In the partnership of the BEM project, qualification authorities and VET providers from eight countries have joined forces to develop micro-credentials (MC) that address the needs of selected sectors in the countries or target groups that are only marginally covered by the education system. In developing the MC, we are drawing on the principles and existing experience, matrixes and templates gained from piloting ECVET. Our partnership includes EU member states, associated countries, candidate countries and countries that are not members of the EU (Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Norway, Germany). Our partnership is designed for long-term networking and cooperation.The labour market relevance of the micro-credentials is ensured through a stock-taking phase and the involvement of relevant stakeholders. The development takes place locally at the VET providers, who also guarantee the adoption of the credentials in their programme. The participating qualification authorities ensure sustainable use of the micro-credentials and initiate processes for their valorisation through accreditation or recognition - depending on the framework conditions in the countries. The developed micro-credentials are suitable for use in initial and further training, they can be provided at school, at the workplace and in higher education. They can be used as stand-alone qualifications or as starting qualifications (VET preparation), as an additional qualification (upskilling), for retraining or for the validation of informal learning.European added value is achieved by mapping the micro-credentials into Skillsbank. Skillsbank is a multilingual platform in which the results (units of learning outcomes) from the many years of European testing of ECVET are stored and made available. The digitalisation of the micro-credentials and their interlinking with individual learning accounts and with Europass also gives the project a European dimension.

Social economy encompasses a variety of businesses, organizations and different legal entities sharing as their main objective to systematically put people first, aiming to create products and services that have a positive impact in all society’s respect (societal, financial, environmental, etc.). In addition, social entrepreneurship comprises the activities and processes undertaken to discover, define and exploit opportunities to enhance social wealth by creating new ventures or managing existing organizations in an innovative manner (Zehra et al.,2009, p519) – is a widely growing idea all across Europe, giving the opportunity EU citizens to civic engagement through addressing various social issues that may directly or indirectly affect citizens.There are 2.8 million social economy enterprises, representing 10% of all businesses in the EU. Almost 13.6 million people – about 6.2% of the EU’s employees – work for social economy enterprises. On top of the paid workforce, social economy mobilises volunteers, equivalent to 5.5 million full-time workers.Additionally, Vocational Education and Training in Europe depends on high-quality and timely insights on job market dynamics and new skills demands, yet often social characteristics on those educational schemes are left behind. The concept of social entrepreneurship is fully in line with Armenia’s aim to become an “entrepreneurial heaven” aiming to combat unemployment issues that have been plaguing the country for years. Azerbaijan a country rich with activities with a sustainable impact. Lastly, Moldova wrecked by the peril repercussions of COVID-19 has encountered difficulties on rebounding back both at a social and financial level.The project SEVET aims to create socialpreneurs through the development and establishment of training schemes in VET institutions focusing on underlining the social characteristics and features of students into the engineering career sector.