Tartu Vocational College

03/07/2026

Tartu VOCO was honored to join the celebration at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Tallinn, together with hundreds of Estonian friends and partners.🇺🇸🇪🇪

This special occasion also celebrated the growing partnership between Estonian and U.S. vocational education. Alongside our colleagues from Pärnu, Kuressaare, Järvamaa, and Võru vocational schools, we are proud to be building new bridges with American colleges.

This has been a remarkable academic year for Tartu VOCO, as we launched cooperation with Edmonds College in Seattle and Northampton Community College in Bethlehem. We are grateful for the opportunity to strengthen these international partnerships and look forward to what comes next.

A heartfelt thank you to the U.S. Embassy Tallinn for your support, trust, and outstanding collaboration. Here’s to lasting friendship, successful educational partnerships, and many more years of cooperation.

Happy 250th Birthday, USA! 🎉

VocationalEducation Estonia USA

21/06/2026

VOCO Head of Projects, Andrei Atškasov, recently visited the VET schools BS28 and ITECH in Hamburg. A big thank you to Stefanie and Karolina from BS28 Berufliche Schule City Nord and Gunnar from Berufliche Schule ITECH Elbinsel, for the warm welcome and the very informative overview of the German VET education system and the diverse educational programmes offered by your schools.

It was especially valuable to learn more about the Erasmus+ projects, including CoVE initiatives and various international partnership opportunities and cooperation 🌍📚✨
Special Thank You for Janine Fromman from HIBB Hamburg for organizing the visits and all the suppert!

We are excited to continue strengthening our cooperation and are already planning new and exciting projects and collaborations with Hamburg and Germany for the upcoming academic year! 🚀🇩🇪🇪🇪

🌍✨📖🤝

19/06/2026

VOCO has never been more international! The 2025/2026 school year has officially broken all previous records for international exchanges!
Here is a quick look at our great year in numbers:
🛫 218 students traveled abroad for practices, group learning, and skills competitions.
✨ 113 teachers and staff went on job-shadowing and training trips to bring cutting-edge knowledge back home.
🛬 188 international students and 103 foreign educators were welcomed at VOCO!
This amazing milestone was reached thanks to our active Erasmus+ KA1 accreditation.
But we have offered also 6 specialized vocational courses, group-mobilities and job shadowing experiences as well as apprenticeship programmes in our companies.

A massive THANK YOU to our dedicated coordinators, staff, and partners who made this possible. Let’s keep connecting worlds! 💙

12/06/2026

🇫🇷🚗⚡ We were delighted to host a group of international students from Lycée Marcel Mezen, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France, at VOCO Automotive Workshop from 8–12 June 2026 as part of their mobility programme.

During their stay, the students successfully completed an Electric Vehicle Training Programme, delivered by VOCO teacher Maicel Pütt. The programme provided valuable hands-on experience and enhanced their knowledge of modern electric vehicle technologies. 🔋🔧

👏 Congratulations to all participants for successfully completing the programme!

A big thank you to everyone involved in making this international learning experience a success, and special thanks to teacher Maicel Pütt for his dedication, professionalism, and excellent guidance throughout the training.

🌍🤝 We look forward to welcoming more international students and continuing to build strong international partnerships in vocational education.

09/06/2026

We have great news! Our project VOLUGRAM has won the prestigious EAEA Grundtvig Award 2026 for Transnational Initiatives!
The project, led by VOCO Tartu Rakenduslik Kolledž, joined 2024 European Capitals of Culture in Tartu (Estonia), Bodø (Norway), and Bad Ischl-Salzkammergut (Austria). Our mission was to boost learning communities and short -term volunteering and to prove that volunteering can be a flexible, powerful form of adult learning.
By launching a multilingual app to validate real-world skills and building inclusive community networks, we connected culture with lifelong learning.

09/06/2026

Last week, VOCO’s Engineering Department proudly took part in the European Car Mechanic Junior competition in Eggenburg, Austria. 🚗🔧🇪🇺

VOCO was represented by our talented students Marek Nõlvak and Kristjan Nõmme, supported by their teachers Tanel Plovits and Mihkel Niitla.

The delegation was led by school principal Raini Jõks, underlining VOCO’s strong support for international cooperation, vocational excellence and the development of future automotive professionals. The team was also joined by curriculum coordinator Ismail Mirzojev, contributing to the development of VOCO’s automotive and engineering education.

A special recognition also goes to Ismail Mirzojev and Margus Ainsalu, who contributed to the competition through the Erasmus+ project Good Better Best Car Mechanic. As part of the project, they helped develop new theoretical and practical competition tasks, which were used during this year’s event. This shows how international project work can create real impact - not only in the classroom, but also on the European competition stage.

The competition brought together young automotive talents from nine countries: Estonia, Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Türkiye, Czech Republic, Poland and France.

For our students, this was a valuable opportunity to test their professional skills, learn from peers across Europe and represent both VOCO and Estonia internationally.

We are proud of our team and grateful to everyone who contributed to making this experience possible. Congratulations to Marek and Kristjan for representing VOCO with dedication, professionalism and strong team spirit! 💪🇪🇪

Go VOCO!

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09/06/2026

Welcome to VOCO!
This week, French can be heard in our car repair workshop, as we have students from Lycee Marcel Mezen here to learn about electric and hybrid vehicles.
# Erasmus

01/06/2026

🎉🚢 VOCO Project Office Celebrates the End of Its 15th Season! 🌿✨

What a memorable journey! We marked the conclusion of our 15th season with a beautiful voyage along the scenic Emajõgi River and an inspiring seminar together with project team members, partners, and enthusiasts aboard the historic Jõmmu barge. 🌊⛵

🌟 Highlights from 2011–2026

📚 210 international projects implemented

🌍 2,741 mobility experiences

* 👩‍🎓 1,876 for students
* 👨‍🏫 865 for education professionals

🤝 2,008 international guests welcomed

* 🎓 1,168 international students on internships in Tartu
* 🏫 840 education professionals visiting VOCO

🏆 Erasmus+ Mobility Management Accreditation Excellence Label (2023)

🌐 75+ partner organisations in 25+ countries

🍏 Golden Apple Award 2024 for excellence in virtual mobility

🥇 EITA 2025 and Grundtvig Award 2026 for the Volugram project

✅ Erasmus+ Accreditation

🚀 Active participation in COVE projects

🤝 Proud member of international networks including XarxaFP, Ex-N-Vesd, GreenSkills4H2Alliance, AEHT, and many more.

💙 Thank You!

The greatest achievement of these 15 years is not the numbers, awards, or projects—it is the people behind them.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to our journey: colleagues, students, teachers, partners, alumni, and friends. Your energy, dedication, trust, and collaboration have made all of this possible. Together, we have built opportunities, connections, and lasting impact across Europe and beyond.

Here’s to the next chapter of international cooperation, innovation, and learning! 🌍✨

01/06/2026

We are glad to introduce the PUMP-UP online course to Estonian VET educators, principals, and policy makers during the VET seminar right here in Tartu!

Sometimes, people ask the tough questions: What are the real results and tangible impacts of international projects?

We have a direct answer for that. We aren't just talking about the results. We are already actively integrating these cutting-edge PUMP-UP course materials directly into our current HVAC technician studies!

The best part? You can do the exact same for your students or team.

Equip the next generation of technicians with up-to-date, professional skills, explore the teaching resources and find the app here: https://heatpumpskills.eu/results
-UP

28/05/2026