The MFR network is currently preparing a new Erasmus+ application (KA220) entitled Rur'All – Vocational Education and Training for Rural Areas, with the ambition of responding to a challenge shared in many European territories: access to lifelong learning in rural areas.
Across Europe, learners living in rural areas face structural barriers: geographical isolation, limited infrastructure, restricted training opportunities, and a mismatch between available training and the needs of local businesses. These difficulties affect a wide range of people: young people in initial vocational training, adults retraining, employees seeking further education, volunteers in associations, and people with disabilities.
Exploring micro-certifications for territorial skills
The Rur'All project proposes to explore an innovative approach to address these challenges: the development of micro-credentials aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The objective is to enable the recognition of specific skills, acquired through short and flexible training programs, directly linked to the needs of territories and sectors experiencing labor shortages. These micro-credentials could, in particular, validate skills related to:
- to tourism and service industry jobs
- to technical and building trades
- skills related to the ecological and digital transition
- to community involvement and local dynamics
By making these skills more visible and recognized, the project aims to facilitate access to employment, professional mobility and skills development in rural areas.
Coordinated by the National Union of Rural Family Homes (MFR), the project already brings together several European partners committed to vocational training and educational innovation. The partners will be able to contribute, in particular, to:
- to promote the results within professional and educational networks.
- experiment with new micro-certification pathways in their territory
- mobilize local businesses and economic stakeholders
- test the digital platform and educational resources
Ultimately, Rur'All aims to:
- to facilitate access to vocational training in rural areas, despite geographical constraints
- to offer flexible and personalized training paths
- to promote skills related to ecological and digital transitions
- strengthen the links between training centers, businesses and territories
- help reduce skills shortages in certain key sectors.
For the MFR network, this project is fully in line with a European dynamic aimed at strengthening educational innovation, supporting rural areas and developing European cooperation in the service of vocational training.
