There is a need for a European Union in which young people can receive the best education and training, in addition to having the opportunity to study and find work across the continent. In this context, the Basque Country has developed its second Basque Strategy for University-Enterprise Partnership 2022-2026. The ultimate goal of this strategy is to act as a lever for the social and economic development of Euskadi within a European and international framework, helping to build a sustainable, modern, and just Basque society. Among the main strategic priorities are vocational education and training (VET) and university collaboration. As part of a comprehensive education approach, we must align the 2030 Agenda with education.

Given the urgent global sustainability challenges, VET, like university education, is exploring fairer approaches. Part of this response seems to lie in what are called collaborative learning agreements, where students and social actors come together to explore sustainability-related challenges. This is where the cooperative and collaborative project ELKARHEZI fits in—a project that promotes collaboration between the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and VET centers in Álava, with a focus on sustainability.

We are aware of the starting point of UPV/EHU, but before beginning this collaboration between the University and VET, it is essential to gather data that provides insights into sustainability as a complex competency within VET. This research aims to evaluate this competency and identify the strengths and weaknesses in sustainability content in VET programs. With approval from the ethics committee and using the same questionnaire previously administered to university students on the Álava campus of the University of the Basque Country, data was collected from 56 students across various courses at the catering school (including bakery and pastry, culinary arts, restaurant services, and kitchen management).

According to the results, 54% of respondents believe that sustainability and social responsibility are of utmost importance in their professional development, and 48% feel that these areas are adequately addressed throughout their courses. However, more specific questions revealed a lack of in-depth knowledge about sustainability. This highlights an area for improvement and a need to further integrate sustainability as a complex competency within VET. Considering similar weaknesses observed in the case of university students from the UPV/EHU, it is clear that a comprehensive and collaborative training approach between these two groups of future professionals could benefit the formation of employees with essential sustainability-related skills and knowledge.

Keywords: Sustainability competency, vocational education and training, collaborative learning agreements, university-enterprise partnership.