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The main activities of the project comply with the three aforementioned objectives and six measures. The Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation (MIRRI) serves as the National Coordination Unit while the project operator is the State Institute of Vocational Education in partnership with the Swiss Federal University of Vocational Education. Switzerland has committed up to CHF 5 750 000 covering a maximum of 85% of the total eligible project expenditures over 55...

The Agenda for VET Working Together on Talent is a covenant signed in 2023 by eight key VET stakeholders: the education ministry, Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), Association of Educators in VET (BVMBO), National youth organisation for VET students (JOB), Cooperation organisation for VET and the labour market (SBB), Council for private providers of education and training (NRTO), Council for upper secondary VET schools (MBO Raad) and the National association of employers...

The Teaching career law for pre-school, basic and secondary education has been reviewed. The organisation of initial teacher training courses is based, among other things, on the students' profile at the end of compulsory education and essential learning (knowledge, skills and attitudes to be developed by all students in each subject). Training now includes education for citizenship, inclusive education and the use of digital technologies.

Specific rules shall be laid down for the acquisition...

The coherent plan for the education system consists of different reforms and initiatives across the entire education system thus targeting a wide array of groups. Although the plan is not an explicit national implementation plan (NIP) measure, many of its initiatives could be considered relevant touching upon various EU priorities. More precisely the intervention areas are the following:

1. Prepared for the future I - new flexible university paths.This reform aims to provide students with new...

The SkillsPoland competition consists of:

1. development of organisational and substantive assumptions for the PolSkills competition at the regional and national level;
2. conducting study visits as part of professional competitions in other countries;
3. implementation of a promotional campaign for SkillsPoland competitions;
4. conducting regional eliminators for competitions in 30 sectors;
5. organising of three nationwide SkillsPoland competitions in 30 sectors;
6. participation of representatives from...

In Poland, the activities of the EPALE platform are the responsibility of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Science.

The European EPALE platform has been operating since October 2014. From the beginning, it has been available in the Polish language. The current contract for the implementation of the project by the EPALE national office covers the period from April 2022 to the end of 2024.

The aim of the competition is to select the best teachers from vocational education in Poland in the 100 fields covered by the competition, who can serve as role models for other teachers, by their commitment and passion in their work; support for the professional interests of learners, including gifted learners; recognition as authorities by their schools and local environments; and special teaching and/or educational achievements in VET.

Winners and featured participants receive the title...

The System of vocational qualifications (SVQ) is based on Vocational qualification standards (VQS) developed by the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA) with the assistance of vocational qualifications technical committees. The SVQ assesses in real or simulated working conditions the ability of a person to carry out specific tasks according to a VQS. At the same time, the SVQ sets out the framework for the design and development of training activities to prepare the...

In order to develop the competences of teachers, trainers and heads of school, the following measures are foreseen:

1. building the capacity of schools to develop the content of VET, including curriculum development and in-service training for vocational teachers;
2. pedagogical-methodological in-service training courses (including special pedagogy and andragogy) for VET teachers, in-service training in digital pedagogy for vocational teachers;
3. field-related training for vocational teachers,...

With the Excellence Initiative for VET policy projects are combined into an overarching agenda. Individual activities will be launched successively during 2022 to 2026. Over EUR 750 million have been earmarked for this purpose.

In order to give new impetus to VET, the Excellence Initiative focuses on three central fields of action.

Improving individual opportunity support for talents in VET, to ensure that skilled workers and young people can develop their potential in the best possible way:

...

If they meet specific conditions, the changes enable vocational HEIs with a vocational higher education institution (uczelnia zawodowa) status, to:

1. offer courses preparing future teachers for the teaching profession without entering a cooperation agreement with a university, which has scientific achievements in the respective course discipline;
2. use the words practical academy (akademia praktyczna) in its title.

During the period 2022-24, the reform focuses on the following areas and activities:

1. introducing a unified teacher competence profile determining the professional prerequisites and competences of teacher training graduates. The competence profile will help the faculties to focus their training better and to be able to evaluate and gradually improve its quality;
2. transforming practical training of undergraduate teacher trainees, improving its quality and linking teaching practice more closely...

Among other things, the rules made it easier to be promoted into the title of the councillor: for example, all public artistic performances are now evaluated and count towards promotion.

Strengthening the position of 'sectoral assignees' and the Employer Council for VET over the VET system as a whole from 2021 induced a debate over creating a new institution covering the VET system as a whole. The Sector Councils Alliance has been newly created to take over some responsibilities from the education and labour ministries from 1 January 2025.

The finance ministry was responsible for preparing the National integrated reform plan (NIRP). Over 100 experts, including analysts from respective ministries and experts from NGOs and businesses, contributed to the identification of milestones, measurable goals and required costs in eight priority areas. The following are the most relevant to VET:

1. education;
2. research, development and innovations;
3. digitalisation;
4. labour market and social sustainability.

The priority area education includes...

In 2015, the National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP), in cooperation with social partners and responsible ministries, developed a career/vocational guidance practitioner occupational profile. It is based on the results of a scientific study on accreditation of career guidance counsellors. The career/vocational counsellor occupational profile sets the skills, knowledge and competences for career guidance practitioners in non-formal education...

The rationale for ITS international collaboration efforts and activities is that the cooperation with top international universities and institutions provides students with the possibility to graduate from a reputable institute and also get the opportunity to study for a period of time within these institutions in order to obtain wider experience and further develop their skills to meet international standards.

A new Act on VET was adopted in June 2017 and entered into force in January 2018. The focus of the implementation of this latest reform is on the following elements:

1. a single Act on VET, i.e. VET for young people and adults within the same framework;
2. a single licence to provide education and to award qualifications;
3. flexible application and admission systems;
4. a clearer range of qualifications that better meets the needs of working life;
5. a single competence-based approach to completing...

The education ministry aims to design compact qualifications, which can be combined in different ways. For example, a teacher will be able to specialise in one subject in primary, secondary and vocational education or in a number of subjects in one education sector, or in a combination of subjects and education sectors. Current and future teachers will be the beneficiaries.

The design of the teacher training courses in a modular system should allow for stacking competences, fitting within the...

A new act was adopted on pedagogical staff and professional staff (138/2019) in 2019 complemented by two decrees (361/2019 on education for professional development and 1/2020 on qualification requirements). The act cancelled:

1. the original credit system, but retained the right to a salary supplement for certain types of in-service training (especially when obtaining new qualifications), thus significantly reducing the link between salary bonuses and completion of in-service training;
2. the...

There are four main areas of development envisaged in the national education strategy 2021-27:

Highly competent educators

Highly competent educational staff implies the training, attraction and retention of outstanding teachers and academic staff, as well as systematic and purposeful professional development, methodological and consultative support. Stimulating the motivation of teachers and academic staff is also important.

Availability of quality education to everyone

Quality education...

The education strategy applies an integrated approach to the development of the education system to make better use of Estonia's high-quality education for the benefit of people, society and the economy.

It continues to support the contemporary approaches to teaching and learning, considers rapid technological developments, strives to ensure the next generation of teachers and the renewal of teachers' roles, and it focuses more on the skills policy, including a clearer division of the roles...

The scheme is based on a 50% contribution of the costs by the school owner.

The target group for the pilot project is teachers in primary and secondary school, as well as teachers who teach adults at these levels. Both teachers in public schools and in private schools approved under the law of independent schools may participate in the pilot.

School owners are responsible for developing plans for the assignment of teacher specialists and for clarifying roles and responsibilities. School owners...

ESF projects coordinated by the National School for Leadership in Education also contribute to developing guidance: the 2016-18 project Leadership support programme for school staff, produced for staff in schools and kindergartens in order to develop knowledge and skills in lifelong career guidance; and the 2016-19 project Managing and leading innovative learning environments aiming to design a model of comprehensive support to head teachers in pedagogical leadership and management, including...

During 2017, discussions in relation to access to the teaching professions took place at a sectoral conference on education and a revision of legislation was agreed. The Educate for the 21st century forum was held on 6 November in which challenges and proposals on the teaching profession developed by experts over the last few years were presented. Agreement was reached on the need to moderate the recruitment of temporary staff (a consequence of the economic crisis). Greater stability in...

Pay rises were awarded in 2016 and 2017 (4% plus a further 6%). As the government claimed that highly qualified teachers were key to the delivery of its education and training agenda, it announced further increases - in its 2016 manifesto - averaging 6% per year from 2018 Yet, such a move was still considered insufficient by staff representatives as teacher salaries would remain lower than 70% of the average salary of professionals with higher education qualifications. The increase in...

The 2015 legislation amending the 2009 Pedagogical Staff Act made qualification requirements more flexible to attract (more) business and industry professionals to teaching and to facilitate changes of position or subject areas. Professionals teaching in occupation-oriented areas are not required to comply with qualification requirements in pedagogy provided they teach up to 10 hours per week (the responsibility for ensuring/assessing their teaching competences lies with school principals)....

In 2016, the Ministry of National Education changed the procedure for awarding the teacher confirmation certificate (Definitivat certificate). After completing a 1-year period of teaching, prospective teachers take a simplified teacher confirmation examination.

The written test consists of two parts instead of three: one part is focused on the subject in which the candidate specialises (60% of the total grade); the other is focused on the teaching methodology (30% of the total grade), while...

A master degree has been legally required as a condition for entering the teaching profession since 2011 (Education Law), but the implementation of this provision did not start in 2015-16 as planned, leaving it as an option.

The law was revised in May 2015, focusing on the organisation and implementation of a master of arts (MA) for the teaching profession: a 2-year programme including academic studies, practical training (throughout three semesters) and research (linked to the MA...

The Teaching career law for pre-school, basic and secondary education has been reviewed. Since 2016, the skills and knowledge examination (Prova de avaliação de conhecimentos e capacidades) has no longer been in force. The entry requirements for teacher training courses have been increased and the system for employing temporary teachers has been reformed, allowing an annual renewal of fixed term contracts for up to five years.

In 2017, legislation modified the selection, recruitment and...

In October 2017, the Act on financing educational tasks was adopted. The Act made teacher CPD obligatory and to be conducted in line with the school's needs. Head teachers report annually on teachers' CPD. Changes in teachers' advancement procedures were also implemented, however, they were withdrawn in a subsequent amendment to the Teachers Charter in 2019.

The Act also allowed higher salaries to be paid to specialists employed at schools who are not teachers. Previously, such a salary could...

The 2015 VET teacher promotion initiative also provides for VET teacher CPD. Measures include: giving vocational teachers the opportunity to develop their competences by creating new and more relevant courses; supporting VET teachers with a technological background who lack teacher training for upgrading their qualifications, through scholarships and increased supply of pedagogical training (one-year programme in education theory and practice).

CPD will be based on VET teacher competence...

The VET teacher promotion initiative was launched nationally in October 2015, aiming to attract new teachers to ensure sufficiency and quality of VET teaching staff. It builds on previous successful pilots. The programme is based on scholarships and flexible education pathways for skilled workers. A scholarship scheme for non-qualified VET teachers who want to complete VET teacher education has been set up and is managed by the Directorate for Education and Training. Since 2016, people who...

In 2014, a revision of teacher requirements was proposed by the national teacher body Onderwijscoöperatie, which represents the teaching profession. The revised requirements were approved by the education ministry in 2015 and have become effective as of 2017. Formal requirements were divided into three categories:

1. subject content requirements;
2. didactical requirements;
3. pedagogical requirements.

Teachers in primary education, in secondary education and senior secondary vocational education are...

In February 2017, the education ministry published an action plan on teacher shortage. The plan is being implemented to encourage regional stakeholders to stimulate circular careers and hybrid teaching to tackle shortages of (technical) teachers.

An agreement between the education ministry and the Malta Union of Teachers was signed in December 2017, covering the years 2018-22. The agreement gives greater emphasis to continuous professional development. This new agreement envisages the creation of a community of professional educators (CoPE), providing a forum of professional discussion such as school development planning sessions, CPD and links with industry and society. Several training sessions for teachers of all mainstream...

Industry placements for teaching staff are presently taking place in following different forms:

1. a recently launched MVEAR, a CPD programme for MCAST industry;
2. Erasmus+ mobility programmes are offered to MCAST teaching staff, enabling them to visit industries abroad;
3. teaching staff voluntarily asks to carry out industry placements, particularly in the summer recess, to keep themselves abreast of developments in the industrial sector relative to their areas of teaching;
4. the activities of the...

Due to the requirement that teachers need to have completed a master degree to enter the teaching profession, several master degrees in teaching and learning (MTL) were introduced: in October 2016 the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta started a two-year Master in teaching and learning (MTL) for first-cycle degree graduates. From September 2017, the Faculty of Education introduced MTL initial teacher training courses in 11 vocational subjects. In order to ensure that it provides...

Strengthening strategic approaches to the training of teachers:

1. annual identification of training needs for teachers based on evidence and using advanced teacher skills' assessment tools and methods;
2. targeted and needs-based planning of teacher training at municipal level, providing equivalent support facilities for all educators;
3. developing unified, coordinated and monitored VET by ensuring effective cooperation between stakeholders in teacher professional development;
4. support for...

In 2015, the education ministry approved and prioritised the organisation of VET for teacher-related CPD within the framework of sectoral practical training centres and innovative companies. In the 2015-16 period, traineeships in companies were funded for 100 VET teachers from the engineering, construction, trade, transport and services sectors.

In October 2016, a national-level project was launched aiming to create a CPD system for vocational teachers and adult educators. The project is...

VET teacher training is regulated by the Good school reform (Law 107/2015). According to this Law, teachers' in-service training becomes continuing. It also provides incentives to support continuing teacher training and systematic need analysis mechanisms. Teachers' in-service training must be in line with the school plan and with the priorities of the education ministry. As part of the Good School Law, the priority areas for teacher training in the period 2016-19 are:

1. organisational and...

In April 2017, the council of ministers approved several legislative decrees aiming to complete the implementation process of the Law 107/2015 The Good school reform. One of the decrees defined new criteria for the recruitment of school teachers. Applicants must be university graduates and must pass exams that take place twice a year. The number of job openings will be estimated based on the needs of each school. Successful candidates attend a three-year training course (work-based learning)...

In 2016, the education ministry adopted the multi annual National plan for digital education (PNSD). The plan has coordinated government, region and municipality digital resources, as well as managed all the projects focusing on digital education and innovation. The plan can be seen as a consequence of the Good school Law which emphasises the development of digital skills.

The plan aims to link education institutions with lifelong learning and life-wide learning in formal, informal and...

A National strategy for competences/skills has been launched based on the education and training (Good school) and labour (Jobs Act) reforms. Both reforms aim to improve the competences of young people and adults, including NEETs, and to provide new competences for the (long-term) unemployed and employees. The strategy also links skills with the labour market demand. As a result of the National strategy for competences/skills, cognitive (including basic skills), professional and particularly...

On 13 July 2015, the Italian government adopted a reform of the national education system called the Good school (La Buona Scuola), emphasising alternance between classroom work and periods of workplace training. The main objective is to boost school-to-work transition by increasing employment opportunities and guidance for learners. The reform has made it compulsory for all learners attending the last three years of upper secondary school to take part in a school-work exchange scheme for at...

In 2015, teachers received a substantial salary increase in the hope that more young people would see the profession as attractive and join it, thus reversing the rising age trend among teaching professionals. This measure did not produce the expected results. Another reason for this was the boom in available jobs for many VET professionals in recent years, which increased the unattractiveness of the teaching profession. Part of the need for teachers has been bridged by giving people...

The Ministry responsible for VET outlined its priorities in the decree, VET in the service of the economy, which was approved by the Government in February 2015. The decree calls for a career scheme for school-based vocational trainers and a motivational system that allows the differentiation of remuneration and recognition of extra work. To expand career opportunities and raise the standards of professional work, alternative pathways are also being recommended for teachers to progress in...

Incentives are given to companies that provide practical training. These include the reduction of contributions to the State based on the number of training placements they provide, as well as receiving extra funding for making investments, recruiting instructors and maintaining apprentice workshops.

As a general rule, enterprises that fulfil specific requirements and are registered by the chamber of commerce and industry, may conclude 12 apprenticeship contracts simultaneously (or, depending...

The 2019 framework for career advancement and rewards to teachers encourages mentorship and peer collaboration, teaching innovation, CPD, production of teaching resources and open digital education content, participation in projects, as well as contribution to the education system through engagement in working groups for policy development, research or experimental programmes in education. Adopted in 2019, the Regulation on career advancement contributes to evidence-based decision-making on...

Legislation in 2017 (Law 4485/2017) re-affirmed that, starting from September 2019, the certification of teaching competences of VET teachers and adult educators becomes a prerequisite for their enrolment in training programmes partly funded by the State. This affects post-secondary non-formal IVET and CVET teachers.

It should also be noted that since December 2015, the mechanism for the certification of post-secondary non-formal IVET teachers, which was previously funded by the operational...

In initial vocational education and training apprenticeship schemes, learners receive guidance and support during their in-company training by professionals in the company they work. Depending on the scheme, these professionals are called mentors (within the apprenticeship contract scheme) or tutors (within the professionalisation contract scheme).

The role of apprenticeship mentor is recognised under the Citizen's commitment account (Compte d'engagement citoyen, CEC), which is part of the...

Teacher training was one of the major challenges to be addressed in the Social Agenda (2018-19) developed by the Ministry of Education and Youth. The reform of human resources policy in education promotes support to teams and staff, as well as the empowerment and fulfilment of teaching staff valuing commitment and merit, and reinforcing quality for student success.

A national process of consultation, launched in October 2020, resulted in a set of measures introduced by the Minister of...

A scheme called Students as apprentice teachers (étudiants apprentis-professeurs) was introduced in the 2015/16 school year, replacing a similar scheme called Future jobs for teachers. The scheme is designed for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are at the start of their university studies and aiming to become teachers. In this respect they integrate a 3-year pre-professionalisation pathway from the second year of the Bachelor degree. During this training programme, participants...

In 2016, the Teacher education development programme (Opettajankoulutuksen kehittämisohjelma) was launched by the Ministry of Education and Culture and coordinated by Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia. The programme recommends that training should emphasise its capabilities for:

1. working as a teacher in different operating environments;
2. promoting learner-centeredness;
3. creativity.

It supports:

1. developing coherent practices;
2. unifying quality criteria;
3. promoting competence-based and...

This continuing professional development (CPD) requirement for VET teachers is based on a competence needs analysis carried out by the ministry to accommodate the goals of the 2015 reform. Training focuses on: learning processes and learners' progression; related classroom management; planning and differentiated teaching; practice-related teaching and helping learners to link college-based and company-based learning; activating learners; use of ICT in teaching and learning. Training modules...

Education falls under the competence of the Federal States. In 2018, the education ministry of North-Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) launched a recruitment campaign to attract side entrants and career changers to teaching, including in VET schools, specifically targeting those able to teach subjects with particular teacher shortage:

1. machine technology,
2. electrical engineering,
3. social pedagogy,
4. health.

In principle, only trained teachers with a teaching degree from a university and who have...

The Federal Government and the Federal States (represented by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs KMK) have launched a joint programme, the Quality initiative for teacher training (Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung, QLB), a funding competition scheme to strengthen initial teacher preparation (ITP) and raise the attractiveness of teaching. In 2014 and 2015, higher education institutions involved in teacher training were invited to submit project proposals...

A change in the regional education funding system was approved by the Parliament in 2017 and planned to come into force in January 2020. The per capita funding in use, built on regional and national budgets, does not take into account seniority or expertise. Among other issues, the new approach is to take account of these parameters and the planned career scheme: the ministry will allocate funding from the national budget, based on information from the schools on the number of teaching...

The SYPO project (System for the support of professional development of teachers and directors) was launched in January 2018 and is carried out in cooperation with a range of stakeholders, including representatives of the Czech School Inspectorate, the National Institute for Education, higher education institutions, the Association of School Directors, and representatives of regions. Further education of these two target groups is, to some extent, unsystematic, lacking conceptual support for...

The Amendment to the School Act, which came into force in September 2017, obliges schools to develop, with regard to the field of study, efforts to support cooperation with employers towards joint fulfilment of the objectives of secondary education. According to the amendment, schools should involve employers in the education process, particularly through:

1. consulting with employers about drafts of school curricula;
2. engaging employers in the shaping of conceptual plans for school development;
...

The system for the assessment and accreditation of training providers has been in place since 2016. The aim of the system is to assess natural and legal persons involved in the organisation and implementation of training activities or/and in the provision of infrastructure (e.g. facilities, equipment) for their implementation. The accreditation is compulsory for those who want to cooperate with the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA) for the implementation of training...

The 2016 pre-school and school education Law regulates the career development of teaching staff, identifies continuous professional development (CPD) as a significant factor for career advancement, and introduces a qualification-credits approach that may lead to certified CPD.

Ordinance No 12 of 27 September 2016 on the status and professional development of teachers, directors and other pedagogical specialists introduced obligatory continuous professional development and teacher appraisal...

Acquisition of a teaching certificate is funded, as a priority, by the State budget through subsidies to State universities. These subsidies cover teachers' initial training, but do not include their continuing professional development (CPD) which is funded under a separate framework. In March 2017, the council of ministers added teachers' initial training programmes and pedagogy to the list of priority professional areas in higher education, so these programmes are supported by the State...

The 2015-20 VET development strategy addressed the acquisition of key competences in secondary VET for personal and professional needs. The 2015-20 VET development strategy aims to increase the number of adults taking part in training and to improve the attainment of qualifications and key competences, complementing their professional knowledge and skills. The 2015-17 action plan for this strategy foresees measures promoting key competences, such as career management skills. The 2015-20 VET...

The VET Act of 1999 was amended in August 2016 (entered into force in August 2017), confirming that apprenticeships should offer the possibility to acquire professional qualifications through practical training, organised in cooperation with enterprises. The amendment also intended to improve the quality of VET by increasing the practical training part offered in VET programmes.

In French-speaking Belgium, the Parliament of the French Community adopted on 6 February 2019 a Decree reforming initial teacher education. The decree creates a master degree (ISCED 7) with the objective of increasing the attractiveness of this profession. It helps strengthen teachers' skills by opening up new areas of expertise such as guidance, media literacy or even gender diversity and multiculturalism. It also allows for better transition between different education levels.

The Pact for excellence in education was launched in January 2015, with a view to gradual implementation from 2017 to 2030. This was confirmed and reaffirmed in the Community Policy Statement covering the period 2019-24.

The Pact for excellence in education is a set of reforms that concerns all aspects of education: the content of the curricula, the organisation of courses, the training of teachers, etc., from nursery school to the end of secondary school, with the main objective of improving...