In designing the possible future scenarios of education (2020), OECD identified the “Schools as Learning Hubs” as one of the evolutions of the learning ecosystems. TVET is often already a clear example of this scenario. In both IVET and the CVET area, links between VET centres and companies, and research centres in some cases, are standard way skills are identified in the market, integrated in the curricula and implemented in the training courses.

The “learning hub” solution has been promoted by several international initiatives as the core of platforms for developing and promoting excellence. Both the concept of “learning hub” and “excellence” can be different, although some golden threads can be highlighted.

This research aims at providing evidence of how such Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) are structured, developed, even supported and the perspectives of their role in the future VET sector.

Many international organizations have already proposed literature review on this topic, highlighting the dimensions of quality of training and relevance in terms of skills for the market, “addressing innovation, pedagogy, social justice, lifelong learning, transversal skills, organisational and continuing professional learning and community needs [including introduction of measures of] rationalisation, restructuring of governance, cost reduction, heightened accountability or greater competition” (ETF, 2020). In a nutshell, albeit inevitable differences among different contexts (ETF, 2020), Vocational Excellence can be considered a combination of two elements (GIVE, 2022b):

1. innovative and inclusive pedagogies;
2. agile, anticipatory and entrepreneurial functional governance

A preliminary study by the European Commission offered an interesting overview on the possible types of CoVEs, mainly from an institutional point of view, underlining also a specific taxonomy of categories of excellence, adapted to local and sectoral needs in terms of structures, stakeholders and activities (EC, 2019: 5):

“1. ‘purpose built’ or designated entities as part of national/regional arrangements for vocational excellence, and;

2. individual VET providers, functioning as CoVEs for a region, sub-region or sector”.

Beyond desk-research, several initiatives were promoted at international level to identify, promote and possibly scale-up excellent examples in VET. Among the others, UNESCO-UNEVOC promoted the Skills for Innovation Hubs (i-Hubs) in order to identify and support 10 pilot institutions worldwide which could be considered excellent in terms of organizational practices, institutions’ engagement with external stakeholders, learning and teaching processes; an evaluation process was implemented, Guided Self-Assessment (GSA), based on two tools: 1) Balanced Scorecard to assess and document, through quantitative and qualitative data, the i-hub’s internal readiness to innovate 2) Skills and Innovation Ecosystem Map to assess and document how favorable to innovation the i-hub’s ecosystem is (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2019).

The European Training Foundation, since 2020, has activated its ETF Network of Excellence (ENE) including almost 300 TVET centres based in its area of action (EU and neighbouring countries). The ENE includes VET centres with an enhanced range of activities and objectives over and beyond the provision of initial vocational training: for example, research, continuing vocational training, local economic development, greening of skills and technology transfer [aiming at being] engines for systemic improvement but their capacity to perform this role depends upon their character as organisations, the capabilities of their leaders and staff, their relationships with their ecosystems and their capacity to collaborate with other vocational schools and centres” (ETF, 2021).

Since 2019, the European Commission has been the stakeholder which, by promoting a specific program (EACEA 33/2019), has activated more than 20 CoVEs characterised by adopting a systemic approach through which VET institutions actively contribute to co-create skills ecosystems, together with a wide range of other local/regional partners, including activites listed under three clusters: Teaching and learning; Cooperation and partnership; and Governance and funding).

The research will show how the activities were implemented and to what extent the main outputs and outcomes are scientifically-sounded and significant. Evidence from the existing outputs and protocols will be used to describe the CoVE and interviews to the current project leader and project manager will be included. The Centres of Vocational Excellence, as described, recognized and supported by the European Commission, or ETF or even National Agencies, are, in any case, expected to reshape the VET ecosystem from a local to an international perspective. This research has been designed as a case study based on an example of CoVE awarded by the EU Commission at the end of 2020, among the first 8 projects after the previous piloting (2019-2020). The project GIVE (Governance for Inclusive Vocational Excellence) aims at designing and developing a European Platform of Centres of Excellence devoted to innovate VET sector for the social inclusion of individuals belonging to disadvantaged groups. Partnership includes best practices of VET centres, companies and business representatives, universities and policymakers from Italy, Finland, Spain, Malta, Romania characterized by similar approaches promoting personalized didactics and flexible governance models. Starting from the set of methodologies and tools, recognized as excellences at European and international level, the project aimed at contributing to inclusive excellence by implementing and promoting: - entrepreneurial governance models for the development and management of VET centres and agencies; - educational approaches and tools specifically aimed at the social inclusion (in terms of training, international mobility, employment) of people at risk of exclusion; - models for the design and implementation of effective training-work transition activities. The research will analyze the process designed and implemented to pursue the above mentioned goals, as well as the expected outputs, namely: - didactic methods and tools specifically aimed to the social inclusion of disadvantaged people; - effective training-companies cooperation models (Feedback-loop to better understand and to be updated on the needs of the labour market); - guidance and counselling models actively participated by VET providers and companies; - transnational mobility schemes for trainers and students (learning and work); - strategies for local stakeholders involvement; - training material and courses for: managers, trainers, tutors, businesses, public administrators.

Results will include an overview of the typology of outputs and their outcomes, after the first half of the project (November 2020. The proposal is to provide the audience, both European and beyond, with an in-depth analysis of the CoVE initiative in order to identify its (positive or negative) externalities on the Vet ecosystem and, in particular, on VET research and researchers’ activities.

EC (2019) Mapping of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/566920f4-ee2d-11e9-a32c-01aa75ed71a1/language-en European Training Foundation (2020), Centers of Vocational Excellence. An engine for vocational education and training development. An International Study, https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020-07/centres_of_vocational_excellence.pdf European Training Foundation (2021), Exploring Vocational Excellence: A Working Paper On The Self-assessment Carried Out By Members of the ETF Network For Excellence (ENE), https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2021-10/ene_working_paper_exploring_vocational_excellence_en.pdf OECD (2020), “Back to the Future of Education: Four OECD Scenarios for Schooling", https://www.oecd.org/education/back-to-the-future-s-of-education-178ef527-en.htm The GIVE project (2022a), Reference Framework on Vocational Excellence through for Innovative and Inclusive Pedagogies, https://www.thegiveproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/D.2.6.b.pdf The GIVE project (2022b), Reference Framework for Anticipatory, Entrepreneurial and Agile Governance, https://www.thegiveproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/D.2.6.b.pdf UNESCO-UNEVOC (2019), Trends mapping - Innovation in TVET. New opportunities and challenges, https://unevoc.unesco.org/pub/tm_innovation.pdf