Getting ahead through entrepreneurship in vocational education and training

Partnership on entrepreneurial centres of excellence 

 The ETF has been leading a partnership among selected EntreCoVEs in partner countries since 2021. The rationale for this major campaign is that by acting in a more entrepreneurial way, CoVEs can help boost socio-economic development in their communities and regions. As explained in a description of the partnership: 

“Being entrepreneurial CoVEs is about having a drive toward innovation, having robust networks and putting learners at the centre. However, more is needed in terms of strategy setting and operational approaches.” 

The partnership was inspired by EntreComp – the EU’s entrepreneurship competence framework promoting entrepreneurship as a key competence for lifelong learning, – and the ETF’s successful support to Tunisia in developing an entrepreneurial spirit across vocational training. 

Over and above the framework and toolkit, the ETF has promoted peer learning through a webinar series about entrepreneurial approaches in European Union states and partner countries; and coaching sessions for individual CoVEs to produce new training and identify partners. Just around the corner is an ecosystem engagement toolkit to help CoVEs activate new partnerships. 

The ETF events at WorldSkills will take stock of progress, and learn from best practice case studies such as the CoVEs in Morocco and North Macedonia. 

ESITH centre of vocational excellence, Morocco 

ESITH – École supérieure des Industries du Textile et de l’Habillement – was founded in 1996 in Casablanca. It was the first public-private partnership in vocational and higher education in Morocco, launched to cater for the needs of the textile sector. 

Since then it has grown from around 100 students to 1,250. In 2003 new programmes were launched, including professional bachelor and masters degrees in other occupations such as logistics, industrial management, and distribution. There are 13 programmes in all. 

The college has around 110 staff including 50 lecturers, and collaborates with 120 part-time lecturers from the academia and industry. There are four research laboratories, career and entrepreneurship centres, and adult education provision. 

"Run as a non-profit company, ESITH has considerable autonomy. This is one of the reasons we got invited by the ETF into the CoVEs network, along with factors such as collaboration with the private sector and internationalisation,”  says Hamouti.

ESITH works with Erasmus+, including its VET capacity building programme, with partners in Morocco and Europe. Government funding comprises around one-third of ESITH’s budget, with about 40% coming from student fees and 25% from entrepreneurial activities. The imperative to generate income from the start helped the college to become entrepreneurial. 

“We started teaching entrepreneurship about 15 years ago. Three years ago we set up an entrepreneurship centre to support students and ultimately graduates to understand business and to start businesses.” 

[Since becoming involved with the ETF] “there has been progress”, Hamouti says. "For example, the self-evaluation tool helped the college to discover what it is doing well and what hasn’t succeeded. We analysed the outcomes of the self-evluation and discovered loopholes.” 

The Nikola Karev Regional VET Centre, North Macedonia 

The Nikola Karev Regional VET Centre in Strumica, North Macedonia, offers formal education of three and four years, adult education. It also validates non-formal and informal education. It covers six vocations – mechanical; electronics and energetics; traffic and logistics; construction; wood processing; and textile and leather – and operates a driving school as an independent unit. 

The centre has 120 employees including 90 teachers and 1,107 students this year – that is, students in formal education aged 14 to 18 years – from Strumica, where the centre is based, and across the south-east of North Macedonia. There is also a fluctuating number of adult students. 

Already well developed communication with business and industry resulted in a dual education system combining an apprenticeship in a company with vocational education in one course. 

Work-based learning has shown great results in increasing graduates’ employability and high quality service, and ability to use their competences and skills, says Rashkovska. 

"Students acquire creativity and soft skills which, combined with the technical skills, usually gives the best result.” 

Like ESITH, Nikola Karev has been involved with Erasmus+. One project, "Blending European vocational practice into the Macedonian curriculum”, is up for the European Commission’s European Innovative Teaching Award. This year the centre has hosted students from France – the first Macedonian vocational school to host EU students. 

Nikola Karev changed from being a municipal high school to a state-owned VET centre on 1 January 2024 and is undergoing profound transformation. 

Working with the ETF 

The process to be recognised as a CoVE has added value to the transformation, and involved activities with the ETF. Facing these two major challenges simultaneously has not been easy. 

“Following EU-aligned regulations has put many challenges in front of us. We’re facing them bravely,” says Rashkovska, who hopes the centre will meet EntreCoVE alignment tasks by the year end. "At the same time, ETF guidelines and activites have been extremely useful."

Teachers have attended ETF workshops and resourced materials for their classes. 

“They are very, very satisfied, not only finding out about best practices all over the world, but also being invited to share best practices,” says Rashkovska. 

Working with the ETF, and having acquired new skills, “we aim to build skills in students related to problem solving, developing effective communication and similar skills,” Rashkovska adds. 

“Now that we’re involved with the ETF, we also think that transformation to an entrepreneurial model is a motivation to be increasingly responsive to the dynamic requirements of industry and the business sector.”

 Vice versa, Nikola Karev plans to establish innovation hubs, as spaces where students can work on projects and collaborate with industry experts. 

ETF coaching makes an entrepreneurial difference 

The EntreCoVEs have each been allocated a coach who works online. The coaching process lasted almost a year, Hamouti says, and covered a range of issues including what products to create in the entrepreneurship centre. Some of them are already in place. 

“The quality of the expert is excellent. Previously we were thinking alone – we were just looking at ourselves. But the mirror doesn’t say everything. Sometimes you think you’re succeeding, but then someone tells you what is happening the world. This is something we appreciated a lot."  

“We started the process of grasping new terms. Like, for example, empathy in business, empathy in relations with stakeholders, how to understand stakeholders, how to attract stakeholders, how to sell your entrepreneurship centre to relevant stakeholders. This was very important, because when we were looking for stakeholders for the centre, we were looking across the board. That’s not the way to do it. Each stakeholder we invite to collaborate should be minutely studied and assessed."

ESITH is forging a partnership with the Belgium Development Agency, Enabel, which is supporting Sub-Saharan students in Morocco.

"This is a major change. It is the first time that we have an external stakeholder trusting us with an important entrepreneurship project." 

“We are starting to see the fruits of the coaching,” concludes Hamouti.