The project focused on improving teaching practices, through the creation of innovative and entrepreneurial projects, with a practical focus and aimed at the world of work, complementing formal education with a non-formal aspect. The objective was to direct more students to VET courses, allowing them to respond to the needs of the world of work, develop technical skills, but also soft, or essential, skills and, fundamentally, contribute to the growing training of qualified technicians for the various sectors of the economy. To achieve this, it is necessary, first of all, to change the mentalities of VET teachers, being the purpose of this application to empower and train VET teachers to leverage VET courses in AECS. With this project we intended to invest in the training of these teachers and trainers, leading to the development of their skills, through the attendance of courses focused on the weaknesses found, to lead to the adoption of collaborative practices, the implementation of mechanisms for sharing, reflection and dissemination of good practices in VET, while simultaneously promoting the digital training of teachers, essential for changing habits and practices of teaching and learning.
AECS is located in Carregal do Sal (Viseu), a rural village. It offers regular and VET education from pre-school to 12th grade. VET has been functioning at AECS for 15 years, with 3 classes, one for each year of secondary education. However, of the 192 secondary students, only 63 attended VET classes, at the time of this application, i.e. only 32%. In 2021, AECS was evaluated for its EQAVET compliance practices, having been awarded the EQAVET Label for a period of 3 years. The school demonstrated, in all criteria assessed, a Consolidated or Advanced degree of alignment and the present project is part of the improvement plan drawn up then. The aim is to improve VET results through the adoption of a policy that ensures the quality and teaching provided, promotes the attractiveness of VET courses and helps to prevent school dropouts. Seen as a “minor” choice, usually associated with students who have failed several times in their pathway (in 2021, in the 10th grade, only 9 of the 27 students were 15 years old - 33%) or who reveal difficulties in their learning (20% of students with additional and selective measures were in VET classes), this project intends to contribute to a paradigm shift in AECS, regarding VET courses.