Partners
The Aspire-igen group is the largest careers and training organisation in the Yorkshire region (an
area with a population of over 5 million). The group is a not-for-profit social enterprise with 22 years’ experience of supporting young people and adults into employment. Levels of social deprivation in Yorkshire are among the worst in the UK, with widespread pockets of exclusion and unemployment. The group supports social inclusion and regeneration by providing a range of guidance and training services.
This includes vocational training programmes for NEET young people to prepare them for
entry into the labour market and careers guidance services in 35 schools in the region. All Aspire- igen’s school career advisers are Level 6 qualified experts with at least 10 years’ experience in the field. We are also a recognised centre of excellence for professional development and provide training for careers and guidance professionals.
Through its Aspire-international department’s involvement in Euroguidance, Aspire-igen has been the European resource centre for the UK guidance community since 1992. We are a source of information on education and guidance in other European countries, and work closely with other services in the UK, such as Europass, Eurodesk and EURES, to support individuals looking to make the most of work or study opportunities abroad.
INFODEF, Institute for the Promotion of Development and Training, is a private and independent
centre for research, development and innovation whose mission is to design and carry out projects that contribute to sustainable and inclusive development through education and culture. The centre designs and develops innovative tools, methodologies, products and services that respond to current social and economic challenges and anticipate and drive the changes needed to achieve future goals and objectives in society.
INFODEF supports the modernisation of education systems and the pedagogical innovation of public and private educational institutions at national and European levels. Has large expertise developing innovative teaching and learning methodologies, tools and resources and has extensively worked on the definition of (EQF and ECVET based) Training Curriculums and Learning Outcomes, the design of new tools for the identification, assessment and validation of (basic, key, transversal and professional) competencies, the development of innovative ICT-based tools, the design of methodologies to support Work-Based-Learning programmes and practices, new instruments for the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning, innovative teaching methods, entrepreneurship education, especial education and the evaluation and quality assessment of
educational programmes.
One of the main areas of expertise of INFODEF is the design of innovative
methodologies and tools to support professionals that work with specific target groups, such as
young people, migrants, low-skilled adults, people with disabilities, offenders and other under-
privileged groups. INFODEF has participated or coordinated 40 European projects in the field of
innovation applied to youth, education and training, funded by the Lifelong Learning,
The Business Foundation for Education (BFE) is a Bulgarian non-government organization, established in 2005 to act in public interest. Its mission is to facilitate the development of the civil society through initiatives that enhance human resource competitiveness and contribute to economic development and prosperity. To achieve its goals the Foundation implements variety of initiatives in the fields of lifelong learning and career guidance, employment and social policy, vocational education and training and youth work.
BFE capitalizes the capacity and continues the efforts of the successful USAID Labor Market Project. Its know-how in the field of labor market, career guidance and policy making has been transferred via trainings of trainers and policy experts in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Romania, Hungary, Georgia, Armenia and Taiwan.
BFE is a recognized leader in the field of lifelong learning and career guidance in Bulgaria.
Its initiatives gave a large impetus for the development of the career guidance system in the country and raise the awarenesS of all stakeholders and the general public about the benefits of lifelong guidance for all generations. Among BFE major accomplishments are the following capacity building initiatives with major social impact.