Commission selects Leonardo projects

Citation

(2005), "Commission selects Leonardo projects", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447hab.006

Commission selects Leonardo projects

Almost 70,000 people this year will complete vocational training placements in a European country other than their own, under the European Union’s Leonardo vocational training programme.

The European Commission has selected 3,015 so-called “mobility” projects, involving an average of 23 trainees per project. This mobility scheme, which was allocated a budget of €120 million this year, has seen the number of grant recipients almost double in five years.

Ján Figel, European Commissioner for education and training, said that Leonardo was contributing to the emergence of a genuine European labour market in which the qualifications obtained in one European country may be recognised across the continent.

Leonardo makes it possible for people in vocational training to obtain a grant for completing a traineeship in another European country. The target groups cover all types of vocational training, such as initial vocational training, students looking for traineeships, recent graduates and young workers. In 2005:

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  almost half of all beneficiaries (31,000) will be young people in initial vocational training who will spend between three weeks and nine months in a company or vocational training institution abroad;

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  some 12,000 students will be able to complete a placement in a company abroad for between 3 and 12 months; and

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  around 11,800 young workers and recent graduates will leave for a period of between 2 and 12 months.

Leonardo also supports exchanges of experience between the vocational training and the business sectors. Approximately 11,000 human resource managers, careers advisers, instructors and language tutors will receive a Leonardo grant for working meetings with their counterparts in another country for a period of between one and six weeks.

Almost 300,000 people received a Leonardo grant between 2000 and 2005, with the number of participants almost doubling, from 37,000 in 2000 to 68,000 this year. For 2005, it was possible to provide funding for only half of the more than 6,000 project applications submitted, for a total of €120 million.

Leonardo mobility projects are managed on a decentralised basis by 33 national agencies in the countries participating in the programme. They are responsible for evaluating and selecting proposals, managing the projects selected and providing information on the options available under the programme in their own countries.

With the launch of the Europass (European passport for vocational training and qualifications) in January 2005, qualifications and skills acquired during a traineeship in another country may be recognised, under certain conditions, in the trainee’s country of origin. People who receive Leonardo grants will be able to obtain the “Europass Mobility” document, which is one of the documents included in the Europass.

Meanwhile, the EU is to provide €86 million to boost innovation in vocational training under the Leonardo programme. The money will be divided between 295 projects in 31 countries. The batch of projects focuses on developing: new measures and instruments to present and compare qualifications; vocational training opportunities; ICT-supported learning; appropriate training materials; and e-learning training tools for quality management in vocational education and training. There are also projects dealing with training teachers and trainers from schools, universities and companies.

Italy has been the most successful country in winning funds under the programme. It has received a total €64 million since 2001. Germany (€60 million) is second, Britain (€51 million) is third, Spain (€45 million) is fourth and France (€44 million) is fifth.

The 2006 selection round will be the last in the current phase of Leonardo. After 2006, vocational training activities will be funded under a new programme on lifelong learning (2007-2013).

Ján Figel said: “Since 2000, the Leonardo programme has allocated more than €500 million to support some 1,700 European co-operation projects. This major effort contributes to modernising our training systems and practices throughout Europe, and improves the transparency of vocational qualifications on the European employment market. In so doing, the Leonardo programme directly helps Europe’s citizens to improve their skills to get a better job.”