On April 8–9, INFODEF participated in the IV Vocational Education and Training Forum of Castilla y León, held at Valladolid Congress Centre, in Spain. The event brought together regional experts and European policy influencers to discuss the future of vocational training and the critical role of international cooperation in education.
INFODEF’S director, Jesús Boyano, joined an engaging roundtable on mobility and internationalisation, sharing insights on how the entity’s involvement in excellence projects reinforces our commitment to modernizing vocational training. His participation underscored INFODEF’s dedication to ensuring that education meets labor market demands while embracing global best practices.
The forum featured renowned speakers such as:
- Rocío Lucas Navas – Education Counselor from the Junta de Castilla y León.
- Joachim James Calleja – President of EfVET and VET consultant, who presented the new European capacity strategy for vocational training, highlighting emerging opportunities and challenges across EU member states.
- José Manuel Galvín – Senior Expert in Vocational Excellence at the European Training Foundation, who illuminated international cooperation models, particularly the coordination of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) and skills ecosystems.
- Alicia Gabán – Head of Communications and Projects at EARLALL (European Association of Regional and Local Authorities for Lifelong Learning).
- Anastasia Pouliou – Expert in qualifications and credentials at CEDEFOP.
- Agustín Sigüenza Molina – Director General of FP and Special Regime in Castilla y León.
Precisely within the framework of the 4th Vocational Education and Training Forum of Castilla y León, the signing ceremony of the HABITABLE Regional Alliance of Castilla y León took place, with the participation of INFODEF. This event marked a key step in continuing to strengthen a collaborative model around the habitat sector, and it was made possible thanks to the commitment of all partner organizations, as well as those that, through their presence, have actively chosen to join this process.
In addition, the forum coincided with the Castilla y León VET Skills 2025 Competition. In this competition, more than 200 vocational students from the region showcased their talents in various categories, including hairdressing, masonry, mechatronics, automotive technology, pharmacy, window display, culinary arts, and renewable energies. Regional winners will now advance to the national competition that will take place in 2026.
Notably, the construction competition zone featured the presence of the HABITABLE project – an innovative initiative addressing the shortage of skilled professionals in Europe’s housing sector by developing a Centre of Vocational Excellence in the Habitat area. Alongside other excellence projects like SEBCoVE, GreenVET4U, VET4chains, or GreenCCIrcle, our participation in these initiatives reaffirms INFODEF’s commitment to innovation and the sustainable evolution of vocational training.
Fostering collaboration between educational institutions and industry partners is key to harnessing the benefits of vocational training in today’s digital and green economy. The Skills Competition is a great example of collaboration where companies from different sectors partner with the competition organizers to enable the development of the different tasks providing materials and tools, and also evaluating the participant students. This event is an important showcase for young people to closely learn about the professional development options offered by vocational training.
