Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia, Finland
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia is a multidisciplinary education provider on the upper secondary education level. The Consortium is owned by several Central Finnish municipalities and it carries out regional development schemes in accordance with the education policy of Central Finland. It provides general academic and vocational education for the needs of trade and industry and public sector and is also an active player in the world of work. Gradia is the largest upper secondary education provider in the region and catches around 80 to 90 % of all the age cohort (ca. 3000 young people). IVET (EQF4) and CVET (EQF 4 and 5) are provided in the consortium by Gradia Jyväskylä and Gradia Jämsä. We provide VET education for more than 16 000 people annually, preparing them for around 100 different IVET and CVET qualifications. All VET qualifications are competence (outcome) based. The pre-vocational preparatory program helps comprehensive school-leavers in their study and career choices. We also offer studies towards completing basic education and raising leaving certificate grades, as well as basic art education in music and dance for children and youth.
Kuresaare Ametikool, Estonia
Kuressaare Ametikool (RTC) is a regional training centre of vocational education with 147 staff members (incl 86 teachers).KRTC provides initial and additional vocational (EQF Level 3-5) training and also retraining in 18 different vocational areas, the biggest among these are Tourism, catering and design. There are ca 800 regular students on upper and post-secondary level, but also ca 1000 adult students during a year on different adult training courses. We provide also courses for people with special needs. KRTC has a remarkable experience with cooperation with local enterprises and labour market office. One of KRTC’s tasks is to train the tutors in enterprises and assess and accredit companies before students’ work-placement arrangements. KRTC is implementing quality management principles and has taken part in Quality Award competitions for VET institutions in Estonia. Since 2011 KRTC has been involved in quality assurance program of Estonian VET institutions, all our curriculum groups (vocational areas) are accredited. In tourism sector we provide vocational training in catering, cooking, pastry, hospitality, recreation management, guiding, hotel services, tourism management, ect. Also we offer tailor-made courses in these fields. There are annually around 200 students in these courses. We have more than 10 vocational teachers working under these curricula for a long time and most of them are going to work placement abroad each year, to keep themselves updated. KAK has great cooperation with local entrepreneurs from restaurants and hotels who are working as visiting lecturers in our school restaurant. KAK is also a member of EHRA. The Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association is a representative organisation of employers that is public, voluntary and operates on democratic principles. 198 members including hotels, restaurants, affiliated members and schools belong to the Association.
Vuxenutbildningen Borås, Sweden
Borås with 114 000 inhabitants is the thirteenth largest city in Sweden and second largest after Göteborg in Region Västra Götaland in the western part of Sweden.
We have about 5500 students every year and 180 employees. We are even a part of a regional cooperation with seven municipalities in the surrounding area mainly in the field of VET. Vuxenutbildningen Borås (Adult Education Borås) is a municipal adult education for students, age 20 or older, who need to study courses at the elementary (SeQF 2/EQF 2) or upper secondary level (SeQF 4/EQF4), but are too old to study in elementary school or upper secondary school. We provide Swedish for immigrants (CEFR A1-C2) and education for adults with cognitive or mental impairments (SeQF 2/EQF2) as well.
The students have the opportunity to study full-time, part-time or via distance learning depending on course choice. Higher Vocational Education (SeQF 5/EQF5) is a post-secondary form of education that combines theoretical and practical studies in close cooperation with employers and industry.
Zealand Business College, Denmark
ZBC is a leading college for secondary education in the Zealand region with campuses in 8 cities: Ringsted, Roskilde, Slagelse, Holbæk, Køge, Haslev, Næstved and Vordingborg with a broad range of vocational programs together with business and technical high schools, course activities, summer schools and master classes. ZBC covers more than 40 different educations such as health care, building and industry, business high school, food and beverage to smaller divisions like watchmaker and security guard. ZBC has 6400 full-time and 20.000 part-time students on an annual basis. ZBC carries out a wide range of collaborative partnerships with companies, organisations and communities in Denmark and abroad. ZBC strives for excellence in education and is registered UNESCO-ASP partner school.
ZBC has an interest in sharing of best practices and closer collaboration with schools in Europe and to build relations for future mobilities of staff and students e.g. in the fields of food & hospitality focussed on sustainability, as part of our strategy.