From Ideas to Partnerships: EVTA Supporting the Next Generation of Centres of Vocational Excellence
Across Europe, interest in Vocational Excellence continues to grow. As vocational education and training systems face increasing demands linked to competitiveness, innovation, the green and digital transitions, and skills shortages, the concept of vocational excellence has become a central element of European VET policy. To support this ambition, the European Commission launched the Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) initiative under the Erasmus+ programme, encouraging the development of skills ecosystems that connect VET providers, businesses, public authorities, and other stakeholders at regional, national and European level.
Despite growing interest in the initiative, many organizations still face a key challenge: understanding what vocational excellence means in practice and how Centres of Vocational Excellence can be developed as part of a broader strategy for excellence, innovation and international cooperation.
Building a Centre of Vocational Excellence project requires more than a good idea. It also requires partners, a shared vision, and the ability to connect local needs with wider European priorities. For organisations taking their first steps into the CoVE community, turning ambition into a concrete project can be difficult.
It was this challenge that led the European Vocational Training Association (EVTA) to organise the CoVE Design Programme as a capacity-building activity dedicated to transfer techincal knowledge and competences to members and partners in the VET Community.
The three-day seminar, which took place in Granada from 5 to 7 of May 2026, was developed in response to growing interest among members in the Erasmus + call Key Action 2 Cooperation among organisations and institutions – Centres of Vocational Excellence. The programme was designed as a hands-on activity where participants could learn the policy rationale behind vocational excellence, understand the technical requirements of the call, discuss project ideas, meet potential partners, and begin shaping future CoVE projects together with the support of experts in the field.
The programme brought together representatives from VET providers, training experts, governance and system-level organisations, and labour market and industry actors. Members and invited stakeholders alike shared a common objective: co-creating strong, well-structured project proposals and building the partnerships needed to bring them to life.
The programme featured the active participation of policy makers and experts in the field of project design and implementation. Anna Barbieri, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL), introduced the European policy framework behind Centres of Vocational Excellence and outlined the role of the Erasmus+ CoVE action in supporting excellence, innovation, and skills ecosystems across Europe.
I. José Manuel Galvin, Senior Human Capital Development Expert at ETF, presenting the role of skills ecosystems and Centres of Vocational Excellence in strengthening vocational education and training across Europe.
José Manuel Galvin, Senior Human Capital Development Expert at the European Training Foundation (ETF), presented the Internationalising Vocational Excellence (IntVE) initiative and the range of support services, resources, and tools developed to help VET providers better understand, assess, and implement vocational excellence. His contribution highlighted the importance of ecosystem thinking and international cooperation in the development of sustainable Centres of Vocational Excellence.
Particular attention was given to the ISATCOVE self-assessment tool, developed by ETF to support organisations in analysing their level of maturity across different dimensions of vocational excellence. The tool helps VET providers identify strengths, areas for improvement, and opportunities for further development, offering a practical framework for organisations seeking to strengthen their contribution to local and regional skills ecosystems.
Participants also benefited from the contribution of Boudewijn Grievink, Internationalisation Director at Katapult, the Dutch organisation coordinating the Community of Practice for Centres of Vocational Excellence. He introduced participants to the CoVE Canvas Tool, a practical planning framework designed to help organisations visualise and structure Centres of Vocational Excellence as interconnected skills ecosystems. Through the tool, participants mapped key stakeholders, identified ecosystem relationships, clarified strategic objectives, and explored how different activities and partners could contribute to a coherent and impactful CoVE concept.
The process was further supported by OnProjects, a consultancy specialised in the design and management of European projects.Through the contributions of Iacopo Benedetti, Managing Director, and Jorge Contreras, Chief Operations Officer, participants received practical guidance on the Erasmus+ CoVE call, proposal design, implementation planning, sustainability, and impact development,development, helping the working groups translate emerging ideas into more structured and viable CoVE concepts.
Participants of the CoVE Design Programme refining their Centres of Vocational Excellence project concepts with the support of OnProjects.
Over three days, organisations tested ideas, challenged assumptions, identified common interests, and explored how they could work together. By the end of the seminar, participants had developed four proposal concepts. They addressed very different challenges—from agrifood innovation and demographic change to rural development and inclusive vocational excellence—but shared a common ambition: strengthening vocational education and training through collaboration and ecosystem building.
The end of the seminar was not the end of the journey. Equipped with new partnerships, practical tools, and a clearer understanding of the CoVE framework, participants left Granada with the goal of transforming their concepts into future Centres of Vocational Excellence proposals. Over the coming months, the newly formed groups will continue developing their ideas and exploring opportunities for cooperation, with the ambition of turning initial concepts into long-term vocational excellence ecosystems.
For EVTA, this reflects the important role that European associations of VET Providers can play within the vocational excellence community. Beyond providing information, they can create the conditions for cooperation to emerge by connecting organisations, facilitating dialogue, and bringing together expertise from policy, practice, and project development.
EVTA is proud to provide a fertile environment for those connections to emerge and grow.
