The Promoting Inclusive Transition Mechanisms in European VET Systems (PINVET) project, which brings together leading universities and stakeholders from European countries focuses on improving vocational education and training (VET) to facilitate inclusive labour market transitions, particularly in the context of Europe's green and digital developments. PINVET addresses the combined challenges of social inequalities and economic disruption, exacerbated by global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative aims to provide comprehensive insights into the inclusive mechanisms of VET, to assess their effectiveness and to explore the limitations that have been exacerbated by recent societal changes. Using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates economic, sociological, historical and pedagogical perspectives, PINVET aims to develop holistic models for analysing VET systems in these diverse European countries. The objectives of the project include the development of stakeholder tools, a better understanding of the role of VET at national and regional levels, and improved career guidance in VET systems. PINVET aims to make a significant contribution to a more inclusive, innovative and sustainable European society through improved VET pathways. The project is structured into Country Cases (Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the UK) and Work Packages (WPs). The WPs are presented below.

WP1 will provide an integrated analysis of inclusive transitions in a period of disruption. Drawing on an interdisciplinary understanding and theorisation of VET and its relationships with ecosystems that include labour markets and a range of social actors within and outside of education, this WP will present the project's empirical findings and case studies from participating countries on responses to new and ongoing system shocks, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. WP1 will outline the scope for action by national policy makers and other stakeholders to enable new tools to respond to uncertainty and crisis, and to support inclusive transitions during future disturbances.

WP2 will analyse statistical resources and use statistical methods to provide an overview of how young people's education and work transitions have been disrupted during recent socio-economic and health crises, and how this has affected different countries, labour markets, social groups and pathways. The main contribution of WP2 will be to advance the understanding of differentiated school-to-work transitions in times of uncertainty (e.g. during the COVID-19 pandemic), as well as the factors influencing individuals' school-to-work transitions. Specifically, WP2 aims to: review the existing research and secondary data landscape and its potential to understand the impact of recent socio-economic and health crises on individuals' school-to-work transitions; examine individuals' school-to-work transitions, their antecedents (in particular inclusion mechanisms) and labour market outcomes in the context of recent socio-economic and health crises; identify good practices and challenges in different European countries related to SWT in uncertain and unstable times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

WP3 will examine how multi-level VET systems across Europe organise their support for transitions to enhance inclusion, including democratic participation. Students from the most disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, as well as refugee children and those with special educational needs, are educated in VET systems with high dropout rates: WP3 will conduct regional studies on VET and labour market inclusion and democratic participation in civil society to deepen the understanding of how regional VET systems are integrated with regional labour markets; explore how regional VET supports the inclusion of students in the transition from education to work, with a particular focus on challenges during and after COVID-19; increase knowledge of how national and regional transition policies have enabled the sustainable inclusion of diverse VET student groups before, during and after COVID-19.

WP4 will explore the interaction between VET systems and career guidance systems, and how career guidance can contribute to the different pathways that VET students take into and out of the VET system. Career guidance systems have typically been seen as central to youth transition systems across Europe. This work package (WP4) would provide important evidence on how different VET systems interact with career guidance and how this contributes to the inequality/equality of outcomes for VET students in different countries.

WP5 will advance the conceptualisation and monitoring of quality across Europe, addressing the need for a comprehensive understanding of the factors that constitute 'VET quality'. Quality problems in VET are associated with skills mismatches and have negative consequences not only for young adults, but also for society as a whole in terms of skills shortages. Based on multiple, contested definitions and understandings of common quality characteristics at system level, common quality categories as well as system-specific aspects will be identified through a systematic review of existing studies and the analysis of practitioner feedback in a qualitative study. Based on this information, measurement tools for monitoring quality in VET will be developed and made available for national and international contexts, with a particular focus on inclusiveness as a key quality dimension.