- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Completed
Background
The establishment of a European quality assurance reference framework for vocational education and training has stimulated vocational education and training (VET) reforms in EU Member States, contributing to improving quality assurance in VET systems across Europe. However, there remains a need to address the transparency of quality assurance arrangements at system level, an area that requires further attention and work. The introduction of peer reviews can support this procedure.
Objectives
According to the 2020 VET recommendation, peer reviews are aimed at improving mutual learning, increasing the transparency and consistency of quality assurance arrangements in the provision of VET, and reinforcing mutual trust between EU Member States.
Description
In the 2020 VET recommendation peer reviews are described as 'a type of voluntary mutual learning activity supporting improvement and transparency of quality assurance arrangements at system level. The are aiming at accreditation procedures based on a specific methodology to be developed by the European Network for quality assurance in vocational education and training'.
A peer review offers the chance to the country hosting it to reflect on its practices of quality assuring its national VET system. Peers from other Member States act as critical friends, offering external feedback and sharing thematic relevant experiences from their country.
Responding to the call of the 2020 VET Recommendation, and taking under consideration the peer review manual, which includes a specific methodology for EQAVET peer reviews and incorporates lessons learned from the nine peer reviews which took place in 2022, Lithuania, and more specifically the Qualifications and VET Development Centre (KPMPC), organised on 24-25 January 2023 in Vilnius the 10th peer review on VET teacher expertise for quality assurance. Nine members of EQAVET participated in the peer review, from Belgium-fr, Czechia, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia.
The peer review meeting focused on the VET teacher certification system of Lithuania, an area of interest for the Lithuanian national reference point (NRP) of EQAVET (KPMPC). Although professional development for VET teachers in Lithuania is available and well developed, a large number of vocational teachers do not choose to get certified; the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport is looking for ways to make professional development more attractive.
During the peer review meeting, the Lithuanian hosts introduced the Lithuanian VET system and concentrated on three topics:
- the certification system for VET teachers;
- the methodological commissions as enablers of VET teacher certification and professional development;
- the institutional support of VET teachers' systematic activities.
VET teachers' professional development in Lithuania occurs in four stages, starting with the not certified teacher, to certified teacher, senior teacher, methodologist teacher and expert teacher. The certification builds upon several criteria, such as continuous professional development, work experience, demonstration of achievements and competence growth, as well as self-reflection. Teachers are assessed by methodological commissions. Each one of these commissions is responsible for a field of activity/subject and aims to guarantee quality assurance at methodical/systematic (how) and subject-specific (what) level. VET institutions offer systematic activities such as annual self-assessment of their strategy and performance, resulting in updating of their working plan and revision of their programme. This monitoring process runs throughout the year.
Following the presentation of the Lithuanian quality assurance system in VET and the VET teacher contribution to it, peers provided their feedback. Peers found the certification system forLithuanian teachers crucial to lifelong learning and added some recommendations, reflecting their external views. For example, it was suggested that the Lithuanian certification system could be promoted more systematically and motivate VET teachers even more to seek continuous professional development. It was also proposed that the role of the methodological commissions and their work could be explained in more detail, so collaboration between national and school-based methodological commissions could be strengthened. The self-assessment process, according to the peers, could be more flexible and always involve the teachers, and the education ministry could offer more support to the VET institutions.
The feedback provided is highly valued by the Lithuanian hosts and will help them further improve the Lithuanian certification system.
A digital platform dedicated to networking and information exchange for VET teachers was created, and events were organised to encourage VET teachers to participate in methodological activities. As part of these efforts, six events were held in 2023 bringing together 151 participants to discuss the institutionalization of VET teachers' methodological commissions and to disseminate good practices. The discussions focused on methodological activities at both national and institutional levels, their current and potential functions, and the factors enabling VET teachers to participate in these activities. Additionally, based on the needs expressed by VET teachers, KPMPC has developed and accredited a 40-academic-hour qualification improvement programme titles ,Andragogical competence for teachers,.
In 2024, the EQAVET secretariat organised a peer review follow-up activity, which included a self-assessment survey and a complementary interview with the peer review hosts. Based on these activities, a report was drafted and presented to the peer review host, outlining the progress made since the peer review, the impact of the peer review, as well as the challenges encountered and key success factors.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
- Qualifications and VET Development Centre (KPMPC)
Target groups
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
- National, regional and local authorities
Other
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
This thematic sub-category refers to further development of national quality assurance (QA) systems for IVET and CVET, for all learning environments (school-based provision and work-based learning, including apprenticeships) and all learning types (digital, face-to-face or blended), delivered by both public and private providers. These systems are underpinned by the EQAVET quality criteria and by indicative descriptors applied both at system and provider levels, as defined in Annex II of the VET Recommendation. The sub-category concerns creating and improving external and self-evaluation of VET providers, and establishing criteria of QA, accreditation of providers and programmes. It also covers the activities of Quality assurance national reference points for VET on implementing and further developing the EQAVET framework, including the implementation of peer reviews at VET system level.
Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences
Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.
This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.
The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.
European and international dimensions of VET
This thematic category covers both European and international cooperation in initial and continuing VET, aimed at promoting EU VET systems as a European education and training area and making it a reference for learners in neighbouring countries and across the globe.
Expanding opportunities and increasing participation of VET learners, young and adult, and staff in international mobility for learning and work, including apprenticeship and virtual and blended mobility, account for most initiatives in this thematic category.
Apart from established and financially supported EU cooperation, VET opens up to cooperation and promotion of European values and national practices beyond the EU, which is becoming a trend. This thematic category also encompasses internationalisation strategies, transnational cooperation projects and initiatives – including those where joint VET programmes, examinations and qualifications are developed – and participation in international skills competitions that promote the image of VET. Using international qualifications – awarded by legally established international bodies or by a national body acting on behalf of an international body – in the national VET systems and recognising them towards national qualifications is also in focus.
This thematic sub-category refers to transnational cooperation initiatives on VET and lifelong learning, including coordinated and jointly developed programmes among the EU Member States or beyond the EU, bilateral or multi-country: same curricula, one qualification, joint examinations.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). 10th EQAVET peer review on VET teacher expertise for quality assurance hosted by Lithuania: Lithuania. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/45448