INSIGNARE – ASSOCIACAO DE ENSINO E FORMACAO – OURÉM, PORTUGAL
INSIGNARE is a non-profit association located at Ourém, in the center of Portugal. We have several working areas – two VET secondary schools, with more than 550 students (EPO – Ourem Vocational School and EHF – Fátima Hospitality Vocational School), one local employment centre (GIP, with more than five hundred people enrolled), one guidance and validation centre (CQEP), one European Information office (Eurodesk) and one unit dedicated specially to European Cooperation (GCI)
Both schools have diversified teaching staff, full-time and part-time, because as much of the teaching staff is also integrated within the labour market, knowledge and experience of the labour force can be and is transmitted to the students. All the courses are level IV and grant equivalence to 12th grade.
Ourém Vocational School (EPO), founded in 1990, has Management, IT and Multimedia, Metalworking, Industrial Maintenance, Mechatronic and Electronics courses, following the strategic decision of becoming an industrially focused VET school. EPO is fully equipped with the facilities needed to proper and efficient work environment training.
Fátima Hospitality Vocational School, the one involved in this project, has Cook, Waiter, Receptionist and Tourism courses, and has fully equipped facilities for a practical training of these subjects, highlighting the two training kitchens, one industrial kitchen, one training restaurant and bar.
Although we have VET courses, they also include sociocultural subjects, where national and European citizenship is included within several ones, but mainly “Integration” and “Economy”.
We need to improve our staff’ and students ‘ skills and knowledge non stop so that they will be able to be healthy human beings, well prepared for the job market, who know their rights and duty and campaigns towards human rights and a safer environment.
Both schools provide:
– Broadband internet access: cable and Wi-Fi.
– IT rooms, both with 24 PCs and smart boards;
– Classrooms with projectors and air conditioned.
Our students and learners come from two regions, as our municipality is the border between those two – we cover an area of almost half a million inhabitants: the two VET schools have a regional scope, but the employment service is mainly local.
All of our working areas have experience dealing with LLLP and Erasmus +, with several projects approved. However we’re a VET school, we’re still a secondary school – our aim is to provide hard skills to the students but we also have to develop their soft skills as well.
Every year we send around 80 students all around Europe, to more than 10 cities and more than 6 countries, for two months internships. We also usually receive students, vocational and higher education, for their Erasmus + KA1 internships, as well as teachers and staff members for our KA 1 courses.
Key persons involved
Francisco Vieira, Chief Executive Officer has a degree in History. He has over three decades of professional experience, two of which in senior management positions in the public and private sector, often in the area of Education and Training. He was a teacher at the secondary and higher education level, and was also an international consultant in the VET area. He is a businessman and chairman of the Business Association Ourém Fatima, being fluent in French.
EHF’s Pedagogic Head has a degree in Management but made his entire career in the Hospitality sector, after being one of EHF’s first students, as a professional and a trainer. For two years now he’s the Head. He’s fluent in English and French.
EPO’s Pedagogic Head as a degree in Law and a Master in Marketing. She was a teacher for several years before being promoted to Headmistress. She’s fluent in English.
All of them have participated in international projects.
As for GCI coordinator, Sérgio Fernandes, he’s been working with international projects for several years, as coordinator of INSIGNARE’s International Cooperation Unit, not only as participant but as a coordinator for the majority of them (Comenius Bilateral and Multilateral partnerships, Leonardo IVT and VETPRO, Grundtvig partnerships, Transversal Study Visits (as a participant and as a hosting coordinator) and Erasmus + KA 1, KA 2 and Youth.. He’s fluent in English and understands quite well Spanish and Italian.
Sito web: http://www.insignare.pt/
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