CENTOFORM, set up in 2001, is a Vocational and Education Training Centre (VET) recognized with Quality Accreditation on training by Emilia Romagna Region, Italy, a region characterized by a strong dynamic economy with a sectoral focus on Mechanical engineering and important university research

networks. During 15 years of activity the VET Centre created an operative multiregional and international network with SMEs, public institutions, VET schools, social partners, universities and R&D centres. It is partner of Confindustria, the main Italian industrial association, and it works in collaboration with representatives and clusters of productive sectors at national and European level. We operate in 2 Italian regions: Emilia Romagna (Northern competitiveness region) and Apulia Region (Southern convergence region).

The staff (24 employees and 15 external professionals) is composed of VET senior project managers, administrative staff, senior and junior consultants with expertise in training, career guidance, tutorship in apprenticeship, research, management and financial reporting of Italian, European and international funds and projects. Centoform designs and manage training programmes for unemployed and employed people working on ESF regional funds and interprofessional funds. We deliver Post Secondary Level training, (IFTS courses, ITS courses EQF 5, Technical Specialization Courses EQF6, 7 under the Regional Qualification Framework, with a specific focus on Advanced Manufacturing Supply chain and with up to 40% of Work Based Learning).

Centoform also deals with apprenticeship-related projects for young people and other forms of incompany training since several years. In the years 2007-2015 a total of 2.168 apprentices and 425 trainees were involved.

In 2010 Centoform has been appointed by Emilia Romagna County to manage requalification courses for more than 900 employees coming from firms in crisis in the mechanical sector. In 2011-2012 Centoform organized and managed, in strict partnership with social partners, enterprises and national public authorities, a particularly successful project: it consisted in conceiving the whole Training Plan for retraining 116 redundant workers (former employees of the company British American Tabacco Italia S.p.a. and Franci Group S.r.l.) in Apulia Region. The 8 months training was aimed at immediate re-employment, and the employment rate after 6 months from the end of the training has been of 104 workers reemployed.

Since 2012 we have been organizing guidance activities with schools and companies for students choosing for VET and in 2016 and 2017 we participated to the European Skills Week with local activities with enterprises and schools. In 2013 Centoform has also been appointed by Apulia Region and the Ministry of Labour for managing a requalification project for 150 workers in the field of aerospace skills development. In 2015 Centoform has been appointed to run Employment Centers in Ferrara Province for an expected target groups of 2.000 to 5.000 unemployed people for career guidance and training activities. During 2017 we designed and managed over 130 short training courses addressed to unemployed people. For unemployed people Centoform implemented 7 courses lasting between 240 and 800 hours, involving a total of 105 participants, financed by ESF and finalized to employability. For employed people Centoform implemented over 160 training courses with an average length of 30 hours, involving a total of about 450 workers. Moreover, we carried out guidance and counselling activities addressed to employment seekers in collaboration with the Employment Service network of Ferrara Province.

Regarding innovation in companies, Centoform actively participates to the Italian Industrialist Association (Confindustria) Plan "Towards Industry 4.0" aiming at supporting the business system of the Emilia Romagna Region in innovation processes. In this framework, we propose information and awareness seminars for manufacturing companies and training about new skills addressed to the companies’ key figures. The macro thematic areas for these seminars and trainings are mainly connected to sustainability (Green Up), digitalization (Smartier 4.0) and internationalization (Globber). All initiatives are financed by the European Social Fund. Since 2016 we are an official member of EAfA – European Alliance for Apprenticeships.

Centoform is coordinator of the ITS -tertiary non-academic courses (EQF 5) managed by the ITS TEC (Territory, Energy, Building and Construction) Foundation in Emilia Romagna Region,https://www.itstec.it/international.html, member of the Italian National ITS Foundation Networks http://www.sistemaits.it/fondazioni-its-italia.php.

Since 2017 Centoform is member of the CLUST-ER NETWORK, https://www.retealtatecnologia.it/en/clust-er: Clust-ER Associations are communities of public and private bodies (research centres, businesses, training bodies) that share ideas, skills, tools, and resources to support the competitiveness of the most important production systems in Emilia-Romagna. It is a competitiveness that no longer relies on the ability of individual research centres or businesses to operate on the global market, but increasingly on the ability of the entire local system to be innovative and attractive. In these Clust-ERs, research laboratories and centres for innovation belonging to the High Technology Network team up with the business system and the higher education system to make up the inter-disciplinary critical mass necessary to multiply opportunities and develop strategic projects with a high regional impact. With Clust-ER Associations, the regional industrial research and innovation system aims to achieve greater integration and to better place itself on the international stage to:

- maximise the opportunities for participating in European programmes and international research and innovation networks;

- forge synergies and set up coordinated and stable networks and connections with other public/private agglomerations operating in the same sectors at national and European level;

- encourage and support the development and creation of initiatives in higher education and the development of human resources;

- support and encourage the development of new research infrastructure in the general interest of the Emilia-Romagna region.

https://centoform.it/