Next to vocational skills, schools are expected to teach learners certain soft skills that will allow them to become good employees, entrepreneurs and citizens. In recent years, these skills have been labelled as ‘21st century skills’. Many definitions and sets of skills exist under this label and related ones, including the New Skills Agenda by the EU and several sets of skills by the World Economic Forum (New Vision for Education, 2015; Future of Jobs, 2016). What these lists have in common is a set of transversal soft skills. Including skills like creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, team collaboration and decision making.While most of these skills are transversal, different priorities can be placed depending on the domain or industry pupils and students will be working in. The creative industries are a sector with many special characteristics, e.g., a high emphasis on creativity and individuality, and a large proportion of entrepreneurship (freelancers and the self-employed). As such, special emphasis on those 21st century skills relevant for the (future) creative industries would be required for the creative industries education. As the 21st century skills are so practical and related to the vocational work, it would make more sense to teach them in close integration with vocational courses and assignments, but vocational teachers often lack the know-how. At the same time, these 21st century skills are part of global developments. Instead of integrating them individually, VET schools can exchange expertise and collaborate internationally to develop shared strategies to integrate the skills in their own education. As international collaboration and communication are often considered part of the 21st century skills, international collaboration can even be seen as a requirement for teaching these skills in practice. Only in international collaboration can learning opportunities be created that prepare students for a career in creative industries that more and more transcend national borders.In this project, the partners aim to define the most relevant 21st century skills for the creative industry education, by analysing the gap between industry needs and educational (VET) offerings. Subsequently they aim to bring these skills into VET education by proposing it as an integrated part of the vocational education and the creative design process. To do so, the project will organise training weeks where vocational teachers will receive professionalisation regarding the relevant 21st century skills, and will immediately apply these by coaching international student projects. This way, the teachers will receive knowledge and build up experience at the same time, so they can act as ‘ambassadors’ towards their colleagues at home. In the meantime, practical tools and exercises will be tested on the spot, and experiences will be exchanged regarding the implementation of these programs and tools at the home institutions. The overall objective will be the professionalisation of the participating teachers as well as their peers at home, and the implementation of the 21st century skills in the strategic agendas of the schools, and, via international networks like EGIN and the IC, also in other schools.In practice, eight partner schools will work together to train and coach teachers in applying the right 21st century skills during six training weeks. The participating students work on idealistic creative projects and will essentially be the 'guinea pigs' for the participating teachers. The training and coaching LTT meetings are organized in three sets of two meetings each; while taking place in different semesters and different cities, the participating teachers and students remain the same during the first and second LTT meeting of a set, so that reflection, deepening and widening can take place not only during the two meetings but between two meetings. The professionalisation of the teachers is directly applied and tested during the LTT meetings, but they will also implement it upon return in their own schools.Two intellectual outputs will be created in the project. While many overviews, frameworks and lists of 21st century skills exist, there is little research on the skills that matter most for (future) professionals specifically in the creative industries. The output report ‘21st century skills for the creative industries’ will combine desk research with a consultation of representatives of the creative industries in the networks of all participating partners. It will prioritise the skills to focus on. Based on the results of this research and the results of the professionalisation exercises during the project lifespan, we will create a guidebook (in print and as a website) with practical examples and exercises for VET teachers within the creative industries on how to teach relevant 21st century skills and implement them into the learning programs and curriculums of VET schools.

Early leaving from education and training (ELET) is a serious issue in many EU countries and has attracted the attention of many researchers, policy-makers and educators. Although the situation varies across countries and the underlying reasons for students leaving early are highly individual, the process leading up to it includes a number of common elements: learning difficulties, socio-economic problems, or a lack of motivation, guidance or support. Early leaving is highly challenging, not only for young people but also for societies. For many, Early Leaving Education or Training will lead to reduced opportunities in the labour market and an increased likelihood of unemployment, poverty, health problems and reduced participation in political, social and cultural activities. Furthermore, these negative consequences have an impact on the next generation and may perpetuate the occurrence of early leaving. Youth unemployment in the EU is currently running at 20% and ELET contributes directly to it as employability depends strongly on the level of qualification achieved. In order to understand why young people leave education and training early, it is moreover important to see ELET not only as a status or educational outcome but as a process of disengagement that occurs over time (Lyche, 2010). Chronic absenteeism and exclusion from school can be among the symptoms, or may even be the cause of students leaving early (Neild et al., 2007). However, there are more signs which indicate that students may be at risk. Warning signs may occur as early as in primary school and may be related to individual factors (e.g. educational performance, behaviour, attitudes) or to factors within individuals' families, their schools, and communities. Understanding early leaving from education and training as a complex process, detecting early signals and identifying students who are at risk of leaving education and training early is, therefore, a prerequisite for developing targeted and effective measures to prevent it. Continuing training for VET school staff is now enriched with a training curriculum tailored to enable trainers to acquire key competencies regarding the early detection of students that are in risk and on strategies to prevent dropouts in VET. By working with the target groups this project produced a tailor-made training material that is grounded in the VET school staff needs and also grounded in the factors that lead to ELET.The project RELiVET sought through national research, to use of EU, national and regional statistic reports, data from public educational authorities, and interviews with education professionals and students, and identified the factors that lead to early leaving from education and training in the partner countries. After identifying the real current factors that lead to ELET in VET schools, partners proceeded to the implementation of a comparative study on survey findings among participating countries. The conduction of the comparative study, according to the research outcomes, provided the basis upon which the training curriculum for teachers and scientific staff on effective strategies that increase graduation rates have been designed. The project provided an international and competitive training programme, specially designed for VET teachers, relevant professionals and families, based on international experiences. The project contributed to the development of further training of VET staff - a necessity not covered in many EU countries- and the general development and upgrading of Vocational Educational and Training, as it provided new supportive strategies which prevent ELET and keep students in education. The training seminar supported VET professionals in developing knowledge and competencies on strategies that help distinguish students at risk of ELET, prevent ELET and thus reduce the number of the students that abandon VET. The project addressed the constantly changing educational aspects of VET and contributed to the increase of attainment levels, through its emphasis on lifelong learning and the value of education on individual development and social cohesion. The project RELiVET supports through its realized activities and outcomes, the successful completion of studies in initial and continuing VET - focusing on areas with high ELET national levels- and it has done so by taking into account the factors that influence VET trainees when deciding to abandon studies. The programme created and promoted the appropriate conditions which help students overcome these factors and lead to graduation, certification and better career opportunities.

Project’s background The project is born both with the aim to offer a solution to the issue brought up during the 1st, 2nd and 4th European Antibullying Network Conference (EAN) financed by Daphne III in 2014, 2015 and in 2017 that had highlighted an increase of the bullying and cyberbullying phenomenons and the need of a coordination on a European level ,and to support the action plan of teachers’ training activities to prevent bullying presented by the MIUR in Italy in 2016. The objectives of the project were : the updating of teachers’ competences in their action of contrast of the bullying phenomenon in the school environment through the creation of a methodology based on the Applied Theatre techniques and the e-learning training and designing of video campaigns to arise awareness about such issue, planned by 13-16 years old students, aimed at their peers. Teachers from five European primary and secondary schools have taken part in the project, coordinated by three expert trainers in the various steps.During the whole course of the project teachers could personally explore the methodology to contrast the bullying phenomenon designed by partners Playhouse and Action Synergy, on the base of the Applied Theatre and Community Engagement strategies, in particular during the Joint Staff Training Event, getting to the creation of a methodological prototype. Students from the five schools have taken part in several workshops and have launched some short videos to make other teenagers aware of the bullying issue, after improving their knowledge about communicating through the social media.Very important results have come out from the project such as a methodological prototype of a set of laboratories in English to be used with students from different school levels; the prototype brings together the Applied Theatre methods with the Community Engagement strategies. Other relevant products are the translations of the project materials from English into the national languages of the five schools (Italian, Greek, Lithuanian, Polish and Portuguese), five short videos made by the students containing their messages against bullying, five more videos made by the schools about students’ and teachers’ experiences and opinions concerning the method used.Teachers, students, parents, headmasters, field experts , local authorities and NGOs members have appreciated the project results during the six final events organized by schools and trainers, in particular participants have welcomed the application of the Applied Theatre to such context for it has created among students empathy and understanding of the dramatic consequences of aggressive behaviours, as it can be inferred from the videos which have been designed and launched.

"Context of projectThe EuroSTEAM project is an Erasmus+ funded project that aims to increase basic maths, literacy and Science skills of students throughout Europe by introducing STEAM teaching methodologies to teachers. Low attainment levels in these subjects is a common problem throughout Europe with a varying underperformance throughout different regions. This is highlighted in various Euopean poilicy documents which claim that approximately 20% of young learners throughout Europe are not adequately equipped with relevant STEM based skills.The EuroSTEAM project has a key aim to tackle this problem and identify a new approach to nurturing these skills within students.The Eurosteam project had a duration of 36 months beginning in September 2016 and concluding on the 31st of August 2019.Project objectivesBy taking into account our key aim of boosting skills of young learners, the EuroSTEAM project had these objectives:1.Formulate a research study identifying underachievement in maths, science and literacy skills of learners aged 11–14 throughout Europe and identify how problem based STEAM methodologies can address these shortcomings.2.Develop a range of STEAM resources which are accessible for teachers to deliver in their classrooms to boost the required skills set and to provide teacher training handbooks in 5 European Languages.3.Develop an Online Toolkit which acts as a hub for downloading resources and also allow users to contribute their own resources to ensure the continuity of the toolkit.Participating organisationsThe project consisted of:- South West College (United Kingdom) – SWC is a vocational and technical college located in Northern Ireland. SWC is the lead partner on the EuroSTEAM project. - Thomas More Kempen (Beglium) – TM is the largest University college in Flanders with Aproximately 14,000 learners participating in a multitude of programmes. - Childrens museum Rome (Italy) – Il Museo Dei Bambini is a non-profit museum for children, schools and families where the exhibits can be observed, touched and interacted with in order to support learning.- ETIC (Portugal) – ETIC is an educational institution in the fields of creative industry and has a focus on promoting innovation, technology and creativity within education.- TKNIKA (Spain) – TKNIKA is the Institute for the Innovation of the Vocational and Educational Training System which promotes innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in schools and VET centres of the Basque Country.- Heilig Graf (Belgium) –HG is a school organisation and one of the first secondary schools in Belgium to start with a specific programme called STEM.- Via Mar dei Caraibi (Italy) – VMDC is a school situated in a heterogeneous district of Rome. Main activities undertakenThe project has had 7 transnational partner meetings. With the inclusion of face to face meetings, partners have also gained the opportunity to collectively test and consult with each other on project outputs.Intellectual outputsThroughout the project, partners have produced the following 3 outputs. 1.Comparative analysis report which identifies the underachievement of Maths, Literacy and Science skills within young learners throughout Europe and the need for a ""problem based"" STEAM approach to teaching.2.The development of 3 creative and educational camps which use STEAM based teaching methods to educate students in a variety of subject areas, piloted to 730 students.3.The development of an online toolkit which provides an online area where educators can learn about the project and access the outputs of the project. Multiplier eventsThroughout the project there has been 3 Multiplier events participated by 167 stakeholders . The events were:1.A workshop seminar hosted by Thomas More in Belgium which disseminated the results of the comparative analysis report.2.A demonstrative launch of the STEAM camps which was hosted in the Children’s Museum Rome.3.The final event was a showcase for the entire project results and was held at South West College in Northern Ireland.Results and impactEach organisation trialled the STEAM camps to a minimum of 100 students carrying out baseline surveys and following up with evaluations to understand each students experience. Results proved that there was a boost in skills in the key areas of Science, Literacy and Maths. The number of students carrying out the pilots was 730. The online toolkit hosting all of the outputs has had a total of 753 unique users at time of writing which will reach over 1000 within a year.Long term benefitsThe dissemination of the project will continue and results are expected to take a noticable leap when the new School year begins in September with the amount of users and feedback continuing to grow between September – December 2019. We foresee the online toolkit continuing to grow and evolve with continued contribution from teachers and educators to produce a growing library of resources."

Small and medium sized businesses in the service sector stands for an increasing part of employment in Europe. Entrepreneurship has been integrated in the curriculum across Europe and is an integrated part of almost all education programmes. Entrepreneurship education and programmes mostly focus on one country and one field. The aim of this project is to develop new innovative business ideas with service design by blending business ideas from five countries; Finland, Holland, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden, and three different fields; hairdressing, media and fashion & clothing. The project comprise 7 different schools. About 120 vocational students and 20 teachers will participate in the project.In addition to blending business ideas from different countries and fields the project focus on future skills in sustainable development and circular economy as central themes. A good life is no longer achieved by simply producing more and more goods. How do we move to a circular economy, in which consumption is based on using services – sharing, renting and recycling – instead of owning things?, this is a question that every future entrepreneur should be able to answer (www.sitra.fi). The project also benchmark and develop new methodology and pedagogical tools for entrepreneurship education.A central theme is also aim to increase language skills, promote intercultural communication, develop intercultural sensitivity and teamwork skills for students and teachers participating in the project.