On Thursday, May 14, the Foundation presented the study "Mobility of young people in vocational training" at the Palau Macaya in Barcelona with its authors: Francesc Colomé, Xavier Farriols and Josep Francí.

The study comes from an order from MEP Ernest Maragall through the parliamentary group of the Greens-European Free Alliance, and following its development, Maragall has been commissioned by the European Parliament to write a report on European mobility young people in vocational training .

Francesc Colomé, general director and secretary of Education of the Government of the Generalitat between 2004 and 2010, began his speech pointing out that only 7% of young people in mobility programs are studying FP. The objective of the European Commission in the 2020 horizon is to double the group of students in mobility programs, which represents a more important challenge in the case of VET. Colomé defended that it should not only double the number of young people in the FP who participate in these programs, but also double the time of their stays, which are currently very short. An objective that requires creating networks of companies that want to welcome these students in training, given that the vast majority of mobility programs in vocational training are aimed at carrying out training activities in companies of another member state.

Josep Francí, general director of FP of the Department of Education between 2004 and 2010, pointed out that in the next two decades there will be a great need to increase the mobility of skilled workers to cover labor needs in certain countries of the European Union, especially Germany. To cover this need, mobility must be more accessible and its management more efficient, in order to overcome the administrative, linguistic and opportunity cost barriers that limit its growth. To achieve this, intermediate institutions (between national governments and VET centers) that manage programs, a greater support and tutoring of mobility actions, and a generalization of Europass CVs and the recognition of training credits (ECVET) are needed. .

Finally, Xavier Farriols, who was deputy general director of FP programs and secretary of the Catalan Vocational Training Council, insisted on the idea that "to double mobility, management should be improved". Not only creating intermediate institutions and networks, but consolidating and creating new interregional transnational networks of formative mobility, following the model of some existing networks between different European regions in which the Generalitat de Catalunya participates.

The dialogue between the three authors, moderated by the director of the Foundation, Max Vives-Fierro, continued with a debate with the more than 70 people attending the event, most of them professionals from education and members of the vocational training community. Some of the interventions insisted on the need to improve management tools and the support of the Department of Education in the work - often almost heroic - carried out by Vocational Teachers responsible for European mobility, who strive to establish collaboration agreements with training centers and companies from other countries of the European Union.