• Project title: WBT – Work based training in the school-to-work transition
  • Project Number: 2015-1-DE02-KA202-002447
  • Project duration: 01.09.5015 – 01.09.2017
  • Project Funded under the ERASMUS+ KA2 Strategic Partnerships for VET

WBT was an ERASMUS+ KA2 for VET Consortium combining public vocational schools and colleges, private vocational training centers as well as private training providers from 9 European Countries, coordinated by the Center for Education and Integration (ZIB) from Solingen (Germany).

The 2-year WBT project aimed at identifying fields of improvement for Work-Based Learning methods at European level.

In order to secure a smooth transition from school to work, many countries in Europe introduced Work-Based Training methods in schools and vocational training programs to create a better link between theory-based learning and practical training. This approach is more stimulating to young learners and has shown to produce a wide success also for students whose skills and capabilities lie to a greater extent in practical work rather than abstract learning.

Thus, it is widely recognized that those countries with an integrated work-based vocational preparation and training system and an apprenticeship-oriented approach are performing better with the successful transition from school to work. But the national transition systems differ from country to country.
Furthermore, regardless the national institutional setting may be, the same challenge has to be faced everywhere: how to combine theory learning and practice training efficiently in order to produce sustainable learning success with disadvantaged young people.

The WBT partnership researched, therefore, on the different methods of Work-Based Training at European level and illustrated its findings in a Compendium. Additionally, an online survey was carried out to find out what were the advantages of the specific WBT approach, what the drawbacks and what kind of improvements were to be identified. The survey finally leaded to an Handbook of Good Practices that illustrated the different European WBT approaches, registered the findings of the survey and detailed well-established European WBT best practices.