by admin
Xarxa FP held its XIX General Assembly last 15th of February in Zwolle (The Netherlands), gathering more than 40 representatives from 24 European cities. During the General Assembly (GA) participants reviewed the results of the network in 2017, discussed new actions and projects for 2018 and welcomed four new cities: Constanta (Romania), Granada (Spain), Palermo (Italy) and Skelleftea (Sweden).
2017: a new record in mobilities
A total of 678 mobilities have been managed by Xarxa FP cities in 2017, setting a new record in the history of the network.
During 2017 the network managed 419 mobility actions for students, most of them internships, and 259 training activities for VET teachers and professionals, the best performance by far in the history of the network. The previous record was set in 2016 with 439 mobilities (+239 in 2017).
A total of 25 cities participated in mobility actions in 2017 with three cities coping more than half of all mobilities done within Xarxa FP network (sending and hosting): Berlin managed 304 mobilities (22,4%); Barcelona 254 (18,7%) and Zwolle 208 (15,3 %).
Xarxa FP network: 29 cities from 13 European countries
With the incorporation of Constanta, Granada, Palermo and Skelleftea Xarxa FP membership enlarges to 29 cities from 13 European countries, which confirms the sustainable growth of the association in the recent years, going from 21 member cities in 2015 to 29 in 2018.
Constanta is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania and its fifth most populous city. The Port of Constanța is the largest port on the Black Sea and the 4th European port in terms of area, equipment and volume of merchandise; a hub between Middle East and Western Europe. The city counts with 13 VET Centres covering 14 areas of training (EQF level 3-5) which have internship partnerships with over 50 economic operators.
Granada has a long lasting tradition and experience in educational mobility programmes. In fact, the University of Granada (UGR) is the educational institution in Europe that sends and receives more students in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme. The city counts with 39 VET schools working mainly in Health, Social & Community Services, ICT, Commerce and Administration.
Being Sicily’s administrative capital, Palermo is a centre for much of the region’s finance, tourism and commerce. The economy mainly relies on tourism and services, but also has commerce, shipbuilding and agriculture. Palermo’s metropolitan area is the fifth most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people.
Skellefteå is located in the northernmost corner of the Baltic Sea, on the Bothnian Bay, halfway between Umeå and Luleå.The city is a historically industrial city with mining being a large industry, especially for gold. It counts with 2 upper secondary schools, offering both academic and vocational programmes, with approximately 1000 vocational students and 100 teachers. Most of their international student and teacher mobilities are found in child and recreation, vehicle and transport, business and administration, hotel and tourism and restaurant management and food.
