CONTEXT VET@WORK project looks at one of the main challenge of the Europe 2020 Strategy: to reduce Early School Leaving (ESL) to less than 10% and contribute to increasing attainment in tertiary education to at least 40% by 2020. Completing upper secondary education is recommended as the minimum entrance qualification when making the crucial transition from education to the labour market. ESL is a multi-faceted and complex problem caused by a cumulative process of disengagement. Schools and especially VET Institutions play an important role in addressing ESL but they cannot and should not work in isolation. Comprehensive approaches that focus on the root causes of ESL are required to reduce. To reinforce the motivation of learners and prevent ESL, the EU strongly foster the commitment to offer learners the opportunity and to have new flexible approaches based on Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) elaborated by VET staff (teachers, coaches, trainers, tutors) in collaboration with Enterprises Staff. This is in line with most EU countries educational policy which by law promote Alternation School-Work and/or Dual Systems aimed at supporting the stay in the educational context. OBJECTIVES The project VET@WORK is inspired by the following main factors: 1) develop flexible pathways which connect the VET formal school curriculum to Work Based Learning acquired even in an EU context; 2) enrich the learning gained at school level with the acquiring of professional skills to facilitate the entrance to the labour market 3) foster the implementation of ECVET principles and tools. 4) reinforce a NA and EU Network of VET Schools, VET providers, Enterprises and Social Parties to allow the active participation in the Alternation School –Work or in the frame of the Dual system; The direct participants at the activities developed will be: O1 – VET@WORK Guidelines for training VET staff – The training course testing will have 15 VET staff participating in each country, in IT 45, for a total of 105 participants; O2 - VET@WORK Guidelines for training Enterprises Staff -The training course testing will have 10 Enterprises staff participating in each country , in IT 30, for a total of 70 participants. THE GUIDELINES WILL BE AIMED AT THE TRAINING OF THE 2 MAIN TARGET OF THE PROJECT TO IMPROVE COMPETENCES IN: 1) DESIGNING PERSONAL LEARNING PLANS (PLPs); 2) RECOGNIZE FORMAL WORKBASED LEARNING IN FORMAL CURRICULUM. VET@WORK EU SHORT TRAINING EVENT – The activity will be addressed to 13 VET STAFF TO IMPROVE COMPETENCES IN ECVET IMPLEMENTATION. MULTIPLIER EVENTS: No. 6 dissemination workshops at local level for a total of at least 210 participants (35 participants each workshop); a Final Conference to be held in Florence/IT for at least 90 participants. All the collaborating organizations (19) will participate to project activities. METHODOLOGY The project consortium is during its two years funding period implementing the project aims and outputs on the basis of a matrix organisation allowing for 4 horizontal project key actions and 5 thematic phases. HORIZONTAL ACTIONS: 1. Project management and sustainability 2. Quality management and assurance 3. Dissemination 4. Exploitation: the exploitation will run in parallel with the activities for dissemination and ensure the use of the outputs in the sense of valorization THEMATIC PROJECT PHASES AND RESULTS : 1. RESEARCH: to investigate NA legislation in the frame of Alternation and Dual system and competences needed by VET staff; 2. CREATION OF 2 GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING VET STAFF AND ENTERPRISES STAFF to plan PLPs and WBL learners/students Curriculum including abroad experience through ECVET implementation. 3. SHORT TERM JOINT TRAINING EVENT: to improve competences of VET staff in the ECVET implementation in a EU context. 4. MULTIPLIERS EVENTS: to disseminate products and assure sustainability. A sustainable usage of the products and outcomes will be assured by: - Innovative potential and high quality of products and outcomes; - High target-group orientation, real relevance for target groups and therefore high acceptance within these groups; - High adaptability (e.g. for other level of schools which have work experience in the Fomal Curriculum such as Technical schools; - High support by relevant stakeholders and political decision makers (Regions, Chamber of Commerce and Ministry); The long term benefit will be assured by the fact that NA and EU policy foster the Alternation and the Dual System methodology to prevent ESL and better up the job opportunities for youth.