Country fiches

There is an information and guidance mechanism for international learning mobility of IVET learners.
Erasmus+ Agency as the Estonian representative in the Euroguidance network promotes mobility and provides information and guidance on the mobility opportunities available in Europe to the VET institutions and individuals. National Europass Centre coordinates all activities related to the Europass documents. The main responsibility for information and guidance to individual learners lies with VET institutions.

Finland actively promotes international learning mobility of students, teachers, guidance counsellors and other experts.
At national level, EDUFI, The Finnish National Agency for Education – acting as the National Agency for Erasmus+ and Nordplus Junior– supports international learning mobility in vocational education through information and promotional activities related to the implementation of these programmes.
At institutional level, IVET learners are provided with personalised guidance services. All information and guidance mechanisms in IVET follow a decentralised model in Finland. Educational institutions have high level of autonomy in most matters, including guidance support. It is the strategic choice of the Finnish government to maintain that autonomy, also in relation to issues concerning international mobility and cooperation.
In the Finnish vocational upper secondary education, the provision of guidance is prescribed in the Vocational Education and Training Act (1) which governs the organisation of curriculum-based upper secondary vocational education and training for both young and adult students. According to legislation, students are entitled to the necessary personal guidance in order to complete their qualifications. The necessary guidance and support are included in the personal competence development plan which is drawn up by the teacher together with the student.
Within the vocational institutions, the responsibility for providing guidance is shared by teachers, guidance counsellors and the international services/international office. There are variations in services from provider to provider. It is a local and/or regional decision how to organise these services. According to the law, all providers assist their students, in clarifying their interests and values, identifying their skills and reflecting on their experience. Education providers assist their students to understand different options available for them, as well as formulating personal competence development plans and making career-oriented decisions. This type of support is provided also in relation to international learning mobility in IVET.
In addition, EDUFI offers nationally available, personalised information and guidance services on international mobility directly to individuals, including IVET learners. EDUFI’s information services provide information on study, practical training and youth activities abroad, as well as information on other international options. The phone and online guidance services help learners to map various international opportunities and assist them in finding relevant information, as well as guiding them to sources of further information.
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(1) 531/2017 in Finnish https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2017/20170531

In Poland, the provision of information and guidance on international learning mobility to IVET learners is the responsibility of educational and vocational counsellors working in schools, VET teachers, and school principals, who are the first points of contact for learners interested in international mobility opportunities. In addition, IVET learners can also approach regional education superintendents (kurator oświaty) or local/regional authorities to learn more about international mobility projects at the local/regional level. In 2018, the act on vocational guidance introduced an additional learning outcome in the form of the ability to plan one’s development, which includes analysing international opportunities for learning and working(1).

Additionally, within the Euroguidance network in Poland, staff responsible for youth guidance are being informed about publications concerning mobility. The network has published a guidebook on IVET mobility, aimed at learners, teachers and guidance counsellors alike (2).

To support the organisation of international mobility in Poland, general guidelines have been published on how to organise practical training, including training abroad(3).

Mobility projects under Erasmus+ are administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE) – the Polish National Agency for the Erasmus+ Programme. FRSE provides support for learners, IVET institutions and employers at the central and regional levels. It organises regional workshops, seminars and conferences(4) , conducts evaluations of IVET mobility and different research, publishes guidebooks and other publications on mobility (5) , provides assistance on a daily basis, operates on social media (Facebook (6), Twitter, You Tube, Flickr, Instagram), provides a web page, and a newsletter. Additionally, FRSE houses the Eurodesk service in Poland.
FRSE reaches out to local communities in more direct ways. For example, in 2017 an initiative “Erasmus+ Bus” was launched, which was targeted at potential participants of the programme who usually cannot take part in events taking place in the capital. In 2017, during meetings information on mobility projects was delivered to over 3050 persons. Since 2018 the Mobile Educational Centre (7) - a training and teaching trailer - continues the initiative of the Erasmus+ Bus. The main target group of the Centre is teaching staff who participate in training on how to use modern technology in their work with students.
These initiatives operate in parallel with the establishment of a network of Regional Information Points (8) (one per region) in 2018. Their main goal is to promote and inform about EU programmes and initiatives, including Erasmus+ Programme opportunities in the region, especially in smaller towns. In 2020, almost half of these points operated within the offices of regional education superintendents (kurator oświaty), which helps to bring a better level of coordination of information (and enables better outreach to local communities).
In 2021, on the initiative of the European Commission, the National VET Experts Team – EVET (9) was established and the National Expert Team – ECVET (10) ended its operation. 17 experts were appointed in two areas of education and higher education. The organisational support for the experts is provided by FRSE. The main tasks of the EVET Team include promoting and advising on the practical application of the European Commission's tools regarding: supporting educational mobility, ensuring high-quality learning outcomes, recognition of competences and qualifications, as well as examining the careers of graduates of vocational education. The above objectives are implemented by organising, in cooperation with EVET experts and with their substantive consultation: seminars, conferences, training sessions, debates, study visits and analytical works, as well as providing expert advice to the beneficiaries of the Erasmus+ Programme and other entities active in the field of the sectoral education system in Poland. The Team is also active in supporting the improvement of quality of vocational education and cooperation between VET schools and employers. In 2021, 4 working meetings of the EVET team were held, experts were also involved in the development of 4 substantive publications and many promotional and information activities (e.g. I Vocational Education Forum (11)).
Other initiatives, e.g., the Polish-German Youth Office, have websites and / or offices that provide information on learning mobilities (12).
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(1) Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 16 August 2018 on vocational guidance, Journal of Laws 2018, item 1675, http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20180001675 (Polish version only).
(2) Duda, W. (2018). Mobilność edukacyjno-zawodowa uczniów szkół zawodowych [Educational and vocational mobility of vocational schools learners]. Warszawa: Ośrodek Rozwoju Edukacji. Polish version only: https://doradztwo.ore.edu.pl/mobilnosc-edukacyjno-zawodowa-uczniow-szko… /
3) National Centre for Supporting Vocational and Continuing Education (2013). Quality Standards in Vocational Education. Warsaw http://www.koweziu.edu.pl/download.php? plik=KOWEZiU_Standardy_ENG.pdf.
(4) For example, FRSE’s annual flagship conference – Congress of Education (Kongres Edukacji), attended in 2021 by over 2,500 recipients. https://kongres.frse.org.pl/, [accessed 21.12.2022].
(5) For example: Włodarczyk, A. i Motysia, K. (ed.) (2021). Współpraca szkół branżowych z pracodawcami. Perspektywa beneficjentów programu Erasmus+. Warszawa: Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji. (“The cooperation of sectoral schools with employers.Perspective of Erasmus+ beneficiaries”), https://www.frse.org.pl/czytelnia/wspolpraca-szkol-branzowych-z-pracoda… [accessed 16.12.2022].
(6) Erasmus + VET Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/ZawodowyErasmus, [accessed 21.12.2022].
(7) Mobile Educational Centre (Mobilne Centrum Edukacyjne), https://erasmusplus.org.pl/mce, [accessed 13.10.2022].
(8) Regional Information Points, https://www.frse.org.pl/rpi, [accessed 30.10.2022].
(9) National VET Experts Team - EVET, http://www.ekspercivet.org.pl, [accessed 15.12.2022].
(10) National Expert Team - ECVET, https://www.eksperciecvet.org.pl, [accessed 15.12.2022].
(11) Vocational Education Forum, www.forumedukacjizawodowej.pl, [accessed 15.12.2022].
(12) The Polish-German Youth Office website: https://pnwm.org/ (Polish version).

Swedish education is based on goal-steering, equity and equality principles. The legislation stipulates that all students, regardless of age, should have access to adequate career guidance. International learning is a goal provided for in the curriculum for upper secondary education, special needs upper secondary school and adult upper secondary education, the three curricula that govern IVET. Each school organiser is obliged by law to provide study and career guidance to its students according to the individual’s needs. Study and career guidance is defined widely and narrowly: The wide definition includes all school activity that contributes to the student’s ability to make informed choices, and is the responsibility of all adults working in the school. The narrow definition is the personalised guidance provided to an individual (or group) by a study and career counsellor, a regulated profession limited to those who have graduated from a counselling programme at teachers' college. The aim of the counselling, and thus the content covered, is to widen the student’s view about his or her own abilities, different educational paths and vocations, but also challenge the student’s notions of education and vocations from a gender, a social and a cultural perspective. The goal is to develop the ability for the student to take different perspectives into account in order to make informed choices about his or her future education or vocation.