Course overview

In a world where unemployment strikes with skill mismatch, dual education can be a bridge over troubled waters. In both the Rethinking Education communication and the 2013 youth unemployment communication, the European Commission called on the Member States to step up their efforts in promoting work-based learning, including quality traineeships, apprenticeships and dual systems. Several European countries, including Italy, implemented important reforms to support and foster work-based learning.
Participants will get acquainted with the basic concepts and trends about dual education and will learn about concrete strategies and best practices to integrate work-based learning into education pathways. Participants will visit and network with schools and companies that are active in the field of work-based learning.

​Learning outcomes

This course allows participants to improve their knowledge and competences related to work-based learning and dual education systems together with other participants and trainers throughout all Europe gaining as well a broader understanding of education in Europe and exchanging best practices and experiences.
A dual education system combines apprenticeships in a company and vocational education at school in one. Work-based learning is an educational strategy that provides students with real life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability.

The general aim of this course is to foster excellence in education by empowering teachers, trainers, headmasters and other education staff to integrate periods of work-based learning into traditional learning pathways.
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Thanks to this course the participants will:

• Understand the basic concepts of work-based learning and dual education systems;
• Acquire concrete knowledge about the implementation of dual education and the organization of work-based projects;
• Get acquainted with the funding possibilities offered by the Erasmus+ project to support work-based mobility projects;
• Meet teachers, company mentors, students and career counselors that have participated in the implementation of periods of work-based learning;
• Exchange good practices and discuss challenges with fellow colleagues and with the course trainers;
• Make contacts with individuals and organizations working in the education field in Europe through everyday cooperation and networking activities;
• Visit and network with Italian school and companies active in the field of work-based learning.

 

Courses planned

2025
08/06/2025 - 14/06/2025 (Bologna)
19/10/2025 - 25/10/2025 (Bologna)

​If none of these dates suits you please mind that if there are at least 8 participants interested we may organize an additional session ad-hoc for your school.

Target audience

This course is addressed to teachers, trainers, educational counsellors, career counsellors, school psychologists, headmasters, school management and administrative staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, training centres, adult education schools, higher education and NGOs.
Please mind that the course may include teachers from different school levels.

Language

The course is held in English. For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. 
Please write an email to [email protected] to get more information about it.

Past participants say...

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“If you want to start with dual education or WBL you should do this course and learn from best practice from all over Europe.”

- Tom Verbesselt, Belgium

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Company

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"Very helpful and warm people. Really ‘get int’ what they’re doing. I had a lot of things cleared up and a lot of crucial information." ​

- Spyros Siatras, Greece

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"Thank you so much for the training course! I really enjoyed and learnt lots from it. It is absolutely super. Your understanding of the challenges of our particular project and your skills in engaging the participants was outstanding."

- Samcea Nicoleta-Cristina, Romania

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Standard daily programme

Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that will be personalized on participants needs and professional profiles.
Our standard program comprises 7 days of course, of which the first one is dedicated to networking, preparation and cultural immersion and the last one to follow up, specific needs and cultural activities. Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants can choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it in order to enjoy a deeper cultural immersion. Upon specific request we can organize longer or shorter versions of this course.

Sunday	-  Participants arrival  - Orientation and information about the venue and the city   - Networking activities  - Walking tour in the venue’s city
Monday	- Course introduction - Teambuilding exercises - Needs and expectations evaluation -  Dual education and work-based learning: basic concepts and current trends in Europe -  Introduction to the education system in Italy -  The apprenticeship's legislation in Italy and the latest reform on work-based learning -  Work in group: challenges and best practices in the implementation of dual education and work-based learning
Tuesday	- Focus on Erasmus+ and ErasmusPRO and how to get funding to implement a work-based learning mobility project -  How to design and successfully implement a work-based learning project with Erasmus+ -  Validation and recognition of work-based learning outcomes and the ECVET system -  Visit to local vocational school experienced in the implementation of transnational work-based learning experiences -  Cultural activities in the venue’s city
Wednesday	-  The different types of work-based learning and dual education -  The dual education system in Germany -  Case study: focus on the pilot project DESI (Dual Education System Italy) - Optional cultural visit outside the venue’s city  ​
Thursday	-  The benefit of work-based learning for education and companies -  Dual education: the companies’ point of view and role -  The role of the in-company trainer -  Elevator Pitch: involve a company in work-based learning and dual education -  Work in group: a checklist to support new companies getting involved in work-based learning and dual education -  Visit to a company regularly welcoming vocational students for work-based periods
Friday	-  Meeting with the staff of training centre IFOM in charge of work-based learning project -  Case study: Transnational vocational work-based learning projects, the concrete experiences of the training centre IFOM -  Overcoming the challenges and identifying our way of implementing work-based learning experience -  Cultural activities in the venue’s city - Farewell dinner
Saturday	- Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities - Course roundup and final evaluation - Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony - Participants departure

Other relevant facts

• Methodology
• Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
• Certification and Validation of learning outcomes

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We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning in an interactive and international environment knowledge applicable to the real contexts and/or in the classroom. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange. They include visits with local schools and institutions allowing the participants to better understand the local education system as well as exchange ideas and contacts.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants' needs better tailoring the education.
We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.

Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price that is within the Erasmus+ grant.
We are proud to tailor our training courses to both participants' learning and practical needs and to ease your participation at our training courses, we will gladly take care of all the practical arrangements. If you prefer, you can take care of some of the practical arrangements by yourself (e.g. meals, local transport...), though we will manage the organization of your accommodation in order to ensure optimal logistic organization, safety and time-efficiency. We always provide board and lodging in the same hotel in which we organize the course  thus ensuring optimal comfort and potential of networking with the fellow participants. Read more about  how we take care of your subsistence and practical arrangements. 
The most common option that we offer to schools and organisations in 2025 costs 1405 EUR in Bologna, 1330 EUR in Tenerife and Thessaloniki and 1225 EUR in Palermo, Porto and Rimini and includes course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, 2 coffee breaks per day, walking tour in the venue’s city, a sum-up dissemination video. The standard option in Bologna, Tenerife and Thessaloniki includes all meals from Sunday lunch to Saturday lunch, while in Palermo, Porto and Rimini includes all breakfasts and three networking meals in local restaurants. Few of our courses include extra services and activities hence having a different pricing option, which will be communicated upon receiving the pre-registration.​
For schools sending 2 or more participants we can offer accommodation in double rooms and we can provide as well accommodation for people or relatives accompanying the participants.
When attending our courses, we recommend you to request 9 days of individual support for your subsistence costs, 7 days for the course plus 2 additional days for the travel. In this way you can have more flexibility in planning your stay and you can enjoy all the cultural activities planned from the first to the last day of course. You can read here more about the Erasmus+ funding. Shall you have need any help with filling the budget during the application stage or have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to support you.

At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance, together - if requested - with the Europass Mobility Certificate. The certificate are in line with the Erasmus Quality Standards and include a short description of the course and its learning outcomes, dates, venues, the name of the course provider and the course instructor(s).
We support the participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.

Videos and photos of previous training courses

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