Following the first partnership forum organised on 12 and 13 May in Rome by ISFOL (ReferNet Italy), it was Eoppep’s turn (ReferNet Greece) to welcome the other half of the network on 19 and 20 May, this time in Athens.

ReferNet is Cedefop’s network of institutions representing the 28 Member States, plus Iceland and Norway. Each national partner is a key organisation involved in vocational education and training (VET) in the country it represents offering first-hand information on VET’s role, purpose, governance and structure, insights into developments and trends in VET policies, and in-depth analysis of how each country is progressing in its implementation of common European policy objectives.

Both meetings focused on partnership and knowledge-sharing. Partners used this excellent opportunity to exchange thematic knowledge on one of the topics high on the European agenda: transnational mobility in initial vocational education and training (IVET).

They also tested the new platform designed by Cedefop for reporting on recent developments in national policies, and formed ‘partner pairs’ to prepare mutual peer reviews on their VET in Europe reports.

The meeting included information and hands-on sessions providing participants with the opportunity to bring back new ideas and know-how to their institutions.