Cedefop

The German vocational training system offers persuasive points of departure for modernising VET systems in partner countries. Given that a country's education structures cannot be 'imported' or 'exported' readily or as a whole, solutions must be developed that have been adapted to the needs of the partner country.

This past summer (8 June) the European Parliament adopted a resolution, initiated by MEP Nadja Hirsch, on European cooperation in vocational education and training to support the European 2020 strategy. Looking back at almost 10 years since the launch of the Copenhagen process for better cooperation in vocational education and training (VET), the resolution called on the Member States to live up to their promises and implement the measures needed to make VET fit for the future. Among such measures, the common European tools and principles for VET play a leading role in making it easier to compare various forms of learning between countries and sectors, and allowing people to have this learning recognised across Europe. This past November, Cedefop organised two events at the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss these tools and principles: a workshop on the general impact on the tools; and a conference with the European social partners on the role of employers and workers in further developing and implementing the common tools and principles.