Strengthening vocational education in Europe through knowledge sharing

Rethinking professions and skills

In Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, 10 projects are working to strengthen vocational education at the intersection of the green and digital transition. While national contexts differ, many of the challenges are shared – and increasingly urgent.

Across borders and professions, educators and educational institutions are grappling with how to ensure that young people acquire skills that remain relevant in a rapidly changing labour market. One example is the roofing profession, which has changed dramatically in recent years. Artur Bedanski from the Polish Roofers Association explains:

“Roofing used to be a manual craft. Today, roofs are no longer just coverings – they are platforms for technology. We model, scale and plan digitally. Yet training often looks like it did 20 years ago. Attracting people to the profession is one thing; helping them grow within it is another.”

Paulina Mielczarel from the educational NGO TETOS Foundation sees similar dynamics. 

“The market is changing at a rapid pace. Before, you completed an education and gained the skills needed for a job for life. Today, you get a job after finishing your education, but two or three years later you need entirely new qualifications,” she says.

Together with the vocational school TEB Edukacja in Poland, the foundation is establishing a new educational centre for IT programmers and technicians. The initiative includes upgrading of school laboratories with modern equipment to support hands-on learning. It also focuses on updating curricula and training teachers, ensuring that students’ skills align with real market needs. 

“For instance, we are already working with micro-credentials and expect to see much more of this in the future,” Mielczarel explains.

A growing shortage of teachers

Another pressing challenge is the growing shortage of teachers.

“We are facing a serious lack of teachers – data show that we will be missing more than 10,000 by 2030. We need to make the teaching profession attractive again,” said Ivan Siller from the Faculty of Education at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The faculty is working to educate future generations of teachers by strengthening practical pedagogy and professional identity and have just launched an initiative targeting VET teachers in particular.

“One of the main problems is that the teachers don’t have enough practical education. They are not prepared for the teaching role. To strengthen their skills, we organise practical workshops with the students – for instance in classroom management and how to create active and participatory teaching with children from different social backgrounds,” he explains. 

Changing the way education is taught is a change process, which is why the faculty is also preparing to offer workshops for school managers.

“Many schools know that there is a need to change the way of teaching. They are ready to make that change, but they need guidance. This is why we will also support the management of schools with workshops specifically designed for them,” Siller says.

From individual to collective impact

Beyond project presentations and group discussions, the meeting featured contributions from experts and other Villum Foundation–supported initiatives. This included a presentation by Ole Sejer Iversen, Professor of Interaction Design at Aarhus University, on preparing young people for a digital society, and insights from Nina Groes, Director of Divers, the Danish NGO behind the Boss Ladies project promoting gender diversity in vocational education. Participants also visited the TEC Energy House in Søborg, appointed by the Ministry of Education as one of Denmark’s three designated Climate Schools.

The kick-off seminar marked the beginning of a shared learning journey, with a strong focus on turning individual projects into collective impact across borders.

“If we want to achieve systemic change, it’s not enough to fund strong individual projects. We also need to share knowledge and build on what we learn, so that together we can achieve more than any single project could on its own. Hopefully this workshop will help achieve this goal,” said Nicolas Schunck, Grant Area Director at the Villum Foundation.

Read more about the projects here.