META-COIN: Building the skills to thrive in a changing world

Background

The world of work is changing quickly. Digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and international mobility are creating increasingly diverse and unpredictable working environments. Recent events, including the pandemic and war in Europe, have also shown just how quickly circumstances can change.

For vocational education and training (VET), this means learners need more than technical or job-specific skills. They also need meta-skills, such as learning to learn, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, readiness for change, and positive future thinking to work with others and respond positively to change.

META-COIN (from META-COmpetencies for INternational Working Environments) was created in response to this need. The project brought together partners from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the UK to make meta-skills a more visible and practical part of VET and lifelong learning.

The partnership was built on long-standing European cooperation. For some partners, international collaboration went back decades, including work together on earlier European programmes. This established trust and made it easier to bring the right mix of experience and expertise into META-COIN.

Objectives:

The project had a clear ambition: to strengthen the capacity of vocational education and training systems to respond to increasingly diverse working environments, particularly in metropolitan labour markets characterised by high mobility and diverse learner groups. A key objective was to reduce barriers to learning and employment caused by cultural, linguistic, social, and digital differences.

Twelve key meta-skills were identified through labour-market analysis and interviews with employers and other stakeholders. These covered areas such as personal and social skills, cultural awareness, learning and problem-solving on order to improve employability, resilience, and job transitions.

META-COIN aimed to:

develop and enhance meta-skills among young people and adult learners through interactive, experiential, and participatory learning approaches.

• strengthen the capacity of educators and trainers to facilitate reflective, learner-centred, and inclusive activities using digital and non-digital methods.
• support organizations and institutions in integrating meta-skills development into their teaching strategies, curricula, and quality frameworks.
• promote equity and accessibility by ensuring that all learners, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can benefit from innovative training opportunities.
• contribute to EU priorities such as the digital education action plan, the skills agenda for Europe, and the Osnabrück declaration by fostering inclusive, digitally ready, and resilient education ecosystems.

Importantly, the project was not simply about creating resources. The project’s participatory ethos ensured that learners and trainers co-created knowledge and contributed directly to improving the training design, a core element of meta-coin’s innovation and success.

Implementation:

META-COIN combined digital innovation with something equally important: human connection.

Participants took part in practical workshops, group activities, simulations and reflective exercises. Tools such as emotion cards, self-discovery activities and scenario-based learning helped learners connect abstract skills with real situations. Activities around emotions, self-awareness, teamwork, mindfulness and body awareness encouraged participants to look not only at what they could do, but also at how they learn and work with others.

A flexible online learning environment gave learners and trainers access to materials when and where they needed them. Resources could be used independently or adapted for classroom, online or blended sessions.

META-COIN maintained rigorous and inclusive monitoring mechanisms throughout. Monthly coordination meetings, half-year evaluations, and internal quality reviews ensured that emerging challenges were identified early and addressed collaboratively.

Results and impact:

The results were substantial. 475 students and adult learners took part in piloting and testing activities, alongside 101 teachers and trainers and 19 companies.

For learners, the impact went beyond gaining knowledge. Participants reported greater confidence with digital tools, improved teamwork and a stronger awareness of their own learning. Practical, experience-based activities helped make meta-skills feel relevant rather than theoretical.

For educators, META-COIN provided new ways to make learning more reflective, inclusive and engaging. For employers, the resources offered practical approaches to areas such as communication, teamwork and reskilling.

META-COIN produced a comprehensive set of resources — including Training modules, a Self-Assessment tool, and a Good Practice Guide — all freely accessible in six languages (English, French, Finnish, German, Hungarian, and Italian). These materials will remain online until 2030, ensuring ongoing access for VET providers, universities, companies and other organisations.

Perhaps the biggest achievement is that META-COIN created more than a set of training materials. It built a practical, transferable approach to helping people become more confident, resilient and ready to learn throughout their lives.

And the message for organisations considering European cooperation is simple: go for it. Erasmus+ cooperation projects can provide the resources, expertise and international partnerships needed to test new ideas and turn them into lasting change.

To find out more about this case study, visit the Erasmus+ project database.

'A major benefit of Erasmus+ funding is that it provides substantial financial support for development, piloting, travel, training, and dissemination, reducing financial pressure and allowing organisations to undertake ambitious, future‑focused projects.'

Jim Anderson, Project Manager - 36.6 Competence Centre (Scotland)