On 15 October 2019, the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) held a meeting in Helsinki, Finland as part of European Vocational Skills Week 2019.

This year’s European Vocational Skills Week (EVSW) focused on ‘VET for All – Skills for Life’. In line with the overall topic, the conference discussed how apprenticeships can be relevant to adults and the key aspects that differentiate adult apprenticeships from those designed for a younger target group.

Around 300 delegates participated in the event, including national and European policymakers, young apprentices, representatives from sector organisations, education institutions and businesses and members of the EAfA from across Europe.

Various speakers intervened to present the latest policy developments, present good practices and discuss main challenges for delivering adult apprenticeships and potential solutions.

During the event, eighteen new members were welcomed to the Alliance, that finally surpassed the symbolic milestone of 300 pledges with a signature from the Association of Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVRAR). New members included:

• Air Liquide - Christophe Chalier, VP HR Europe Industries
• APETEC - Vitor Alhandra, Vice-President
• Audencia - Frédérique Orpen, Head of Foreign Languages and ICT in Education
• AVRAR - Martin Kotek, President
• C.I.F.P. Profesor Raúl Vázquez - Carmen Santamaría Estefanía, Director 
• Central Bohemia Region - Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová, Governor of the Central Bohemia Region
• City Council of Alzira - Carmen Herrero Pardo, Head of Unit
• College ten Doorn - Lieven Cauwels, Coordinator Internationalization
• Deusto University - Ana Mendibil, International Internships and I-Dual Coordinator
• Fundació Catalana de l’Esplai (Fundesplai) - Sergi Alegre Calero, Head of international projects
• Glocal Srl - Silvano Del Duca, General Administrator
• IES Emilio Canalejo Olmeda (Montilla) - Juan José Gallego Martínez, Project Coordinator
• IHK-PROJEKTGESELLSCHAFT MBH - Daniel Klee, Representative for the development and implementation of foreign activities
• Institut Don Bosco Val d’Or - Jean-Marc Brasseur, European projects responsible
• IT VET school Smichov - Radko Sáblík, Director
• Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board - Paul Patton, Director of Further Education and Training
• Panorama - Akeem Cujo Oppong, Director
• Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) - Lotta Naglitsch, Director of Education.

You can download the EAfA event report, check the agenda and browse through images from the EVSW.

EAfA members benefit from Apprenticeship Support Services (AppSS), a new package of support that offers online resources and networking opportunities, allowing members to connect, learn and act. Interested in joining the Alliance? Find out more in our dedicated section and join the LinkedIn group.