Vocvo is responsible for the coordination of the education of prisoners in the 17 prisons in Flanders and Brussels. According to the subsidy decision of the Flemish government dd. 2/05/2021 the following assignments have been awarded to Vocvo:

• Coordination and support of the providers in:
  ○ the development of an education and training policy for prisoners;
  ○ the coordination of detecting the educational and training needs of prisoners;
  ○ the supervision of the educational trajectory of prisoners.
• Act as an intermediary point of contact between the education providers, the prison managements and the policy coordinators of the Justice and Enforcement Agency.
• The support of the education coordinators in the prison in, on the one hand, the development of a needs-covering and adapted offer for education to detainees and, on the other hand, the coordination of the educational offer in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Assistance and Services to Prisoners.

Every year Vocvo reports to the government on the execution of the assignment. Vocvo works together with various organisations for this. They work together with the following priority education partners:

• Adult Education Centres (CVO)
• Centres for adult basic education – Ligo (CBE)

But also other educational partners such as:

• Board of Examiners for Secondary Education
• Flemish Universities and Colleges
• Other education and training providers

In addition to educational partners, Vocvo also works together with other organisations such as:

• Agency for Integration and Integration, Atlas, In-Gent and Huis van het Nederlands Brussel
  – The Justice and Enforcement Agency
  – The Flemish partners within the assistance and services to prisoners, such as De Rode Antraciet, VDAB (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding), CAW (Centrum Algemeen Welzijnswerk).
  – The Directorate-General penitentiary institutions and the prison directorates.

If you’d like to learn more about VOCVO you can click here: vocvo.be