Despite public administration’s efforts to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in Europe, the vast majority of the population is unaware of their concept, let alone their application. While in Turkey a large 92% of the population has heard of the SDGs, only 13% are familiar with their concept and concrete targets. However, in the rest of Europe, including Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Portugal, around 80% of the population know nothing about the SDGs (SDG Impact Summit, 2019). This lack of knowledge has been confirmed by the stakeholders of this consortium, industry and VET providers in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, even in Turkey, who confirm the lack of holistic approaches that include the SDGs in a cross-cutting manner in the different areas of VET to educate future generations of workforce in a sustainable mindset that contributes to a new way of doing business and a greener and more inclusive economy. About 50% of young Europeans aged 15-19 participate in I-VET at upper secondary level, and although there are large differences in VET education policies and the approach to apprenticeships in different European countries, there is a clear commitment of governments to align with the European alliance for apprenticeships (EAfA) and its value-added approach to work-based learning. The creation of a new Sustainable Apprentices ECVET European Curriculum will contribute to the unification of criteria on supporting Apprenticeship programmes to implement the SDGs in SMEs, and will be crucial to row in the same direction at a supra-state level in the economic transformation and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
- The SMEs’ demand for young workers trained in the SDGs to respond to the challenges of the future faced by the private sector.
- The lack of a holistic approach in VET institutions that addresses not only environmental responsibility in all professions and business models, but also the key aspects of the Agenda 2030 such as inclusion, gender equality, cooperation, and innovation for development.
- Lack of coordination between VET educators and in-company trainers to guide and assist apprentices with a common understanding.
The six partners of Sustainable Apprentices have chosen to carry out this project not only have a wide and recognised experience in the creation of new educational methodologies to address VET gaps and to respond to the needs of the labour market but they are also directly linked to the main policy-making stakeholders in education, in-company training, and SMEs. This will guarantee a transnational approach to needs close to the reality demanded by SMEs and VET providers.
