On 26 January 2022, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) held its first event of the year to introduce its Action Plan for 2022 and highlight upcoming events and activities. A select group of EAfA members joined the event to discuss the Alliance's six priorities and share good practices.

EAfA Awards 2022 and other updates

The event started with an opening speech by Norbert Schöbel, Team Leader of the Vocational Education and Training Unit of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL).

During the event, it was announced that the EAfA Awards 2022 will be presented in two categories: one for apprentices and one for enterprises (small, medium-sized and big enterprises). Learn more about the EAfA Awards, including eligibility criteria and deadlines.

Vicki Donlevy, Research Director at Ecorys, highlighted several exciting EAfA updates, including four podcast episodes and 13 online and four hybrid events scheduled for 2022. More information on each of these activities can be found on the EAfA activities hub.

Key takeaways

The Info Session featured eight guest speakers representing different stakeholders:

• Agnes Roman, Senior Policy Coordinator at the European Trade Union Confederation;
• Anu Haapasalo, Vice Chairman of the Association of Apprenticeship Experts;
• Ben Kinross, European Apprentices Network;
• Delphine Rudelli, Director General of Ceemet − European Tech & Industry Employers;
• Liliane Volozinskis, Policy Director at SMEunited;
• Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll European Trade Union;
• Noelia Cantero, Director at EARLALL;
• Silvia Miró, Director at PIMEC.

The guest speakers discussed a variety of topics related to apprenticeships, including the following:

• EAfA’s role in preparing its members for future trends and challenges in apprenticeships, including digital transition and international mobility;
• the shortage of apprentices in the workforce;
• the different apprenticeship systems across Europe and how they could benefit from a common, adaptable system;
• the significance of undertaking research studies for the improvement of apprenticeship systems;
• trends, challenges and opportunities, such as digital apprenticeship support, apprenticeship diversification, as well as hybrid and blended learning and the initiatives taken by some stakeholders with EAfA’s continuous support.

You can watch the full recording of the EAfA Info Session on YouTube. Please see the ‘Related documents’ section below to download the full report of the Info Session.