Vocational Education

Call for Proposals on European Quality Assurance reference framework in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET)

The EACEA has just published a Call for Proposals for the Award of grants to support national projects for the development of a national approach to improve the quality assurance of vocational education and training (VET) systems by promoting and developing the use of the European quality assurance reference framework in vocational education and training (EQAVET).

Grants will be awarded to vocational education and training bodies responsible for the implementation of a national strategy for improving quality-assurance systems and for promoting and developing the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework in the field of vocational education and training.

The aim is to assist these reference points in the field of vocational education and training in bringing together the competent bodies in the area and in involving the representative bodies of management and labour and all national and regional stakeholders in order to ensure that the adopted initiatives are followed up.

Each proposal, to be submitted in the framework of the Call for Proposals on European Quality Assurance reference framework in Vocational Education and Training, will comprise two types of activity, which must be combined, namely:
- development and coordination of specific projects in the field of vocational education and training testing and/or promoting the use of the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework;
- development of bodies responsible for shaping policy and for the practical implementation of quality-assurance initiatives in the field of Vocational Education and Training.

Proposals submitted in response to this call will be based on the Recommendation establishing the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) for Vocational Education and Training and must address all of the following objectives:
1) Implementation of the specifications in the recommendation establishing a quality assurance reference framework for Vocational Education and Training with regard to developing a national strategy
2) Use of operational partnerships including vocational education and training institutions with the practical capacity and institutional legitimacy to transfer processes and procedures developed in the project.
3) Assistance with pooling and consolidating the work and outcomes of all proposals funded

Project duration shall be no less than 18 months and no more than 24 months.

The total budget for the co-financing of projects is 1.2 million euro.
The funding provided by the Agency may not exceed 75% of total eligible costs.
The amount of the funding granted per project will be between 50 000 and 200 000 euro per project.

The deadline for the submission of a project proposal is 16 July 2010.

Further information is available here