The past 2 years have been really dynamic and very fruitful – our GEP VET team of experts from Germany, Slovakia, Portugal and Bulgaria identified altogether 18 most relevant entrepreneurship competences across Europe, on that basis we created 18 trainings modules and we developed and launched our main product  – the GEP VET Online Toolbox – the web home of entrepreneurship (http://toolbox.gepvet.eu/). In addition, our GEP VET community grew further with the dozens of European trainers who were involved in our Train The Trainer seminars and launched the GEP VET modules in their organisations. And all this with one major aim – to foster entrepreneurship culture among VET teachers and trainers, labour market and in-company trainers, on the one hand, and on the other hand to promote entrepreneurial mind-set and behavior among learners in VET, employees and people in labour market courses.

The final GEP VET conference is an important milestone in the fulfilment of the goal of the project, where the GEP VET mission of encouragement of the entrepreneurship potential will be spread among an audience of EU agencies, governmental bodies, international experts, corporate figures, entrepreneurs, public figures etc.

For a detailed programme of the conference, please see below!

The Final Conference will take place on 28. September. 2015

 in Hotel NOVOTEL, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Join us to celebrate the future of entrepreneurship together!

Simply register on http://gepvetconference.rsvpify.com/

We are looking forward to welcoming you on the Final GEP VET Conference!

The post GEP VET FINAL CONFERENCE – YOU ARE INVITED! appeared first on Gepvet.

After the initial enthusiasm in the piloting of the trainings, the GEP VET Team wants to look back more critically in the search for improvement of the Toolbox. The goal is to make this tool an intuitive, easy to use measure in the popularization of entrepreneurship in companies and in the VET sector. Therefore, series of events are currently organized and conducted in all partner countries, in order to gather direct feedback about the practical implementation of all training modules.

In addition, we wanted to “drink water from the source” on the topic of entrepreneurship, so we invited young entrepreneurs to share their experiences, challenges and useful tips. And we cannot wait to share their wisdom with you! Here you go:

“It is not bad to FAIL. It is even a precious experience.”

“The culture of your organization plays crucial role for the encouragement of entrepreneurial spirit.”

“Being an entrepreneur means going out of your comfort zone.”

“In bigger companies, it is the HR who can “educate” the TOP management in the spirit of entrepreneurship. You are our ambassadors, dear HR experts!”

If you are a trainer, that has piloted some of the training modules in our Toolbox or has used its great Needs Analysis tool – please, drop us a line at [email protected]  about your experience and feel free to share any suggestions for improvements!

The post The GEP VET Toolbox gets overcrowded! appeared first on Gepvet.

The event included participants from all over Europe, representing training institutions, universities, private companies etc. And we do hope that by telling the GEP VET story in this auditory we have increased the chances, that entrepreneurial mindset and behavior gets encouraged in such a variety of institutions with the help of our great set of training materials!

Have you already tried implementing GEP VET training modules on entrepreneurial competences in your organization or institution? Drop us a line on [email protected] ! We’ll be glad to hear your feedback!

And finally, in the spirit of our castle-event, a closing sentence from the wise Alexandre Dumas:

“Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.”

Same goes for entrepreneurship, so do not give up too easily! GEP VET is here to help you with those dragons

The post Entrepreneurship moved into a castle! appeared first on Gepvet.

We are proud to announce, that the core product of our GEP VET project has come to live and is awaiting you under www.toolbox.gepvet.eu!

The GEP VET ONLINE TOOLBOX is a synonym of the new type of learning – interactive and adapted to the concrete learners’ needs! Are you a teacher or a trainer? This modern platform will assist you in the selection of the most appropriate topics and materials on entrepreneurship based on needs’ analysis of your target group.

Welcome to the toolbox!

The toolbox consists of a user-friendly analytic tool and a rich repository of training resources – all available to you absolutely free! You will find training materials on topics like decision making, creativity and innovation, intuitive intelligence, business idea evaluation and many others! Get inspired from the ideas of two dozens of trainers from all over Europe! Give a fresh boost to your training process and develop the entrepreneurship potential of the people in your organizations!

So have a look and feel free to dive into the GEP VET ONLINE TOOLBOX! You are just one quick registration away from the web-home of entrepreneurship trainings.

And if you are curious to know where and how you can integrate the training modules on entrepreneurship in your training courses, just drop us a line at [email protected].

The upcoming Train-the-Trainer seminars are as follows:

Sofia, Bulgaria – 26.-27.03.2015 Contact person: Anelia Dimitrova – [email protected]

Liptovsky Jan, Slovakei – 19.-20.03.2015 Contact person: Mario Manni –[email protected]

Göttingen, Germany – 25.03. und 11. 04.2015 Contact person: Julia Busche – [email protected]

The post Official Launch of the GEP VET ONLINE TOOLBOX! appeared first on Gepvet.

The training workshop was meant for each partner to introduce the training modules on entrepreneurship, assigned to their organization, and also to conduct an exemplary training session with an in-depth look at certain modules and activities of the curriculum for the rest of the participating trainers. The session also played a great role in collecting feedback on the relevance of the content of the training materials presented by each trainer and to engage the teachers for possible improvements and adaptation where needed.

During the scope of the training each trainer presented at least one fully developed module with theoretical background and chosen activity/exercise. After each presentation all participants were allowed for comments and suggestions. During these question and answer sessions valid and fruitful discussions led to identify additional ideas, clarify and set measures for the further improvement of the training modules before the train-the-trainer (TTT) sessions on national level and the online toolbox official launch.

The GEP VET project team is now finalising the modular-based training course on entrepreneurship and revising the last glitches in the innovative online toolbox. Meanwhile the team is organizing the National train-the-trainer events in Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia.

So if you are inspired stay tuned on this page to learn more about the upcoming National train-the-trainer sessions at the begging of 2015 in the three involved countries – Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia.

The post European Train-the-Trainer workshop in the welcoming Akademie Waldschlößchen appeared first on Gepvet.

At the event GEPVET project was presented by the project manager Anelia Dimitrova. The participants in the seminar had the opportunity to get acquainted with the main concept of the project, namely: “How to grow the entrepreneurial potential in the vocational education and training in Bulgaria”. In the project the entrepreneurial idea covers the sense of initiative, entrepreneurial thinking, innovation, creativity, flexibility, risk willingness and tolerance and decision making ability. The sought long term impact of the project is a change in the overall attitude in conducting trainings for adults, i.e. providing appropriate training materials for the teachers to encourage their students to be more entrepreneurial and proactive, no matter if they are willing to become self-employed or would like to contribute to the organizations they work for.

Anelia Dimitrova presented also the approach and results of the efforts of the project consortium at the time – developed modular training program in entrepreneurship and conducted training for trainers (TTT) at European level, incl. testing the training modules.

The news about the forthcoming national Train-the-Trainer in Bulgaria in January/February 2015 provoked strong interest among the guests of the seminar, and number of trainers in VET schools and centers, incl. freelance trainers shared their intention to take part in the GEP VET training. This proved once again, that there is a great demand for such trainings, also shown in the results of the Needs Analysis Research of the project, and the project will contribute in developing those important skills, applicable in all business sectors.

We strongly encourage all teachers and trainers in the VET sector, as well as in-company trainers, interested in developing their teaching skills regarding the entrepreneurial topic, to write us an email referring to the event “Training of trainers”  (TTT ) to the project manager a.dimitrova@catro.com and/or the project coordinator  [email protected]

The post GEP VET captured the interest at a seminar on the theme “The entrepreneurship spirit in Europe” appeared first on Gepvet.

The question of how to teach and learn entrepreneurship was vividly discussed by regional stakeholders and the GEP VET partners during the networking event on October 30.10.2014 in Göttingen, Germany. For the event approx. 20 experts joined to exchange their view and experience on the subject and to discuss possible ways of enhancing entrepreneurial competences in the context of educational curricula.

The discussion started with a short intro on the European programmes and initiatives to promote entrepreneurship – a topic widely represented in a number of departments in the European Commission. The sense of initiative and entrepreneurship is also one of the eight key competences that were defined by the European Commission in its European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. The Framework defines the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship as the “ability to turn ideas into action. It involves creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.”

At the beginning of the discussion round all participants shared their definition of entrepreneurship and what it means to them. In most cases it turned out that assessing risk and taking action were considered most important aspects for both employees and self-employed. Those two, together with decision making and the sense of initiative were also emphasised by present employers and HR managers. Interestingly enough, the subsequent discussion turned towards the theme of self-employment and business-start-ups and where, of course, various related constraints were outlined. As the participants were of different nationalities is was interesting for all to view the topic from different angles and to face the national and local achievements in the subject.

The GEP VET project manager Anelia Dimitrova shared the concept of the project, i.e. – the consortium has developed training modules that shall promote decision-making, sense of initiative, communication skills, risk taking, negotiation etc. entrepreneurial skills in the context of vocational education and training.

The evening closed with delicious appetizers and pleasant informal talks that did not always revolve around entrepreneurship – here the mutual interest in more general European topics prevailed.

The post How to teach and learn entrepreneurship? appeared first on Gepvet.

During the meeting the project partners decided on the next steps for WP 4, i.e.:

• After finalization and fine tuning of the training modules on entrepreneurship the national Train-the-Trainers (TTT) events should take place during the period of December ’14 – January ’15.
• All finalized training materials will be uploaded on the online tool-box, currently under construction. The tool will analyse the training needs of the participants in the courses and assist the trainers to integrate the training materials into their regular training courses.
• The national two-day TTT courses will be followed by three months piloting phase of the online tool-box in each of the participating countries – Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia.

In regard with the above news the project consortium invites all interested trainers to join these national training events for free and benefit from the joint creative results of the highly professional European experts in entrepreneurship. If you are interested please send an email to the respective person in your participating country:

Bulgaria – [email protected] and/or [email protected]m

Germany – [email protected]  and/or [email protected] m.manni

Slovakia – [email protected]

The post Third consortium meeting for GEP VET project in Göttingen, Germany appeared first on Gepvet.

Currently, the project consortium is developing and adapting a Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Programme which includes all relevant entrepreneurial competences, identified in our Desk Research and Needs Analysis Report. Most of the training modules will be based on a previous EU Project called PECAE, which has already been implemented in 7 EU countries.

The new and adapted program will focus on skills such as:

• Analysis and problem solving skills,
• Creative thinking and flexibility
• Responsibility and assertiveness
• Business planning skills and business model evaluation
• Risk analysis and risk tolerance

After internal piloting of the training modules, we would like to invite trainers from different sectors (Vocational Education and Training Centers), as well as in-company trainers or free-lance trainers to a National TTT event in each of the consortium countries in November 2014. This will be a practical oriented training which will give the participants an access to the most innovative training content and methodology in terms of entrepreneurship skills. The training modules will be available through an online tool-box, specially designed for the purpose of the project. The tool-box will assist the trainers in identifying the training needs of the participants in the specific course and give recommendations for using the most effective training programme according to those needs.

Finally, all trainers who will take part in the national TTT event will have the chance to evaluate their personal training skills with a unique assessment and validation software tool – LEVEL 5.

The LEVEL5 system which is specifically designed to assess
personal, social and organisational competence developments in
non-formal and informal learning settings.

It is based on a 3-dimensional approach to validate cognitive, activity related and affective learning outcomes – the LEVEL5 cube.

If you are inspired to get in touch with us and benefit from the joint creative efforts of highly professional European experts in entrepreneurship, please send us an email, referring to the TTT event in November 2014 to:  [email protected] and [email protected]

The post Improve your Training Skills in Entrepreneurship appeared first on Gepvet.

The main discussion points at the two-day meeting were:

• Reflection round and Evaluation summary from the Kick-off meting;  Discussion and Approval of the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan developed by BUPNET, Germany;
• Wrap up of WP2­_ Desk research & primary research  – discussion of the issues, findings and partners’ satisfaction from the report – Desk research and Need analysis report;
• WP3_Development of draft train-the-trainer course and online tool box – Allocation of tasks and responsibilities and set up of an Action plan;
• Testing, discussion of the final version of the project website, including principle, design and functionality of the online toolbox;
• Discussion of the Project Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy;
• Administrative and reporting questions.

The meeting was held in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, which fostered the creativity and the fruitful results at the end.  All partners were glad with the results from the work done during the elaboration of the Desk research and Need analysis report and enthusiastic about the further development of the project activities.

The post Second International Meeting of GEP VET Project appeared first on Gepvet.