The Orienta4VET project wanted to work on and towards access to VET, as well as to contribute to staying in and completing these programmes. It has worked on increasing the attractiveness of VET, flexibility of opportunities and innovation. These VET challenges have been translated into three operational objectives in the framework of the Orienta4VET project: 1) Making VET visible in our contexts, identifying and analysing its main problems and its social impact, identifying the main VET barriers in the territories and analysing their impact (O1); 2) Exploring the potentiality and viability of alternative pathways from a European and transnational vision, facilitating the diversification and flexibility of access opportunities in VET (O2); 3) Designing adequate orientation and tutorial action strategies in VET itineraries, evaluating their usefulness from the point of view of VET educational agents (O3); 4) Capacity building of VET educational agents on guidance processes and orientation and tutorial action strategies as integrated elements of their teaching and learning processes (O4).
The potential of vocational education and training (VET) cannot be underestimated in terms of addressing equity in education and working towards more inclusive education and societies, with lower unemployment rates (especially youth unemployment) and a lower proportion of the population not in education or employment. Nevertheless, VET remains the least preferred option in upper secondary education and continues to have an undervalued and unrealistic social image. One of the reasons for this is the lack of appropriate guidance processes - adequate orientation mechanisms and tutorial strategies. Thus, educational and vocational guidance in VET is very necessary. It is necessary to focus on orientation and tutorial strategies in this educational field in order to combat early school leaving and to support young people in their transition to and stay in VET. The Orienta4VET project has addressed the need to develop appropriate educational and vocational guidance in VET through the design of mechanisms and tools of orientation and tutorial strategies according to the real and current needs of VET agents and contexts, working on increasing VET attractiveness, flexibility of opportunities and innovation.