About the project

Train to Sustain – developing capacity to teach sustainability in VET

Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Strategic Partnership for Vocational Education and Training
2020-1-FI01-KA202-066632
1.12.2020-31.5.2023

Train to Sustain -developing capacity to teach sustainability in VET was a two-year cross-sectoral project. The aim is to develop vocational education and training (VET) teachers´ and trainers´ skills to guide their colleagues and students in the subjects Sustainability, Circular economy and Lean combined in an innovative way – Train the trainer. The training approach aims at being interactive, experimental and inclusive.

Within the project there were five VET partners in Finland, Denmark, Austria and Portugal all working with sustainability and circular economy issues. The work was developed in cooperation with associated partners from working life, and Lean principles were brought on from the Erasmus+ project Lean for Work and Lean for Life. This strategic partnership developed and produced innovative approaches to professional development of VET trainers´ skills on sustainability combined with Lean in order to train students for working life. Our aim is to provide all students with valuable knowledge and skills on sustainability by the time they graduate.

The objectives

  • To build capacity and confidence of teachers/trainers in teaching sustainability and circular economy combined with Lean principles in innovative ways
  • To provide sustained professional development that disseminates the expertise of the partners across the partnership and encourage synergies with organisations in different VET disciplines and different countries
  • To increase capacity of each partner to develop sustainability issues on an organisational level and to increase the cooperation with working life on these matter.
  • To spread the knowledge and skills of using different digital skills and tools between partners
  • To increase capacity of each organization to cooperate at sustainability issues at an EU/international level.

The project outcomes

A high quality training package including four intellectual outputs that were piloted with VET teachers.

  1. A Basic theory training package on sustainability, circular economy and Lean. What is what? Why? How?
  2. An Electronic toolbox with activities to facilitate learning
  3. Four digital virtual 360 environments from different industries with information and individual activities
  4. A Teachers’ training guidance/manual

The teaching material is available in English, Finnish, Danish, German, Portuguese, Swedish and found on the project homepage.

The Partners

Finland: Vamia – Vocational college

Finland: Omnia – Espoon seudun koulutuskuntayhtymä

Portugal: ATEC

Denmark: EUC Syd

Austria: bit Schulungscenter

Contact details