Strong Multi-stakeholder Cooperation in Bergen: 5th Partner Meeting of VET in Urban Centres

08/10/2019

VET in Urban Centres Erasmus+ KA2 project partner representatives met for a second time in Bergen in the context of this project (coordinated by Hordaland County Council) for their 5th partner meeting. Between 2 and 4 October 2019, work towards the description of a model for sustainable local cross-sectoral cooperation for the development of urban centres including the VET sector was carried out on the basis of the best practices identified in previous project meetings. Then, this model will be used to produce educational planning materials that can be implemented in other European regions.

The partner meeting also included study visits to innovative VET centres in Hordaland, such as Voss Gymnas and Voss Upper Secondary School. These centres, located in Voss, focus on a local economy driven by extreme and winter sports, tourism and farming. Partner representatives visited the area and identified possible common points with their regions.

1st day of meeting at Hordaland County Council
Bergen
3rd day of meeting at Hordaland County Council

Voss: extreme sport as a motor for economic development

On the second day of the project meeting, partner representatives traveled to the inland part of Hordaland up to Voss Municipality to discover how a strong boost for economic development has changed the area in the last years. They were welcomed in Voss by Chief Executive Einar Haugue, and presentations followed about how urban planning is done in the municipality by fostering the participation of young people in the process. The international cooperation activities of Voss were also introduced by Ms. Gunhild Ukvitne.

A heavy investment in the tourism and sports sectors has attracted companies and visitors to the area, and the education offer has quickly adapted to this changes. At Voss Gymnas (featured image), young high performance athletes combine their training sessions with their studies, but other disciplines are also taught, such as tourism, design and music. A visit was also made to Voss Upper Secondary School, which offers courses in dual VET and covers very varied areas, such as hospitality and gastronomy, farming, and electricity.

Afterwards, project partners took Voss Gondol cable car up to the mountains in which a ski resort was build only a few years ago. There, Mr. Brede Addedisen, from Voss Resort, the company that manages the area, introduced their work. Afterwards, a sustainable toursim project for Voss was introduced by Ms. Mona Hellesnes.