SMART-VET
Skills Mobilization and Resourceful Training
An Erasmus+ small-scale partnership equipping VET learners across Europe with the essential human skills needed for successful international mobility — bridging the gap between education and industry.
Duration Project Period Total Budget Countries
24 Months 2024 – 2026 €60,000 Malta · Italy · Spain
Why SMART-VET?
The SMART-VET project was born from a fundamental insight: the success of international mobility programs hinges not on technical qualifications alone, but on the human factor — adaptability, empathy, communication, and the capacity to thrive in unfamiliar environments.
Driven by Cedefop data showing that a significant share of VET graduates struggle to enter the labour market due to a lack of transversal skills, SMART-VET delivers a comprehensive, multilingual online Smart Skills course-guide tailored to the real needs of learners preparing for mobility abroad.
What We Set
Out to Achieve
- 1Develop a comprehensive online course-guide covering critical smart skills for international mobility readiness.
- 2Identify and address specific skills gaps among VET learners, both personal and professional, through tailored development plans.
- 3Improve human relationship skills — cohabitation, tolerance, empathy, and respect — essential for cross-cultural environments.
- 4Equip sending and applicant entities with a robust preparation tool for outgoing mobility participants.
- 5Ensure hosting companies receive well-prepared trainees who can adapt, communicate, and contribute effectively from day one.
The Six Smart Skills
These foundational competencies form the backbone of the SMART-VET curriculum — skills that research shows are critical for success in international professional environments.
Navigating new cultural and professional environments with confidence, flexibility, and openness — the cornerstone of any successful mobility experience.
Building genuine connections through cohabitation skills, tolerance, empathy, and respect for people and rules across diverse settings.
Expressing ideas clearly, listening actively, and bridging linguistic and cultural gaps to foster productive professional dialogue.
Approaching problems from multiple angles, questioning assumptions, and generating innovative solutions in unfamiliar contexts.
Making sound, timely decisions under pressure and uncertainty — a skill that directly impacts both personal development and professional performance.
Applying structured thinking to identify root causes, evaluate options, and implement workable solutions in real-world vocational settings.
Five Phases of Delivery
Phase 1
A formal kick-off meeting in Malta brings together all three partner organisations to align on objectives, define roles, and agree on tools and communication protocols. A comprehensive needs assessment is conducted — through surveys, interviews, and data collection — with VET learners, sending entities, and hosting companies to map specific smart skills gaps across partner countries.
Phase 2
A multidisciplinary team of VET educators, instructional designers, and technology specialists collaborates virtually to produce the Smart Skills course-guide and a full suite of supporting materials — lesson plans, case studies, interactive exercises, and multimedia content — tailored to diverse learner backgrounds and available in multiple languages.
Phase 3
The curriculum is tested with a representative cohort of around 30 VET learners and educators across partner institutions in Malta. Real-world feedback is collected, analysed, and fed back into an iterative refinement process — ensuring the final materials are validated against the highest educational standards before broader rollout.
Phase 4
The refined course-guide is integrated into VET programmes across partner countries, reaching an estimated 100 learners and 20 educators. Educators receive targeted training, materials are adapted to local contexts, and continuous monitoring ensures the curriculum is genuinely enhancing smart skills development — with special attention paid to inclusion and access for disadvantaged learners.
Phase 5
The final phase, hosted in Spain, focuses on measuring impact, ensuring sustainability, and broadcasting results widely. Through webinars, partner meetings, social media, and the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform, the Smart Skills course-guide and its findings are made freely available to the wider VET community — ensuring the project’s value extends well beyond its end date.
A Lasting Impact on European VET
SMART-VET is designed not as a one-off intervention, but as a sustainable resource. Its open-access outputs will remain accessible to the broader VET community, capable of influencing curricula, mobility preparation practices, and potentially regional and national policy.
How We Measure Success
Both qualitative and quantitative metrics have been defined to assess the project’s effectiveness and impact throughout its lifecycle.
Who This Project Serves
Young adults — particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds — enrolled in vocational programmes and preparing for international mobility. They receive a tailored smart skills development plan and the tools to succeed in new cultural and professional environments.
VET schools, colleges, and training organisations responsible for preparing and sending learners on mobility programmes. SMART-VET provides them with a comprehensive, ready-to-use preparation framework that improves the quality and success rate of their mobility activities.
Businesses and organisations across industries that receive trainees during international mobility placements. They benefit from better-prepared candidates who can adapt quickly, communicate effectively, think critically, and contribute to the workplace from the outset.