VerA – one of the inspirations for the Mentoring Across Borders project – is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and there is every reason to celebrate. After all, the VerA mentoring program has an impressive track record: with a total of almost 22,000 apprenticeship mentors, the support of a good 5,000 volunteer experts and - above all - a success rate of almost 75 percent.
This makes VerA highly interesting for businesses and the state, which has thankfully supported the initiative since its beginnings, especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers. It is funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that makes the program free of charge for trainees, training companies and vocational schools. This also contributes to the success. Added to this is the mentoring based on the 1:1 principle that is typical of VerA and the openness in every direction: VerA welcomes all trainees, regardless of their professional background, place of residence or origin, or the questions or problems they have to deal with.
VerA has been a sponsor for EU-funded programs for several years now. From next year, VerA itself will be expanding its scope of action - to include pilot projects for young people making the transition from school to work and for soon-to-be trainees who are taking advantage of pre-vocational training opportunities. This is what the new name VerAplus (Improving training successes) stands for, under which the initiative will operate from 2024. The goal of preventing trainees from dropping out of training will not change, and important priorities such as supporting trainees in the care and healthcare professions, with a migration background or in rural areas will be retained.
Read more about VerA and its success stories in the current issue of SES aktuell (click here)
