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Adaptability to change is the skill most in demand, according to Cedefop’s analysis of online job vacancies, he added.

The EVSW 2019, organised by the European Commission with Cedefop as a partner, took place between 14 and 18 October across Europe and beyond. Over 1 400 events in 45 countries reached 2.5 million people.

Mr Siebel was speaking at the ‘vocational education and training (VET) for all, skills for life’ conference. He noted that digital transformation breeds digital skill gaps, potentially affecting one in three workers, therefore sound digital and technological literacy is key to social and economic participation, adding: ‘Building the skills for tomorrow will require deep learning from one another, will impact on VET and require policy choices.’

Outgoing European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility Marianne Thyssen said at the ‘VET in and for the world’ conference that ‘we decided to open the VET week to the world because we all face the same challenges; wherever we are, our people and our companies need the right skills.’ At the closing event, she announced that the 2020 edition of the EVSW main celebrations will be held in Berlin (9-13 November), in the context of the German EU Presidency.

Finnish Education Minister Li Andersson argued that the most important skill we learn at school is the ability to learn. Everybody needs a strong set of basic skills, and we need a comprehensive system of lifelong learning.

Elke Büdenbender, one of the week's ambassadors, a judge and the spouse of Germany’s Presidency Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said: ‘We need to support initiatives against gender stereotypes. Unfortunately, female students in mathematics, computer science and technology are still a minority. But we cannot afford to miss out on even a single talent in Europe.’

Cedefop input

A team of Cedefop experts participated actively in the Helsinki events, moderating workshops or making presentations of the agency’s work.

Head of Department for VET Systems and Institutions Loukas Zahilas represented Cedefop with expert Jens Bjornavold at the interagency group meeting, and was a panellist at a session on the role of TVET in the sustainable development goals.

Tina Bertzeletou organised a meeting of Cedefop’s community of learning providers to discuss results and development of knowledge-sharing for the future quality of VET. The three working groups agreed on the steps forward.

Irina Jemeljanova moderated a session on the changing role of teachers and trainers, with Irene Psifidou presenting Cedefop’s VET toolkit for tackling early leaving from education and training. Lidia Salvatore spoke at the European alliance for apprenticeships meeting and moderated a session on ‘Services 4.0: innovation for workforce upskilling and reskilling’. Pedro Moreno da Fonseca participated in a panel on the role of EU agencies and social partners in lifelong guidance practice and policy development. Jens Bjornavold moderated a session on international qualifications and standards where George Kostakis presented Cedefop’s relevant work.

Mr Kostakis also made a presentation in a session on evidence-based and future-oriented policy-making for VET and adult learning. Dmitrijs Kulss and Iraklis Pliakis presented remotely the findings of Cedefop's key competence study to the ET2020 working group on innovation and digitalisation.

At the VET excellence awards ceremony, Commissioner Thyssen presented the top #CedefopPhotoAward prize, as voted for by the public, to Austria’s ‘Culture connects’ team of young learners from the HTBLVA Ortweinschule Graz. In their photostory, Anna, Jacob, Sarah and Benjamin show four learners in different environments connected by a string as Erasmus+ experiences bring people together.

Mr Siebel and expert Lore Schmid also took part in the Directors General for VET meeting, which took place in Helsinki in the context of the Finnish EU Presidency.

The Cedefop Executive Director outlined some of the agency's activities and gave an impulse statement in the workshop on financing continuous learning and incentivising the individual in VET. Ms Schmid was rapporteur from a DGVT break-out session and chair of a round table in the discussions, co-shaping also the messages from this table in the vocational excellence workshop of VET for all.

Organised in cooperation with the rotating EU Presidencies, this time with the Finnish Presidency, Cedefop’s Brussels seminars build on Cedefop research and analyses, and address issues relevant to European debates on vocational education and training (VET) and employment.

The 8th seminar, a European vocational skills week event, focused on the implications of new forms of work due to digitalisation, especially rising online platform work, for workers’ skills formation and matching. Cedefop expert Konstantinos Pouliakas, who designed the CrowdLearn study, argued: ‘This is a flagship research product of Cedefop’s ‘Digitalisation, AI and future of work’ project; it is the first ever study to focus on the skill formation and matching practices of online freelancers offering labour services in the online platform or ‘gig’ economy. Based on in-depth interviews with platform owners, crowdworkers and policy stakeholders, as well as analysis of a large-scale new database of 1 000 crowdworkers, the study enables us to construct a unique typology of the skills most often developed in crowdwork, understand their learning practices, identify skill gaps and demarcate the challenges associated with new forms of algorithmic skills matching that takes place in the online platform economy.’

Education or ignorance

Representing the Finnish EU Presidency, Johanna Koponen emphasised the value of lifelong learning for citizens and of building a strong capacity for anticipating new and emerging skill demands. ‘If you think education and training are expensive, try ignorance,’ she concluded.

Cedefop Deputy Director Mara Brugia also reflected on the key challenge that automation poses for EU labour markets, specifically the expected job transformation: 'Artificial intelligence and automation do not necessarily destroy jobs, but reshape them and create new ones. Jobs demanding worker autonomy, planning, teamwork and customer-service skills are expected to resist automation better. This requires new skills and occupational profiles to complement them, like data analytics. The move to a low-carbon economy will also see new or growing green occupations, but mainly green skills across the board, as Cedefop’s analysis points out.'

As revealed by a study using Cedefop’s European skills and jobs survey data, while only 14% of EU jobs face a very high risk of being completely automated, close to 4 in 10 EU jobs may see some transformation in the tasks and skills required, highlighting the need for EU workers to reskill and upskill.

Oxford University Internet Institute Professor Vili Lehdonvirta and Copenhagen Business School Professor Anoush Margaryn, who carried out the CrowdLearn study research for Cedefop, presented some of its key findings. They highlighted that a unique blend of entrepreneurial, self-branding, communication and organisational skills as well as focused personal dispositions are found to be a particularly important prerequisite for success in online platform markets. They stressed several examples of platforms increasingly assuming a training provider role, although crowdworkers often see little value in such efforts or in other conventional vocational courses; by contrast they rely more often on just-in-time or bite-sized online courses.

The study also highlighted that skills matching in this new digital marketplace tends to take place via algorithmic management. Workers’ reputation scores acquired by clients generally tend to prevail over more conventional forms of signalling their skills, such as qualifications, microcredentials or skill tests.

European Commission Joint Research Centre’s Annarosa Pesole presented key insights of the 2nd wave of the COLLEEM survey, the EU’s dedicated survey measuring the incidence of platform work and the tasks and working conditions characterising platform workers.

Recommendations

A debate with the audience on policies that could facilitate crowdworkers’ continuing training and cost-sharing of skills investments was coordinated by Cedefop expert Jiri Branka. He showcased the Cedefop study’s 11 policy recommendations, which target issues related to the labour market inclusion of new crowdworkers, their initial and continuing professional development and improvement in transparency of their skills matching. A main recommendation is the suggestion for policy-makers to collaborate with platforms in experimenting with a system of subsidised micro-internships to counteract barriers to newcomers into online platform markets due to deficient client feedback scores.

The study's final report will be published in the first half of 2020.

In his opening remarks, Cedefop Executive Director Jürgen Siebel said that work on key competences is not new to the agency, with several projects supporting their development.

He introduced the Cedefop study, which focuses on three key competences: digital, literacy and multilingual, and outlined the workshop objectives: to share the study results, collect participants’ views, discuss challenges and remedies in implementing supporting policies, and identify related topics that stakeholders would like Cedefop to provide evidence on in the future.

Project coordinator Dmitrijs Kulss presented in more detail Cedefop’s work on key competences. He noted that, according to the study, purely occupational skills are not enough for VET learners; key competences are also required, as they are essential for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion, lifelong learning, and employment.

A closer look at policies

The study’s main findings were presented by Cedefop expert Iraklis Pliakis and the research team’s Simon Broek.

The study identified 79 policies promoting literacy, multilingual and/or digital competences in EU28+ countries (2011-18); 31 of those focus on all three. When it comes to policies promoting one key competence, countries have focused more on digital.

There are 78 qualification types in the EU28+. Literacy is included in all, while multilingual and digital are included in more than 88%. Literacy and multilingual are usually included as standalone modules; digital competence is more often integrated in other modules.

Other study findings show that two-thirds of policies (2011-15) have completed their planned activities; policies promoting key competences mainly lead to follow-up actions; policies embedding key competences contribute to changes in IVET.

More than 500 interviews and 39 focus groups were conducted in the context of the study. Seven case studies focused on specific challenges. In total, 105 programmes covering different European qualifications framework levels were investigated in three sectors (accommodation and food, construction, and manufacturing).

Other initiatives

The European Commission’s Helen Hoffmann gave an update on EU vocational education and training policies, focusing on the key competences reference framework, which was updated in 2018.

EU frameworks and tools supporting digital competences, including SELFIE, a digital tool providing a snapshot of schools’ use of digital technology, were presented by the Joint Research Centre’s Panagiotis Kampylis. He stressed that use of technology is different from digital skills.

The European Education Area and language learning as a tool that takes VET further was the theme of European Commission Ana-Maria Stan’s presentation. She referred to a 2019 Council Recommendation on language learning which specifies that at the end of upper secondary education young people should be able to: fully use the language of schooling; fully use another European language; confidently use a third language.

A global view

Looking at the issue of key competences from a global perspective, Head of UNCESCO-UNEVOC Shyamal Majumdar said that, in a fast-changing world, we need to work out the major trends that have an impact on our life, learning and work. He argued that people need a new set of transversal skills in addition to occupational and foundation skills.

Mr Majumdar also identified as a challenge the different terms used for transversal skills or key competences across the world, and urged Europe to take a lead in providing clarity.

Representing WorldSkills, President Jos de Goey and standards and assessment advisor Jenny Shackleton presented key competences in global skills competitions.

Way forward

Participants attended parallel sessions to analyse the Cedefop study results, discuss national examples and identify policy challenges and remedies.

An open session, moderated by Cedefop expert George Kostakis, provided ideas for Cedefop research future priorities, and a panel discussion focused on a vision for shaping key competences in VET, critical elements, benefits to end-users, links to employment, security, personal development and other areas.

Closing the workshop, Cedefop Head of Department for VET Systems and Institutions Loukas Zahilas thanked participants for giving feedback and ideas on moving forward, adding that the final study report will take into account their input.

The event was part of the European vocational skills week 2019, of which Cedefop is a partner.

It comprises the shift to learning outcomes to measure qualifications, the development of a common language (ESCO) to underpin a common understanding and the promotion of qualifications frameworks across Europe to classify them.

A workshop, organised by Cedefop on 28 and 29 November in Thessaloniki, explored yet another aspect of this consequential work: Can we develop reliable and scalable methods to map, analyse and compare the content of vocational education and training (VET) qualifications to better understand similarities and differences, strengths and weaknesses across borders?

Opening the workshop, Cedefop Executive Director Jürgen Siebel said that the agency has dedicated a project to comparing VET qualifications to fill a gap in the field.

Participants discussed the data sources on national qualifications, as concerns their content and profile, and the establishment of a common European reference system for comparing them. The debate focused on the differences between national skills priorities, and on how education and training systems respond to changing skills needs and to the internationalisation of labour markets and technologies.

While the key role of learning outcomes in the review and systematic comparison of qualifications was confirmed by participants, discussions revealed the gap between intended learning outcomes and the actual achievements of learners. There is a need for a better communication between the people who write learning outcomes into standards, programmes and curricula, the teachers and trainers who convey them and the employers who experience and monitor the actual learning outcomes.

Considering the sheer volume of the task of comparing qualifications across different countries, systems and languages, the elephant in the room throughout the workshop, parts of it will have to be automated. The building blocks of a computer-based methodology for comparing qualifications are being developed in the context of the project. ESCO will serve as a reference for a system prototype.

Participants concluded that a better alignment between education and training supply and labour market demand was needed. The dialogue between education and training professionals and employers needs to be closer. Some also highlighted the social partners’ role in defining qualifications and the need to have them on board.

It was stressed that considering the high number of refugees and skilled workers seeking employment in Europe, many EU Member States need to certify foreign workers’ qualifications and would welcome better descriptions and comparability. To ease the task, participants proposed to create clusters of skills, to start work at sectoral level only or to reflect on a new role for the Europass certificate supplement to allow jobseekers to provide more details on their skills. The elephant in the room will have to be, as one participant put it, eaten in small pieces.

The meeting of Cedefop’s CareersNet discussed how digital technologies, artificial intelligence and labour market information are changing guidance services and career education at school. Participants examined innovative practices, current challenges and actions to prioritise at national and EU levels.

Conclusions highlighted the network’s important role in the development of strategies to:

• consolidate guidance as a socioeconomic right with a clear reflection in the development of e-government;
• support the implementation of career education and career learning in schools, enterprises and communities;
• promote integrated services which can support individuals during their full lifecycles, pooling the efforts of employment services, social security, social partners and other stakeholders.

An important part of the meeting was dedicated to analysing current strategies to support adult learning and careers. Issues debated included the results of Cedefop’s forthcoming study on validation of skills and guidance, regional governance, vouchers and other quasi-market arrangements.

The host organisations, the Italian Ministry of Labour and the National Agency for Active labour market policies (ANPAL), presented current national initiatives to upskill adults. The new ‘citizen income scheme’, which combines financial support to vulnerable groups with activation measures, attracted high interest.

CareersNet is also the group of experts behind Cedefop’s forthcoming European inventory of lifelong guidance systems, which will include the EU, EEA and EU-accession countries.

The Rome event was part of the European vocational skills week 2019, of which Cedefop is a partner.

The exhibition, which will be open to the public until 30 November, showcases the photostories of the award’s three winning teams and 17 runners-up. The winners of the Prix du Jury from Romania, dressed in traditional costumes, received their certificates during the ceremony.

Mr Siebel welcomed the students and teachers from two local vocational schools who were invited to the ceremony and noted that, when Cedefop established the photo award four years ago, it wanted to give a voice to vocational education and training (VET) learners across Europe and promote VET as a first educational choice.

Introducing the winners of the Prix du Jury, a group of learners from the Marmaţia Technological High School in Maramureș who studied business and set up their own micro-company to produce and sell local artefacts, he praised their effort to portray how tradition and art can become a source of inspiration, even to start one’s own professional venture.

Ms Jalladeau said that the team is an example of creativity and diversity as its members have different ethnic origins (Romanian, Hungarian and Ukrainian). ‘Europe is about diversity,’ stressed Ms Jalladeau ,adding: ‘It’s the fourth year we are welcoming young people from all over Europe as part of our collaboration with Cedefop, and it’s great to see gifted and enthusiastic Europeans from different backgrounds producing such beautiful photostories.’

The other two winning teams, from Austria and Croatia, went head to head for the #CedefopPhotoAward 2019 top prize, which was announced at the European vocational skills week celebrations in Helsinki (14-18 October), following a public online vote. It was the Austrian photostory that got the most votes.

In total, 112 teams from 20 European countries, consisting of 380 VET learners and 76 teachers/trainers representing 73 learning providers, took part in this year’s #CedefopPhotoAward. The learners were asked to share a photostory of a memorable VET experience.

Find out more about the winners and runners-up of #CedefopPhotoAward 2019.