Page 16 - Euroguidance Insight Magazine

© State Education Development Agency, Latvia

ing and problem-solving skills, and to encourage education lack knowledge about the numerous VET
individuals not to be afraid of the unknown, whilst programmes and the wide range of vocational job
exploring how to involve and motivate cooperation opportunities.
partners in providing career guidance support. Par-
ticipants also had opportunities to network during Together, EG Denmark and the Erasmus+ VET
the event and share their professional experience team of the Danish National Agency set up an
with colleagues from other countries. Erasmus+ TCA Study Visit for three days in June
2022 in Copenhagen. The Training and Cooper-
EG Latvia as the host organisation chose to organise ation Activity (TCA) was financed by Erasmus+
a hybrid seminar by combining both online and and Euroguidance and was offered to European
on-site activities to give the greatest opportunity practitioners, managers and teachers working in
for career guidance practitioners to meet and share guidance in lower secondary education. The study
information. The social isolation caused by the visit focused on the role of guidance in the transi-
COVID-19 pandemic underlined the hybrid option tion from primary and lower secondary education
as the preferred method, with many professionals to Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET)
acknowledging that face-to-face interaction among and how guidance and information campaigns
seminar participants cannot be fully replaced or can strengthen the knowledge of the attrac-
substituted by participation merely online. tiveness of IVET.
For more information, please see Hope in Times of 23 European guidance counsellors from 11 dif-
Uncertainty ferent countries took part in the study visit in Co-
Erasmus+ Training and Cooperation penhagen, which was the first one in Denmark after
Activity (TCA): "Guidance and the COVID-19 pandemic. It included presentations
the promotion of IVET", June 2022, of the Danish education and guidance systems from
national experts and policymakers on the first day,
Denmark and presentations by two VET students from the
Attracting more students to Vocational Education ‘Corps of Role Models’ on their choice of education.
and Training (VET) programmes is a major challenge, Armed with this basic knowledge of the two sys-
not only in Denmark, but in several European tems, participants were ready to visit institutions in
countries. It is therefore important to broaden the Copenhagen on the second day. They visited a major
pupils’ knowledge and views on career choices and VET College, a preparatory youth education and
further education. Many pupils in lower secondary training centre and the youth guidance centre of

16 1. NETWORK LEVEL ACTIVITIES