What we can learn for future partnerships in international VET – publication of a German-Italian study on bilateral cooperation
A study commissioned by GOVET investigates success factors and hindrances for German-Italian vocational education and training cooperation projects It indicates areas of potential for more sustainable collaboration between stakeholders. The study will be presented via an online event on 29 September 2021.
Stakeholders in vocational education and training cooperation are mostly highly motivated and committed. But who are these stakeholders? How sustainable are the partnerships, and what are their dependent factors? The study probes these aspects within the scope of German-Italian cooperation and posed the following questions. Have you ever entered into cooperation with Germany or Italy in the field of VET? Perhaps you attempted to initiate a cooperation agreement but encountered obstacles? What were your motives? What went well, and what ideas do you have regarding how more and more sustainable cooperation arrangements can be realised between the two countries?
By the end, trainers are really keen and completely open to sending further trainees out to Italy because they can see that this is not a holiday. The trainees work properly whilst they are there and certainly also have the opportunity to learn new things.
Quotation from the stakeholder survey conducted as part of the study
Such experiences relating to specific cooperation “on the ground” are by no means uncommon and they formed the focus of the study “Partnerships and vocational education and training cooperation agreements between Germany and Italy – stakeholders, the status quo and areas of potential for development”, a joint initiative by actors involved in bilateral government cooperation between Germany and Italy in the area of VET.
The results of this partnership study will be presented publicly in a virtual closing event on 29 September 2021. They will then form an object of joint discussion between the monitoring committee of the bilateral partners, the participants and the initiatives mentioned in the study.
The most important outcomes of the study
The first major finding was that interest and participation in the investigation were considerable. This shows the degree of potential which inherent to German-Italian cooperation and in VET cooperation projects in general.
The areas of development potential identified are particularly significant for the future strengthening of cooperation agreements between Germany and Italy in the area of VET. The primarily includes increasing the willingness of companies in both countries to enter into cooperation arrangements. Support structures and the expansion of international opportunities for networking and obtaining information constitute important incentives in this regard. The fostering of networking is especially significant between stakeholder groups originating from different contexts, such as schools and companies. This applies both internationally and within Italy. Compared to their German counterparts, numerous stakeholders in Italy with ideas for cooperation are much more likely to have to manage without funding from the Erasmus+ Programme. This is because far fewer projects are approved in Italy than in Germany, although the former are mostly fully financed once authorised. So which impetuses are required in order to interest stakeholders and participants in cooperation agreements and motivate them to engage?
It seems that the removal of hurdles in the development, planning and implementation phases may be the key to this. Low-threshold information and guidance provision and easier points of access to specific experiences from successful past projects are also effective mechanisms. Secure financing is an essential factor for the formation and continuation of cooperation agreements. For this reason, the study recommends that access routes to Erasmus+ funding should be better facilitated in Italy in particular. It also proposes the generation of new sources of financing.
There are other indicators which appear to be of fundamental assistance to the success of cooperation projects, including all participants having foreign language skills, the firm curricular establishment of periods of time spent abroad during the course of training, and the empowerment of VET staff who are actively involved in cooperation agreements. A further recommendation is that teaching staff in both countries should receive appropriate recompense for their involvement in the initiation and organisation of mobility projects.
The findings obtained will permit the derivation of relevant action options for the structuring of future VET cooperation arrangements at both a practical and a policy level.
Further information on the study
The study is a research investigation commissioned by the German Office for International Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (GOVET). It was conducted between October 2020 and July 2021 by the apollis Institute of Social Research and Opinion Polling, based in Bolzano, Italy. The study systematically recorded German-Italian cooperation agreements in VET, identified examples of good practice and went on to set out action areas for the strategic further development and support of cooperation agreements.
A German-Italian government cooperation committee was in place to provide close technical assistance. The members of this committee were as follows.
- German Office for International Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (GOVET) at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- Ministero dell’Istruzione (MI)
- Agenzia Nazionale Politiche Attive del Lavoro (ANPAL)
- Goethe Institute Italy
- German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Italy
Information on bilateral government cooperation between Germany and Italy
Italy and Germany have been pursuing detailed cooperative activities and projects since 2012. GOVET supports the bilateral collaboration undertaken in Italy by the BMBF by providing technical planning and guidance services and by managing and implementing relevant activities. The constructive and lively cooperation takes place amidst a consensus that VET plays a particularly important role in the economic development in the two countries but that it is also crucial socially and culturally. In December 2019, the BMBF and the MI in Italy (previously known as the MIUR) renewed the joint Memorandum of Understanding which reinforces the huge interest of both in a continuation and intensification of cooperation. One main focus of the current phase of cooperation is to encourage participation by further stakeholders within the scope of bilateral agreements. Possible collaboration partners in this regard include companies, chambers and trade unions, the associated aim being to strengthen cooperation projects and occupational learning mobility between both countries.