This October, 306 dual VET student interns joined the Barcelona City Council (in districts, municipal managments and institutes, municipal preschools, education consortium, BCN VET Foundation) students from 22 professional profiles and 25 VET centers in Barcelona.

The dual VET is a modality in which students combine training in the educational center with practical activities in the company (1.000 hours).

The Barcelona City Council was a pioneer in opting for Dual VET and committed to promoting it in 2013, when the regulations that controlled the topic were just released. During these years it has welcomed 2.295 students and has invested more than €7M in dual VET.

The meeting of the Executive Committee of Xarxa FP and the Mobility managers of 20 cities, last October 18 and 19 in Munich, highlights the international cooperation and innovative initiatives in vocational education in Europe. Good practices were shared along with visits to professional training centers in Munich. The event demonstrates the unity of European cities to improve professional education and the continuous commitment of Xarxa FP in this area.

On October 6th we participated in the XXVIII International Meeting of the RECLA Network of Continuous Education in Ibero-America and Europe, organized by the UB and the UManresa. The theme of the conferences was Design and Innovation.

Our intervention was at the round table “Challenges and opportunities of continuous education from a business perspective“, together with Àlex Lobaco of the CFCF, and José Luis Alonso of Mondragón. And we were able to appreciate the Foundation’s role as a bridge between the VET centers of Barcelona and the AMB and the economic and social environment, the dual training and the importance of the territory and the local world due to its knowledge of the environment .

During the month of October, the BCN VET Foundation has organized a new internship for teachers from Barcelona and the AMB in relation to the renewable energy sector and the electric vehicle in the city of Tartu, Estonia.

During the international stay, the participating teachers have been able to learn how their vocational training are performed at Tartu Vocational College, the centre of excellence in Vocational Training, and to be able to know first-hand companies that manage innovative technologies such as alternative fuel vehicles, hydrogen technologies, solar energy, electric cars, etc.

During the month of September, and thanks to the collaboration with Xarxa FP, more than twenty students and graduates in Intermediate and Advanced VET from various professional families, have started their training stays in different European cities.

Surely the stay will make a difference in their professional future!

• Vocation Educational Training is progressing as a route to employment in a country with high youth unemployment.
  Article: https://elpais.com/opinion/2023-08-19/la-formacion-profesional-crece.html?ssm=TW_CC
  Vacant places in Middle Grade Formative Cycles. Around 14,000 VET places available!
  More information: https://fp.gencat.cat
• October 6: ‘Prospect 2023-26 FPCAT System’ Conference, at the same time that integrated VET centers will get going. https://diarifp.cat/2023/09/20/les-dates-clau-de-lfp-daquest-ultim-trimestre/.
• The FP CAT Agency organizes training seminars aimed at people who perform guidance functions, with the aim of implementing the new Model of Professional Orientation Protocol. Registrations here: https://fp.gencat.cat/ca/orientacio-365/soc-professional-de-lorientacio/seminaris-de-formacio/.

The Foundation participates as a member of the jury of the DonaTIC Awards 2023, promoted by the Digital Policies Secretary of the Government of Catalonia.

These awards have a double objective:

• To recognise and make visible the fundamental role of women in the professional, business and academic world of new technologies.
• To offer references to girls and teens who doubt whether or not to devote themselves to the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the future.

On Thursday 14 September of 2023, at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce in Barcelona, the jury of the Honorary Committee met, responsible of selecting from among the 86 semi-finalists, the three finalist candidates and the winner of each of the 10 categories.

The award ceremony for the DonaTIC Awards 2023 will take place on November 16 2023, where we will know who will be the winner in the VET TIC category.

Since its first edition in 2015, the DonaTIC Awards have received a total of 621 nominations and have established themselves as a reference in the recognition and dissemination of the role and talent of women in the technological and digital field.

Our managing director Neus Pons Pena, and the director of the Bertelsmann Foundation, with Clara Bassols, participated at the Menéndez Pelayo International University providing experience about the Dual VET; lifelong learning requires a global look at the entire education system.