Learner mobility

In education, by the Decree of 29 November 2017, the Government of the French Community established new methods of validation of prior learning for admission, exemption and certification in one or more Teaching Units of social advancement education This decree aims at harmonizing the valorization practices within educational institutions of social advancement. It defines precisely the notions of formal, non-formal and informal learning. It also introduces the notion of valorization file in order to simplify the citizen approach to recognition of skills acquired in and outside education and guarantees the possibility of issuing certificates of success Valorisation. Finally, it aims at encouraging social advancement education to participate to the process of certifying non-formal and informal outcomes by allowing them, when necessary, to increase their administrative framework. Therefore, various provisions make it possible to grant more flexibility to the definition of personal study pathways and to the organization of curricula within the framework of the modular system. They also facilitate the mobility of students by ensuring the portability of valorizations through the certificates of success Valorisation.

The Skills Validation Consortium (CDVC) offers skills certificates that entitle people to access training courses organized within Social Advancement Education institutions as well as in training centers of IFAPME, SFPME, Forem and Bruxelles Formation.

At the level of learner mobility, several initiatives are developed :

• Structural cross-border collaborations with France, Benelux and the Great Region to promote learner mobility (partnership agreements to identify and remove barriers). In each partnership structure, the topic of the recognition of vocational qualifications is currently being discussed ;
• The implementation of cross-border Interreg projects (financed for 85% by Europe) among which experimentation projects of joint or common cross-border training, sharing pedagogical practices, development of joint border certifications, cross-border recognition of acquired skills. The projects mainly concern vocational training, but some also provide for joint training courses / bridges in the Hautes Ecoles ;
• A "B-solutions" project is also implemented (European funding), which aims at developing a cross-border apprenticeship status in dual vocational education.

As far as training is concerned, Wallonia also offers at the international level (via the FOREM) :

• BRIC Grants : The main objective of the BRIC Business Immersion in the BRIC Business (Brazil, Russia, India, China) is to offer job seekers practical work experience in a company in an emerging country ;
• Language immersion internships in a training center or company (in Dutch, German or English) ;
• Internships in international trading (Explort programme) to prepare for export-related jobs and for an international environment ;
• One-semester or one-year linguistic immersions in secondary schools / higher education / language schools abroad for young people who have just finished secondary education.

In Brussels, Actiris International :

• Offers an international placement service of Actiris, the Brussels Regional Office for Employment - EURES member ;
• Offers internship grants, internship offers and coaching for a vocational internship in Europe ;
• Organizes targeted thematic information sessions (by country, sector, etc.)

These different initiatives use the common reference framework for languages.

Similarly, Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI) supports a series of initiatives aimed at the mobility of students and job seekers, for example :

• Learning or improving in a foreign language (WBI) in one of the following countries : Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, Tunisia and Turkey ;
• Learning a language while working abroad with the Tremplin langues programme (BIJ) ;
• Getting a vocational experience abroad with "Tremplin +" (BIJ) ;
• Discovering "Eurodesk", the European Youth Portal ;
• Developing a project of young entrepreneur by an international mission (interechok-BIJ) ;
• Getting a long-term specialization grant for China (WBI) or abroad ;
• Obtaining a doctoral or postdoctoral specialization grant for China (WBI) ;
• Doing an internship in a company abroad as part of one’s studies (WBI) ;
• Going on a vocational internship in Europe with "Eurodyssey" (BIJ) ;
• Going on a professional internship abroad with "Tremplin Job" for job seekers (BIJ) ;
• ...

Teacher and trainer mobility

Wallonia Brussels International supports teacher mobility through the following initiatives :

• Conducting a teaching internship at a primary school in immersion in the United States ;
• "Latin America" / "Asia-Pacific" / "Maghreb" mobility fund : Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI) financially supports the mobility of members of the academic, permanent scientific and administrative staff of higher education institutions of the French Community to the countries of Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Maghreb in order to foster the emergence of new collaborations and partnerships or to consolidate existing collaborations, thus supporting the international development of the establishments of the French Community and make Wallonia-Brussels shine in the world ;
• Becoming a trainer in Louisiana : this program allows to teach subjects in French (in an immersion school), or French (as a foreign language), at the pre-primary, primary and lower secondary levels, during a period of one to three school years in the state of Louisiana in the United States.

The EURES Portal also brings together all open job offers for teachers and trainers in Europe. Trainers from vocational training centers can participate to cooperation projects with countries supported by bilateral Walloon cooperation (Algeria, South East-Asia, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Haiti, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Senegal). Erasmus + and Interreg partnership projects (European co-funding) also allow exchanges of expertise between trainers. (see paragraph 13.6 Partnerships)

Thanks to the implementation of a Consortium with the four French-speaking public providers of Vocational Training as part of the ERASMUS + call for projects, the Key Action 1 project, to promote the mobility of teaching staff, obtained 62 grants for the period 2018-2020. It is coordinated by FORMAFORM and administered by the FOREM, but concerns the two Regions. These are essentially visits to companies and training centers around four priority areas: Construction, Industry, Transport & Logistics, Automotive industry and soft mobility. In terms of duration, the visits usually last five days; mobility is either individual or collective (from two to four trainers).