We participated in the EfVET link opens on new pageAnnual Conference in Rhodes at the end of October.

For me, two main themes stood out: internationalization in European vocational education and the extent of dealing with green issues.

During one of the many conversations held during the conference, the project manager of a Dutch vocational school with 13 thousand learners essentially looked up to an Italian, saying, "You are playing in the Champions League." In this school in Northwest Italy, there are 1000 level learners and a hundred teachers. The international cooperation department has nine people. They are involved in projects in all Erasmus+ sub-programs, including the Center of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) program. In a pilot program, they started the first Capacity Building project for skills development in the Balkans, and now they have started a second one. They actively make use of the opportunities that EfVET provides for teachers' international networking and collaboration.

The size of the school does not prevent it from being actively engaged in international cooperation, keeping up with the times, and providing learners with modern education.

As a vocational school, we are also a good example in this regard: our international cooperation has been active over the years, with many project works completed. We have received many recognitions and have stood out, even compared to larger vocational schools.

We have also started the first Capacity Building project with Finns in Tanzania. Writing the application was time-consuming and challenging, and after the project application, its fate hung by a thread for a long time. Now, Tanzanian partners have overcome bureaucratic obstacles with the European Commission and substantive work is beginning.

We are also participating in the application for the first Center of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) project. The process is also proceeding very laboriously. Life will show how far we get with it, but we are open. There are many opportunities and collaboration offers, but not all can be accepted. It is important to stick to our strategy and interests.

Dealing with green issues involves the entire European vocational education. In some places, progress has been made. In the Basque Country, there is a competence center where practical circular economy projects in biomaterial production are carried out with learners. Two Dutch veterinary nursing teachers talked about their bottom-up created green vision, based on the following realizations:

• Nobody knows all the right answers.
• Everyone needs to learn.
• We are in a hurry with this.

Several concerns were also raised: the topic is new, difficult to understand, and broad. Teaching green skills has not been widely addressed in teacher training. How to measure green skills? For school management, this is not always a priority – in one group work, a Dutch school gave an example where the actual implementation of the green strategy has stalled.

It was emphasized that attitude, leadership support, teacher autonomy, and progress in small steps are very important. We are addressing the latter in our Green Team.

We have had several international projects related to green issues. Recently, we started work with Erasmus+ project "VET Schools Doing Green," where we are developing awareness among teachers and learners regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The plan includes teacher training, networking, and student projects.