifying,
describing and indicating priorities for the review or the
establishment of new qualifications on the basis of the relevant
occupational profiles; — fostering the development of concrete solutions
in VET provision (including higher VET) as well as
business-education-research partnerships;
· developing
concrete solutions to promote mobility of vocational students,
jobseekers and trainees across Europe in the sector, capitalising on the
use of existing EU tools (e.g. Erasmus+, EURES, Drop'Pin, European
Alliance for Apprenticeships);
· developing
actions to promote the attractiveness of the sector as a career choice,
in particular among the young, while also aiming for a gender balance
in the sector;
· designing
an industry-led long term action plan for the progressive roll-out of
project deliverables after the project has finished. This plan shall be
based on sustained partnerships between education and training providers
and key industry stakeholders at the appropriate level. It should
include the identification of appropriate governance structures, as well
as plans for scalability and financial sustainability. It should also
ensure the appropriate visibility and wide dissemination of the work of
the Alliance, including at EU and national political level and include
details on how the roll-out will be implemented at national and/or
regional levels with relevant governmental and sectoral authorities. The
action plan shall also indicate how EU funding opportunities (e.g.
European Structural Funds, European Fund for Strategic Investment,
Erasmus+, COSME, sectoral programmes), as well as national and regional
funding can support skills strategies. This should take into account
national and regional smart specialisation strategies. Models could be
developed based on good examples to promote focussed use of such
funding, including up-skilling employees;
· delivering
all relevant EU and/or country level qualitative evidence and
quantitative data according to linked open data format.
Eligible participants
Lot 1:
The
Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 12 Programme Countries and
include at least 2 organisations, out of which at least 1 represents the
industry and at least 1 represents education and training providers.
Eligible participating organisations are:
European
and/or national social partners; labour ministries or associated bodies
(agencies or councils); public or private employment services; labour
market research institutes, national statistics offices; public or
private, small, medium or large enterprises (including social
enterprises); economic development agencies; chambers of commerce, of
industry or of labour; sectoral or professional associations of
employers or employees; chambers of skilled crafts; European or national
sectoral umbrella organisations; training or education providers at
local, regional or national level; sector-based research institutes;
bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling and
information services; public authorities responsible for education and
training at regional or national level.
Lot 2:
The
Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 4 Programme Countries and
include at least 8 organisations, out of which at least 3 are
enterprises, industry or sector representatives (e.g. chambers or trade
associations), and at least 3 are education and training providers.
Eligible
participating organisations are: public or private enterprises
(including social enterprises) in particular those with an own training
department, those providing apprenticeships, and those providing shared
training (collaborative training); EU or national organisations
representing industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, relevant
sectoral organisations; public or private VET providers, including
inter-company training centres and higher education institutions
providing VET; networks of VET providers and European or national
organisations representing them; Education and Training authorities at
regional or national level, and Ministries; organisations or networks at
EU or national level representing social partners, industry, sectoral
organisations, professions and education and training stakeholders,
including youth organisations; chambers of commerce, of industry, of
skilled crafts or of labour, and other intermediary bodies; sector
skills councils; economic development agencies, statistical bodies and
research institutes; cultural and/or creative bodies; bodies providing
career guidance, professional counselling, information services and
employment services; accreditation, certification, recognition or
qualification bodies (bodies with ‘regulatory function’).
Lot 3:
The
Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 6 Programme Countries and
include at least 12 organisations, out of which at least 5 are
enterprises, industry or sector representatives (e.g. chambers or trade
associations), and at least 5 are education and training providers.
Eligible
participating organisations are: public or private enterprises active
in the selected pilot sectors especially those with an own training
department, those providing apprenticeships, and those providing shared
training (collaborative training); EU or national organisations
representing industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, relevant
sectoral organisations; public or private education or training
providers, including training centres and higher education institutions
(and military academies of the defence sector); networks of education or
training providers and European or national organisations representing
them; authorities responsible for education and training or employment,
at regional or national level, and related Ministries; organisations or
networks at EU or national level representing social partners,
industry, sectoral organisations, professions and education and training
stakeholders, including youth organisations; chambers of commerce, of
industry, of labour and other relevant sectoral intermediary bodies;
sector skills councils; economic development agencies, statistical
bodies and research institutes; bodies providing career guidance,
professional counselling, information services and employment services;
accreditation, certification, recognition or qualification bodies
(bodies with ‘regulatory function’); bodies representing relevant
authorities at regional and national level.
Eligible countries are:
The Erasmus+ Programme Countries:
· the 28 Member States of the European Union,
· Non EU Programme countries: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey.
Funding conditions and duration
The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at 28 million euros (1 million euros for Lot 1, 3 million euros for Lot 2 and 24 million euros for Lot 3).
· For Lot 1 each grant will amount to between 330 000 euros and 500 000 euros. The Agency expects to fund around 3 proposals.
· For Lot 2 each grant will amount to between 700 000 euros and 1 000 000 euros. The Agency expects to fund around 4 proposals.
· For Lot 3 each grant will amount to maximum 4 000 000 euros. The Agency expects to fund around 6 proposals. Only 1 proposal per pilot sector can be selected.
The maximum EU co-financing rate will be 80%.
The duration of the projects can be 2 or 3 years depending on the Lot and on the type of activities planned.
Deadline of proposals' submission
Applications must be submitted no later than the 2 May 2017 12:00 noon (Brussels time).
Further information
Please, find attached the call text.
More information and the rest of the call’s documents will be soon available at the following webpage: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/sector-skills-alliances-2017_en
Kind regards,
Rosemary
Rosemary STREVINIOTI
Acting Executive Director
Head of Brussels Office
European Office of Cyprus
Rue du Luxembourg 3, 2nd floor
B-1000 Brussels
Tel./Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85
E-mail: strevinioti.rozamaria@ucy.ac.cy
The Greek translation of the call is attached.
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