Erasmus+ Programme
Erasmus+ is the new EU programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport for 2014-2020, starting in January 2014.
Erasmus+ aims at boosting skills and employability, and modernising Education, Training and Youth work. The seven year programme will have a budget of €14.7 billion. This represents a 40% increase compared to current spending levels and shows the EU’s commitment to investing in these areas.
Erasmus+ will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad. In addition to providing grants for individuals, Erasmus+ will support transnational partnerships among Education, Training and Youth institutions and organisations to foster cooperation and bridge the worlds of Education and work in order to tackle the skills gaps we are facing in Europe. It will also support national efforts to modernise Education, Training and Youth systems. In the field of Sport, there will be support for grassroots projects and cross-border challenges such as combating match-fixing, doping, violence and racism.
Erasmus+ brings together seven existing EU programmes in the fields of Education, Training and Youth; it will for the first time provide support for Sport. As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for cooperation across the Education, Training, Youth, and Sport sectors and is easier to access than its predecessors, with simplified funding rules.
Aim:
In order to reduce youth unemployment, the 2013 Annual Growth Survey recommended reducing early school-leaving, raising overall skills levels, increasing the performance of education and training systems, while linking the worlds of work and education and facilitating the transition from school of work through quality traineeships, apprenticeships and dual learning models – classroom based education combined with hands-on experience in the work place. It also highlighted the importance of entrepreneurial skills for young people, to enhance their employability and foster new business creation. Moreover, the wide range of transversal skills, which are needed to raise young people’s attainment in education and training and to prepare them for modern social and working life, can be further developed through out-of-school activities, in non-formal and informal learning settings.
Another challenge relates to the development of social capital among young people, the empowerment of young people and their ability to participate actively in society, in line with the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty to “encourage the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe.” This issue can also be targeted through non-formal learning activities, which aim to enhance the skills and competences of young people as well as their active citizenship. There is a need to provide youth organisations and youth workers with training and cooperation, to develop their professionalism and the European dimension of youth work.
General objectives:
Erasamus+ shall contribute to the achievement of:
• the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, including the headline education target;
• the objectives of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020), including the corresponding benchmarks;
• the sustainable development of Partner Countries in the field of higher education;
• the overall objectives of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018);
• the objective of developing the European dimension in sport, in particular grassroots sport, in line with the EU work plan for sport;
• the promotion of European values in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union.
Erasmus+ Centralised Funds
The actions of the Erasmus + programme are divided into decentralised and centralised actions. The decentralised actions are managed by the National Agencies whilst the centralised ones are managed at a European level by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels.
Further information about the application process for the centralised actions, general and specific calls for proposal may be found in the link provided below: