28 NOV 2009
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Preparing the future: Cedefops work in 2006

In recognition of Cedefops past contribution, the Ministerial Conference of Helsinki (December 2006) asked the Centre to provide continuous monitoring and reporting on European policy developments in vocational education and training as a follow-up to the

The projects and activities with which the Centre contributed to the Lisbon goal and to the Copenhagen process of greater European cooperation in vocational education and training in 2006 include:

  1. Cedefops report to the Helsinki Ministerial meeting on 5 December 2006 collected evidence of policy developments and challenges and analysed progress in the Member States in achieving the Copenhagen-Maastricht objectives. This report was a key background document for the Helsinki Communiqu.
  2. Research on older workers and lifelong learning led to a comprehensive publication on their situation and needs in the context of demographic change, and to an Agora seminar on the same topic.
  3. Cedefops background report for the 4th report on European VET research was prepared in 2006. This fourth edition of the Research Report, to be published in 2007, focuses on modernisation of vocational education and training in Europe.
  4. On an issue of growing importance to Europe, the early identification of skill needs, Cedefop concentrated in 2006 on quantitative work on forecasting, but also launched a series of sectoral workshops that will continue into 2007.
  5. Cedefop contributed to preparing the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) 2007-2013. As of 2008 Cedefop will manage the study visits programme as one of the key actions of the transversal programme within LLP to support policy development and cooperation at European level in lifelong learning.

Also in 2006, Cedefop concluded a cooperation agreement with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), which is aimed at increasing the complementarity of the agencies work and thus better serving the social partners.

Cedefop also contributed to the clusters, networks and ad hoc groups of the European Commission to implement Education and Training 2010; continued its work on Europass and on the familiarisation of candidate countries with VET in the EU; and actively participated in work by the Commission and OECD in improving VET statistics and indicators.