One of the working teams from Network of Networks met in Bilbao to prepare for a student exchange program that will take place next year. In this pilot program, in which Bilbao will be the host city, approximately 30 EQF level 3-4 vocational training students from the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Basque Country are expected to participate, along with 10 teachers. The topic they will work on will be related to one of the EU values: human rights, specifically discrimination based on various factors (gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation) and how this affects both internships and career prospects. In addition, the internationalization team also spent their time working on a future proposal for the Erasmus+ “Jean Monnet Networks” action, to embed European values and policies in the context of vocational training. It has been two extremely productive days!
Teachers from the Dutch VET school Yonder visit HETEL schools
The relationship between HETEL and The Dutch Alliance dates to 2010. As a result of this long-standing collaboration, last week teachers from the Dutch VET school Yonder visited several HETEL schools (Otxarkoaga Training Center, Kooperatiba Peñascal, Egibide and Maristak Durango) to learn and exchange knowledge with our faculty on topics related to language support for migrant students, innovation management, teaching-learning quality management, and managing diversity and the new needs of Generation Z. We hope the learning experience was enriching for all involved!
First results from VR4VET pilot activities
VR4VET is an Erasmus+ KA2 project, coordinated by Gradia College (FI), aimed to develop competences in customer service of VET students in 4 branches: hospitality, consultancy, hairdressing and beauty and retail. For this purpose, we have developed a virtual reality environment where students can face different situations very common on these sectors, receiving feedback on their performance. The purpose of using virtual reality is to complement training offered by VET schools with the advantages of this technology: In November last year we started the pilot of the environment and the different domains in the schools participating in the project (Gradia, ROC van Amsterdam, Aarhus Tech, and HETEL´s schools Egibide and Sopeña Bilbao). So far 15 teachers from partner organisations have piloted the scenarios, both in English and in national languages, and the feedback received is being used by Provrex, also partner in the project, to make corrections and improve the user experience. In March 2025 we are opening the pilot to students, being the final test before making VR4VET open to any school or company which wants to use it to improve customer service training to students and workers. For more information about the project, you can contact international@hetel.org
PRESENTING HIGHER VET TO STUDENTS IN UPPER SECONDARY
Improving student guidance is one of the premises that HETEL is working on, both at a regional and international level through the ERASMUS+ QUAHVET project. As part of the actions of this project, yesterday Julen Elgeta, President of HETEL, offered an informative day to high school students at the HETEL Jesuitak Politeknikoa centre on what higher vocational training is, what opportunities and job prospects it offers, how to learn in these cycles and, ultimately, why vocational training is a great option to take into account. The event is part of the actions to improve guidance towards higher vocational training that Jesuitak Politeknikoa, as a school participating in the QUAHVET project with HETEL, is putting into practice. Other materials and resources developed by the QUAHVET team can be consulted on the project website, https://quahvet.eu/
PROMOTE. Kick-off, now in person!
Last week we met in Ireland for the launch of the PROMOTE project. After a first online session the week before, these days we are finetuning several aspects of the project and are working on the methodology to carry out the first actions: the study of the labor market and the barriers that immigrant women with high qualifications encounter (recognition or equivalence of qualifications and skills, existing prejudices on both the supply and demand sides, language or cultural barriers…). Our colleague, María Pando, teacher and international coordinator at Jesuitak Politeknikoa VET school is in Ireland, representing HETEL, with the rest of the organizations involved in the project. Abantean!
PROMOTE kicks-off
PROMOTE is an Erasmus+ project coordinated by Folkuniversitete Sweden (Sweden) in which HETEL participates together with organizations from Poland, Ireland, Germany and France. This is a very special project, aimed at the inclusion of the group of immigrant women, especially Ukrainians, with a medium-high level of qualification but who, for various reasons, have difficulties finding a job. During the project we will develop several tools and actions to try to mitigate this situation, for the benefit of both these women and society as a whole.
Reinforcing HETEL´s collaboration with Cologne´s vocational education
Due to our long and good relationship with the European programs office of Geschäftsstelle Bezirksregierung Köln, part of the government of Cologne (Germany), this week HETEL has received 16 teachers from various schools in the region. The reason for this visit was to learn about the Basque VET system, understand how HETEL manages and supports its schools in their internationalization and inclusion strategies and, above all, identify possible ideas for international collaboration with our schools. During the meeting, several talks and workshops were held on these topics, with the participation of German and Basque teachers, led by HETEL’s international and innovation managers. The format will be repeated in the future, probably in Germany, given the good results of this edition.
From the Netherlands with cybersecurity in the automated industry
HETEL met this week with the Cyber-In project team, co-financed by the Erasmus+ Program and coordinated by the Dutch college ROC Da Vinci. After conducting interviews with more than 30 companies from different industrial environments, we are about to complete the analysis of the IT and OT curricula that we currently teach in vocational training centers, identifying those competencies related to cybersecurity in automated industrial environments that we have not yet addressed but are demanded by companies. At the end of November, we will also have available an interactive representation of an industrial plant where you can see the most common vulnerabilities in relation to cybersecurity, preventive measures and the skills and knowledge of workers to provide a cybersecured industrial environment. Soon on the project website! www.cyber-in.eu
Certificados Profesionales – Grados C
CERTIFICADOS PROFESIONALES – GRADOS C Los Certificados profesionales son formaciones dirigidas a personas ocupados y en desempleo y encaminadas a lograr una formación certificada de un ámbito. Sumando varias de estas formaciones certificadas equivalen a un ciclo formativo (grado D), de grado básico cuando son certificados de nivel 1, de grado medio cuando son certificados de nivel 2, o de grado superior su son de nivel 3.Este curso se han puesto en marcha los siguientes Grados C coordinados por la Viceconsejería de FP y cuya matriculación se realiza a través del aplicativo del Gobierno Vasco Ikasgunea.Consulta aquí la oferta.
HETEL promotes digital and sustainable competencies in education through the Digistainability project
On October 1st and 2nd, 2024, HETEL, together with its partner Nazaret, actively participated in the transnational meeting of the European Digistainability project at the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Portugal. The aim of the project is to effectively integrate digital and sustainable competencies into marketing education programs across Europe, contributing to the modernization of vocational and higher education. The meeting was attended by representatives from various countries, including Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Bulgaria. During the meeting, the project’s progress was reviewed, and discussions focused on how to adapt current curricula to include key skills in sustainability, digitalization, and business ethics. Through surveys conducted with students, teachers, and professionals, as well as focus groups organized in each country, the most relevant competencies for the future of marketing were identified, and six main blocks were established to serve as the basis for new curricula. One of the main topics was the need to standardize programs using ECTS credits, thus facilitating greater uniformity and coherence across European educational systems. Additionally, it was agreed to implement a color-coding system to classify competencies according to their importance, which will allow educational centers to integrate them more effectively. The collaboration between institutions like HETEL and Nazaret has been key in this process. Together, they have provided valuable insights from the perspective of Basque Vocational Education, promoting an innovative vision for the curricula to be implemented across Europe. Discussions also covered the development of training materials that will be piloted with students, highlighting the importance of practical training in digital tools and data analysis within the context of sustainable marketing. Finally, the meeting also served to strengthen the project’s dissemination strategies. The status of the website development was reviewed, and a communication plan was agreed upon for social media to increase the visibility of the project’s progress and results. The next step will be to finalize the competency framework and continue the curricular integration based on the results obtained. In November, the partners will meet again to assess progress and plan the next steps.