Brussels, 18/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has chosen 295 projects from 31 countries, to benefit from a aid under Leonardo da Vinci, a programme to encourage cross-border cooperation to boost innovation and improve the quality of vocational education and training in Europe. A total of 86 million EUR has been made available to co-fund these projects. Apart from the mobility of placement students (see EUROPE 8987), Leonardo da Vinci also comes to the aid of innovative pilot schemes covering a large number of fields related to vocational education and training.
The projects which have just been chosen focus on: -the development of new measures and new instruments to present, promote and compare qualifications and skills at European, national and sectorial levels; the multiplication of possibilities for vocational training, taking account of transparency and the transferability of skills acquired during formal education; the use of information and communication technologies in the field of learning, in combination with learning groups, learning in the family, tutorials and trans-national virtual study groups; the creation of adequate tools for training and learning in order to improve skills, also for less-qualified workers; the creation of on-line training tools for quality management in professional education and training; the training of teachers and trainers and the exchange of experience between schools, voluntary organisations, universities and business. The 295 projects will also make a direct contribution to improving the functioning of the European employment market based on transparent professional qualifications which are transferable from one Than the State to the next and the quality of vocational training systems and practices in Europe. It is worth noting that Leonardo projects are selected on the basis of a call for proposals.
The call for the 2006 selection round will close on 30 September 2005 (info: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/leonardo/new/leonardo2_fr.html). This will be the last of the current phase in the programme, which is due to end in 2006. Thereafter, vocational training activities will continue to be supported as part of the new integrated action programme on the field of education and life-long learning (2007-2013).