Erasmus+, Centres of vocational excellence.
Date: 2020-02-19
Institutions: European Education and Culture Executive Agency
Subjects: EU programme, cooperation in the field of education, education policy, educational exchange, learning, updating of skills, virtual community, vocational training

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Erasmus+
Centres of Vocational 
Excellence

If  your  vocational  education  and 
training 
centre  wants  to  become  a  world-reference 
hub  for  skills  to  support  local  development 
and 
timely  solutions 
to  economic  and  societal  challenges,  then 
Erasmus+  has  funds  to  support  you !

innovation,  providing 

The combined effects of rapid technological change, digitalisation, 
climate change, circular economy, and new forms of work call for 
innovative ideas to ensure that vocational education and training 
(VET)  not  only  adapts  to  change,  but  is  also  at  the  forefront  of 
mastering and driving this change. New ways of collaborating at 
regional, national and transnational levels are necessary to meet 
these challenges.

Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) are intended to be world-
class reference points for training in specific areas for both initial 
training of young people as well as for continuing up-skilling and 
re-skilling of adults. They operate in a given local context, closely 
embedded in the local innovation ecosystems, while working with 
centres  in  other  countries  through  international  collaborative 
platforms.

Would  you  like  to  be  a  world-class  reference  point  for 
vocational training ?

The  EU  provides  funds  for  the  establishment  and  development 
of transnational platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence. 

(aeronautics, e-mobility, healthcare, tourism, etc.) or

Platforms are formed by Centres of Vocational Excellence, which :
•   share  a  common  interest  in  specific  sectors  or  trades 
•   develop  together  innovative  approaches  to  tackle  societal, 
technological  and  economic  challenges  (climate  change, 
digitalisation,  artificial  intelligence,  sustainable  development 
goals,  integration  of  migrants,  upskilling  people  with  low 
qualification levels, etc.)     

CoVE’s are 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. They act as catalysts for local development, by ensuring 
supply of high quality skilled workers through flexible and timely 
offer of training for the skills needs of companies, while adopting 
a  bottom-up  approach  to  excellence  where  VET  institutions  are 
capable of rapidly adapting skills provision to evolving local needs. 

Centres  of  Vocational  Excellence  can  achieve  more  than 
the sum of its parts. 

CoVEs  are  expected  to  go  far  beyond  the  simple  provision  of  a 
quality  vocational  qualification.  Projects  must  include  relevant 
deliverables grouped under 3 clusters of activities : 

At least 3 
activities

Cluster 1
Teaching and 
Training

At least 3 
activities

Cluster 2
Cooperation and 
partnership

At least 2 
activities

Cluster 3
Governance and 
Funding

Education, 
Audiovisual 
and Culture 
Executive Agency

 
 
 
 
To be considered for funding, it is essential for projects to 
address the 3 success factors for vocational excellence :

What should the partnerships look like ? 

8 full partners* from 4 Erasmus+ Programme countries (at least 
2 Member States)      

Each country must involve…

at least 1 company or industry 
or sector representative and

at least 1 VET provider

*partners must be legally established organisations

which will apply for the Erasmus+ grant. 

•   One of the full partners will be the coordinating organisation, 
•   The  partnership  can  include  organisations  from  Erasmus+ 
Programme and / or partner countries as associated partners 
to the extent it is demonstrated that their participation brings 
an added value to the CoVE. 
•    The  activities  must  take  place 

in  Erasmus+  Programme 

countries.

What funding is available ?

BUDGET AVAILABLE 
20 Mio €

MAX. EU CO-FINANCING 
80 %

MAX. EU GRANT PER PROJECT 
4 Mio €

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Timeframe

Deadline for 
submission of 
applications

20 February 2020, 
5 pm  
(Brussels time)

Start of the 
projects

1 October 2020  
or  
1 November 2020

Duration

4 years

institutions,  science  parks, 

The partners in the projects, can include :
Initial and continuing VET providers, tertiary education institutions 
including  universities  of  applied  sciences  and  polytechnics, 
research 
innovation  agencies, 
companies,  chambers  and  their  associations,  social  partners, 
social  enterprises,  sectoral  skills  councils,  professional / sector 
associations,  national  and  regional  authorities  and  development 
agencies,  public  employment  services,  qualifications  authorities, 
social inclusion and reintegration organisations, etc.

Other important aspects
•   Projects have to use EU wide instruments and tools whenever 
(e.g.  EQF,  ESCO,  Europass,  quality  assurance, 

relevant 
competence frameworks, etc.).

•   Applications  must  include  a  long-term  action  plan  for  the 
progressive roll-out of project deliverables after the project has 
finished. 

•  They should include a focus on green and digital skills.
•   Projects should aim to adopt an inclusive dimension. 

Interested in applying ?

Find the official Applicants’ Guidelines and the application eForm on the EACEA website.
Watch the video of the info session on the Call 2020.
Download the Mapping of Centres of Vocational Excellence here
Have a look at a good example for vocational excellence : CIV Water.

Image : © golubovy, stock.adobe.com

Luxembourg : Publications Office of the European Union, 2020

© European Union, 2020
Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be 
sought directly from the copyright holders.

PRINT    EC-03-20-049-EN-C    ISBN 978-92-9484-205-3    doi 10.2797/735756

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