Funding programme

Erasmus+ is the EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027. Read more about ERASMUS+ here.

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Call overview

This call aims to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity by boosting innovation through cooperation and flow of knowledge among higher education, vocational education and training, and the broader socio-economic environment.

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Call details

Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills aim to create new strategic approaches and cooperation for concrete skills development solutions – both in the short and the medium term – in areas implementing a major action of the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, the Pact for Skills. The initiative provides large-scale partnerships established under the Pact for Skills, already 20 up until now with more in preparation, with the opportunity to support the development of sector skills strategies, as well as the revision and development of job profiles and of related training programmes. The main objective of the Pact is to mobilise and incentivize all relevant stakeholders to take concrete actions for the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, by pooling efforts and setting up partnerships, also at EU level, addressing the needs of the labour market, supporting green and digital transitions as well as national, regional and local skills and growth strategies. Therefore, the deliverables of Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills, i.e. sectoral skills intelligence, skills strategies, occupational profiles, training programmes, and long-term planning, will be an important contribution to the work of the ecosystem-based large-scale partnerships that have joined the Pact for Skills.

Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills seek to tackle skills gaps on the labour market that hamper growth, innovation and competitiveness in specific sectors or areas, aiming both at short term interventions and long-term strategies. These Alliances will be implemented in the 14 industrial ecosystems identified in the New Industrial Strategy for Europe354 (see eligibility criteria).

The large-scale Pact for Skills partnerships in ecosystems will build on the Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills. Therefore, Alliances under Lot 2 will support the implementation of the commitments under the Pact by developingsectoral skills strategies. These strategies have to lead to systemic and structural impact on reducing skills shortages, gaps and mismatches, as well as ensuring appropriate quality and levels of skills. The sectoral skills strategies must include a clear set of activities, milestones and well-defined objectives with the goal to match demand and supply of skills to support the overall implementation of ecosystem-based large-scale skills partnerships under the Pact. The Alliances aim to build the bases for these Skills partnerships and define the pathway that should be continued after the projects are finalised.

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Activities funded

Alliances have to choose for their proposal the single industrial ecosystem which their project will address. Only one proposal per industrial ecosystem can be selected for funding. A proposal may concern an ecosystem that is not covered by an on-going Blueprint project or an ecosystem that already has an on-going Blueprint project. In the latter case, the proposal must address fields and areas that are clearly different from those addressed by the on-going Blueprint project/s.

The following activities must be implemented:

• Developing a strategic approach to sectoral cooperation on skills
• Designing European sector-wide agreed ‘core’ curricula and training programmes
• Delivering the ‘core’ curricula and training programmes
• Designing a long term action plan for the progressive roll-out of project deliverables after the project has finished

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Eligibility

The following organisations can be involved as full partner, affiliated entity or associated partner. They can be public or private organisations legally established in a Programme Country or in any Partner Country. See section "Eligible Countries" in Part A of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

• Higher education institutions  
• VET providers  
• Networks of VET providers  
• Small and medium-sized or large enterprises (including social enterprises)  
• Research institutes  
• Non-governmental organisations  
• Public bodies at local, regional or national level  
• Organisations active in education, training and youth  
• Intermediaries that represent education, training or youth organisations or enterprise 
• Accreditation, certification, recognition or qualification bodies  
• Chambers of commerce, industry or labour, chambers of skilled crafts  
• European or national social partners  
• Hospitals or other care institutions, including long-term care  
• Authorities responsible for education, training or employment at regional or national level  
• Employment services  
• National statistics offices  
• Economic development agencies  
• Sectoral or professional associations  
• Sector skills councils  
• Bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling, information services and employment services 

Note: Higher education institutions established in a Programme Country must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). An ECHE is not required for participating HEIs in Partner Countries. 

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Consortium Composition

Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills must cover at least 8 Programme countries and involve at least 12 full partners. The partnership must include at least 5 labour market actors (enterprises or companies, or representative intermediary organisations, such as chambers, trade unions or trade associations) and at least 5 education and training providers (VET and/or HEIs) as full partners. There should be at least one HE institution and one VET provider involved as full partner in each proposal.

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Budget

The maximum EU grant per project is 4 million euros (4 years project).

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Project duration

4 years.