The European Commission has integrated its various educational and training initiatives under a single umbrella, the Lifelong Learning Programme. With a significant budget of nearly €7 billion for 2007 to 2013, the new programme replaces previous education, vocational training and e-Learning programmes, which ended in 2006.
The programme enables individuals at all stages of their lives to pursue stimulating learning opportunities across Europe. There are four sub-programmes focusing on different stages of education and training and continuing previous programmes:
* Comenius for schools
* Erasmus for higher education
* Leonardo da Vinci for vocational education and training
* Grundtvig for adult education
The Leonardo da Vinci programme links policy to practice in the field of vocational education and training (VET). Projects range from those giving individuals the chance to improve their competences, knowledge and skills through a period abroad, to Europe-wide co-operation between training organisations.
Part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, the programme funds a wide range of actions, notably cross-border mobility initiatives; co-operation projects to develop and spread innovation; and thematic networks. The potential beneficiaries are similarly wide - from trainees in initial vocational training, to people already in the labour market, as well as VET professionals and private or public organisations active in this field.
Leonardo da Vinci enables VET organisations to work with European partners, exchange best practices, increasing the expertise of their staff and respond to the teaching and learning needs of people. It therefore supports efforts to make vocational education more attractive to young people. By helping European citizens to acquire new skills, knowledge and qualifications, the programme also aims to bolster the competitiveness of the European labour market.
Innovation projects have always been at the core of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. They aim to improve the quality of training systems through the development and transfer of innovative policies, contents, methods and procedures within vocational education and training.
Thematic Monitoring is a qualitative process put in place since 2002 in the Leonardo da Vinci Programme to increase the impact of the innovative projects with focus on improvement of the quality of the projects.
In 2006-2007 the thematic monitoring activities included the following topics.
1. VET and the labour market, guidance, target groups
2. Development of competencies and skills within companies, SME's, competences at sectoral level
3. Quality of VET systems and practices, continuous training of teachers and trainers
4. Transparency of qualifications, validation of formal and informal learning, credit transfer
5. E-learning
In 2009 thematic activity will be continued with new topics. More information on the EACEA Website.
