- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Description
In December 2018, the Council of ministers approved EUR 8.6 million (three times the previous budget), jointly financed by the European Social Fund, for VET teacher training, upskilling and mobility. The distribution criteria, agreed by the Autonomous Communities, take into account the number of teachers and the number of secondary schools and / or baccalaureate centres and / or VET centres. CPD training provision for teachers also encompasses guidance practitioners.
The framework for VET teacher training, upskilling, and mobility includes a range of initiatives designed to ensure that educators are well-prepared for the demands of modern vocational training. Teachers are required to participate in upskilling programmes that focus on digital competence, the use of technology in teaching, and the integration of industry-specific tools in their curricula. These programmes are delivered through online platforms and training workshops, allowing teachers to continuously improve their skills without leaving their teaching responsibilities.
In December 2019, the budget approved by the council of ministers for the Training, improvement and mobility of teachers' actions programme totalled EUR 17 816 600, with shared financing from the European Social Fund.
Grants for training stays in companies for VET teachers in the education system went out to call from by the education ministry. The total budget allocated for these stays for 2019/20 is EUR 367 163.72. Some regions are also providing such grants for VET teachers in their territory, for example the Valencia, Asturias, or Extremadura regions.
The plan for the modernisation of VET gives greater weight to teachers' and trainers' continuous professional development (CPD) through placements in companies, especially those with a multinational presence, playing a very important role as partners in teachers' CPD. It is planned to provide training for the 50 562 VET teachers in public schools, via a 30-hour training module on digital skills, with a budget allocated in the plan for the modernisation of VET of EUR 5 million over 2 years.
In November, the Council of Ministers approved an investment of EUR 33 million earmarked for different territorial cooperation education programmes with the Autonomous Communities in vocational training. This investment, distributed among the Autonomous Communities, includes initiatives for the training, further training, and mobility of vocational training teachers with EUR 5 300 000. These funds are in addition to those provided for in the plan for the modernisation of VET. The implementation period is between 1 September 2020 and 31 December 2021.
VET teachers' continuous development and mobility continued to receive specific funds distributed among the Autonomous Communities. The aim is to improve teachers' performance and learners' transition to the world of work. The Territorial cooperation programme approved in September envisages an investment of EUR 6 000 million for VET teachers. EUR 300 million were earmarked for training around 700 000 teachers in digital competence and EUR 110 million for the digital vocational training plan (Plan FP Digital).
The digital vocational training plan (Plan FP Digital) -part of the national digital competence plan- includes training for VET teachers in applied digitisation and in specialisation programmes with greater demand for the industrial sector. This plan is included in Spain´s NIP.
Spain's NIP considers digital and green training applied to each productive sector for VET teachers so that they can serve as a lever for the digital and sustainable take-off of the productive force. Specific courses were conducted for VET teachers by the national reference centres and the competent regional authorities.
The objective was to upskill 25 281 teachers in one year. All teachers were trained.
Through the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF), the education ministry offered 5 600 places for 22 online training courses for teachers who provide services in public-funded centres and teach at the different non-university levels.
Training activities focused on meeting teachers' needs for inclusion and educational equity by improving digital teaching skills and promoting accessible content and virtual learning environments. The modular structure allowed participants to organise their time, plan their learning from the beginning, and get a certification.
Grants for training stays in companies for VET teachers were replaced by professional placements in schools. The education ministry launched a call for 120 grants for professional placements in schools in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom for teachers working in Spanish public schools.
These professional placements are study and observation visits in which the Spanish teacher is hosted by a foreign VET centre for two weeks, between November 2023 and August 2024, inclusive. The call is open to all civil servants who teach Early childhood, Primary, Secondary, or VET Education, including Language, Music, Performing Arts, Plastic Arts, and Design.
As in 2023, the education ministry planned to grant 120 teachers working in Spanish public schools professional placements in education centres in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States between November 2024 and August 2025, inclusive.
The call is open again to all civil servants teachers of Early childhood, Primary, Secondary or VET Education, including Language, Music, Performing Arts, Plastic Arts and Design.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (until 2023)
- Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports
- Council of Ministers
Target groups
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Trainers
- School leaders
- Adult educators
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to the ways VET is funded at the system level. Policies include optimisation of VET provider funding that allows them to adapt their offer to changing skill needs, green and digital transitions, the social agenda and economic cycles, e.g. increasing the funding for VET or for specific programmes. They can also concern changing the mechanism of how the funding is allocated to VET schools (per capita vs based on achievement or other criteria). Using EU funds and financial instruments for development of VET and skills also falls into this sub-category.
Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences
Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.
This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.
The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.
European and international dimensions of VET
This thematic category covers both European and international cooperation in initial and continuing VET, aimed at promoting EU VET systems as a European education and training area and making it a reference for learners in neighbouring countries and across the globe.
Expanding opportunities and increasing participation of VET learners, young and adult, and staff in international mobility for learning and work, including apprenticeship and virtual and blended mobility, account for most initiatives in this thematic category.
Apart from established and financially supported EU cooperation, VET opens up to cooperation and promotion of European values and national practices beyond the EU, which is becoming a trend. This thematic category also encompasses internationalisation strategies, transnational cooperation projects and initiatives – including those where joint VET programmes, examinations and qualifications are developed – and participation in international skills competitions that promote the image of VET. Using international qualifications – awarded by legally established international bodies or by a national body acting on behalf of an international body – in the national VET systems and recognising them towards national qualifications is also in focus.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing opportunities for, implementing and increasing rates of, learning mobility of VET and adult learners and staff, including virtual mobility, apprenticeship placements, long-duration mobility and mobility to third countries, in line with national regulations, collective agreements and health and safety provisions. It also includes the provision of information about mobility, support structures and tools, strengthening the quality of mobility experiences and recognition of learning outcomes acquired abroad, including with the use of relevant EU tools, e.g. memoranda of understanding or learning agreements (ECVET elements).
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
- Sustainability - a green link in VET
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). VET teacher training, upskilling and mobility: Spain. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28693