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Findings of Cedefop’s research on vocational education and training’s (VET’s) future role were discussed at a European Parliament event hosted by Anne Sander MEP in Brussels on 27 February.
Over 40 participants, including MEPs Michaela Šojdrová and Anthea McIntyre and the Director-General of European Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Joost Korte, exchanged views on the subject.
In her welcoming remarks, Ms Sander said that she is ‘in favour of moving towards more sharing of good practices at EU level, but also providing more support to Member States willing to develop VET.’
New Regulation
The French MEP was the Parliament rapporteur in the reform of Cedefop’s Founding Regulation which dated from the agency’s creation in 1975. The new Regulation came into force on 20 February. Ms Sander highlighted that ‘thanks to this new and reinforced framework, I believe Cedefop can be even more a key actor at European level to develop VET across Europe and to communicate the opportunities offered by this specific learning approach.’
Chair of Cedefop’s Management Board Tatjana Babrauskiene also referred to the new Regulation, arguing that ‘it confirms the agency’s key role at the intersection between education and training and the labour market, and in VET-related research.’
According to Ms Babrauskiene, Cedefop’s research on the future of VET will certainly trigger a debate on how it can provide Europe with future-oriented skills that are relevant to a rapidly changing environment.
Future scenarios
Cedefop’s Head of Department for VET Systems and Institutions Loukas Zahilas and expert Jens Bjornavold presented the research findings. Starting from the project rationale and the necessity to analyse developments during the past 20 years, they focused on the changes in European vocational education and reflected on future scenarios for 2035.
Mr Bjornavold said that there are two competing VET narratives in Europe today: a negative where VET is becoming increasingly marginalised and a positive where VET is expanding to both lower and higher levels. Paradoxically, both are true depending on how we conceive VET. If we are looking at VET as a narrow concept focusing on specific occupation and middle-skilled jobs, then it is really under threat. If we have a broader understanding of VET as vocationally oriented learning, including lower and higher levels, we see it thriving.
The three scenarios presented include the ‘pluralistic’ in which VET becomes the standard educational pathway for all, part of lifelong learning and, consequently, higher VET becomes part of the higher education system. In this scenario VET is understood as vocationally oriented learning in various contexts. The ‘distinctive’ scenario sees VET again as the standard educational pathway but remaining a distinct educational sector – a modernised version of VET. In the third scenario, the ‘special-purpose’ VET is understood as skills training for labour market inclusion.
Mr Zahilas commented on the strengths and limitations of the scenarios, saying that we are not trying to predict the future but rather seek to illustrate the implications of different choices. Scenarios alert policy-makers to different trends and their consequences and they will never materialise in the pure form. Elements of each one will be found in different countries and different settings. Importantly, scenarios are linked to their history; they are therefore path-dependent and will somehow still reflect their past.
Well-timed input
A lively debate followed the presentations. In his closing remarks, DG EMPL Director-General Joost Korte expressed his appreciation of the enormous work Cedefop has been doing on the various scenarios – a very well-timed input into the discussion that is taking place: ‘It is important because we have to deal with massive changes in the workplace, often triggered by external factors which we do not control or only very little.’
Mr Korte added that ‘the scenarios depend to a large extent on what we do together, what we decide, what the governments decide.’ He sees this exercise as ‘a call for more cooperation and more sharing of ideas and experiences between the Member States.’
Well-informed decisions need to be based on evidence from research – a very important principle of EU policy-making – and today’s event is a very good example of how we do this, he concluded.
On her part, Ms Babrauskiene expressed her pleasure that Cedefop will continue its work to help shape VET’s future: ‘Cedefop’s new mandate provides a strong basis for this undertaking, notably also in close cooperation with the European Parliament.’
She added that ‘the challenges identified by Cedefop’s research clearly call for an inclusive approach where a wide range of stakeholders are fully involved in reviewing, renewing and developing VET systems further.’
REGULATION (EU) 2019/128 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 January 2019 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75
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An expert working group tasked with the preparation of Cedefop’s 2nd European skills and jobs survey (ESJS) met for the first time on 15 February in Brussels.
Invited experts from international organisations and leading academic institutions discussed the focus and content of the survey’s second wave. The questionnaire is set to be finalised in the first half of 2020, with pilot testing to follow and fieldwork expected in the first half of 2021.
The first ESJS was conducted in 2014 among over 48 000 adult employees in the 28 EU countries. While it is generally acknowledged that it met its objectives effectively, in considering the focus of a second wave Cedefop took into account the changed economic climate and policy discourse of recent years.
To align the focus of the survey to current policy and research concerns about the potential risks of automation and the opportunities of new digital technologies (e.g. advanced robotics, artificial intelligence) for individuals’ skills and jobs, Cedefop has decided to modify the second wave. It will have a stronger focus on the relationship between digitalisation and learning, collecting information on whether EU workers are adapting their skills to changing technologies and job tasks. It will be a key input to Cedefop’s new research strand on ‘Digitalisation and the future of work’.
The first survey revealed that 43% of EU adult employees had recently experienced new technologies at work, such as new machines and ICT systems. Using ESJS data, a recent study by Cedefop expert Konstantinos Pouliakas also showed that about 14% of EU jobs face a very high risk of automation while another 4 in 10 are likely to see some of their tasks transformed.
The information collected in the first ESJS on changes in workplace technologies, digital skill needs and prevalence of skill gaps in the EU enabled Cedefop to provide novel insights into skill mismatch. These include forecasting of demand for future skills in Europe, detecting factors sustaining the ‘digital divide’ among EU workers and quantifying the occurrence of skills obsolescence due to changing technologies.
At the Brussels meeting, Mr Pouliakas, who coordinates the survey, presented lessons from the first wave and the background and focus of the second, while Cedefop expert Marco Serafini gave statistical reflections.
Leading experts, Professor Michael Handel from Northeastern University (US) and Professor Terence Hogarth from the Giacomo Brodolini Foundation, provided valuable guidelines as to the focus and desired content of the second wave. Experts from the European Commission (DG EMPL and JRC), OECD, University of Oxford, Economic and Social Research Institute, Maastricht and KU Leuven universities also discussed the key issues and challenges of carrying out a dedicated EU survey on digitalisation and skill mismatch.
The working group members will continue their deliberations over the course of the year to refine and develop the survey focus and instrument.
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Since 2017, and on their request, Cedefop has been working intensively with national authorities and stakeholders in Greece, Estonia, Bulgaria and Slovakia, to support them in strengthening their skills anticipation and matching capacities.
Effective ‘skills governance’ means developing relevant, reliable and regularly updated skills and labour market intelligence and ensuring that policy-makers use it to strengthen links between education and training systems and labour market needs. Other areas of effective skills governance include well working stakeholder cooperation arrangements (at national, sectoral and – where relevant – regional/local level) and tools that present skills intelligence in a user-friendly way.
Effective dissemination helps young people and adults make informed education, training and career decisions and supports the work of career guidance counsellors. It helps vocational education and training (VET) providers shape their programmes in line with rapidly changing labour market needs and supports employers in shaping recruitment and other HR practices.
Following an in-depth stakeholder consultation in 2017-18, the countries are currently building consensus, a key step in the reviews. National stakeholders (ministries, public employment services, employee and employer representation organisations, education providers and experts) are in the driving seat. Cedefop is assisting them in finding common ground on what could be effective and practical ways to strengthen skills governance in the coming years.
In parallel, Cedefop is gathering the views of practitioners and other key actors using the currently available skills intelligence in their daily work. By developing tailor-made online surveys in the national language, Cedefop aims to find out where they see potential for further development.
As the countries differ widely in terms of their skills governance practices, Cedefop has launched customised surveys in Bulgaria Estonia, and Greece:
- Bulgaria: tackling skill mismatch by using skills intelligence at local level
Policy-makers in municipalities are asked to share their views on current skill mismatch challenges, governance practices and local cooperation arrangements and to reflect on what they would see as promising options for change.
- Estonia: skills intelligence for better guidance and counselling
Guidance staff working for the Unemployment Fund (public employment service) are invited to report what types and sources of information they use when advising clients, share their experience with the country’s skills forecasting system (OSKA) and reflect on possible future changes.
- Greece: effectively disseminating skills intelligence
The views of a broad circle of potential users of the country’s newly developed online portal for the ‘Mechanism of diagnosis of labour market needs’ are collected to gain insight on how the dissemination, user-friendliness and customisation of labour market information to different target groups could be improved.
A survey among VET providers and employers in Slovakia is currently being developed.
The surveys will inform the process of setting policy priorities for change. Results will be presented in the skills governance review country reports Cedefop will release in 2019 and 2020. Survey questionnaires will be made available on Cedefop’s website.
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At a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC’s) Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, on 13 February in Brussels, Cedefop Acting Director Mara Brugia shared the agency’s key achievements in 2018 and priorities for 2019.
Eurofound Director Juan Menéndez-Valdés presented his agency’s work. Participants included Cedefop Governing Board Chair Tatjana Babrauskiene and Vice Chair Gerhard Riemer, who are both also members of the EESC.
Ms Brugia argued that investing in people’s skills will remain high on the European policy agenda post-2020, adding that vocational education and training (VET) ‘has a vital role to play if we want our economy to prosper but also to ensure that the first principle of the social rights pillar does not remain empty words: that everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning.’
Our work has contributed to both, which shows that being proactive and forward-looking has paid off, she said, noting also that Cedefop’s new regulation ‘reflects an understanding that VET has become broader to include skills and qualifications and that it bridges education and training and the labour market.’
Cedefop priorities
In her presentation, Ms Brugia focused on three thematic areas: future of work and skills; future of VET; and empowering people.
She said that Cedefop’s EU-wide skill supply and demand forecast for 2030 confirms the expected growth in the service sector, a more polarised occupational structure and jobs that require more autonomy, higher level ICT, and more interpersonal skills. Projections also highlight issues such as the expected comparatively fast growth of workers with high-level qualifications; and, thus, the risk that many people may not have the opportunity to fully use their skills if current labour demand trends continue.
Cedefop also decided to explore the feasibility of an EU-level real-time information system using big data; it developed a prototype and in March will release a first set of data for seven countries. Next year, findings will be available for all Member States.
How digitalisation impacts on skills development, obsolescence and mismatch is a theme examined from different perspectives, including Cedefop’s collaboration with Eurofound on the European Company Survey.
We also need to understand, Ms Brugia noted, how EU crowd workers develop their skills and how these are recognised. This is the objective of Cedefop’s crowd-learn study. Study outcomes will be discussed at a seminar in Brussels later this year in cooperation with the Finnish EU Presidency.
Cedefop has identified three main directions VET systems may take, including expansion of work-based learning and apprenticeships, diversification of learning provision (and providers) together with more individualised learning pathways and a growing role of skills training to include early school-leavers and low-qualified adults. These trends were discussed at Cedefop’s conference which was the centrepiece of the European vocational skills week under the Austrian EU Presidency. Study outcomes will feed the ongoing policy discourse on VET post-2020.
In a fast-changing labour market, supporting the design and implementation of VET policies that can empower people to fulfil their potential is at the core of Cedefop’s work. Over the past years, said Ms Brugia, we completed apprenticeship reviews in eight countries; and we developed a programme including policy learning forums to provide all participating countries with opportunities for information exchanges, mutual learning and policy benchmarking.
A recent cross-country comparative review of apprenticeships in Europe covered all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. Data from the review are now accessible online in a comprehensive database, which has marked the start of a new Cedefop community of apprenticeship experts.
Helping to ensure that Europe’s 60 million low-skilled adults are not left behind represents a key priority, concluded Ms Brugia: ‘Currently we are investigating the potential of work-based learning for upskilling adults. This study runs in parallel to our policy learning activities in this area, which are an excellent example of the fruitful cooperation between our organisations.’
Participants showed their appreciation of the presentations and congratulated the two agencies on their work.
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Speaking to over 1 300 French vocational education and training (VET) stakeholders at the 16th université d’hiver (winter university) event on 30 January in Biarritz, Cedefop Acting Director Mara Brugia focused on the challenges European VET is facing and the policies to overcome them.
‘The challenges faced by national VET systems are very similar: digitalisation and its consequences for the future of work, the environment, ageing societies and social inclusion,’ she said, adding: ‘These challenges call for immediate political responses and comprehensive forward-looking strategies. Even if the political response differs from country to country, common trends have emerged in recent years. For example, initial VET allows progression to higher education, and apprenticeships experience a revival. One of the most striking trends in the European Union (EU) has been the development of VET programmes that correspond to the highest levels – 5 to 8 – of the European qualifications framework. At the same time, however, VET is still second choice in certain countries.’
The Biarritz event was organised by Centre Inffo (Centre for the Development of Information on Continuing Vocational Training), a long-standing partner of Cedefop. It was under the auspices of French President Emanuel Macron whose government has embarked on a VET reform which includes a société des compétences to boost continuing training in the country.
Skill concerns
According to the Cedefop Acting Director, ‘a major concern at European level is the almost 60 million low-skilled EU citizens. Member States have been engaged in an effort to provide flexible pathways corresponding to the needs of each individual with the aim to allow them to reach a basic skill level and/or progress towards upper secondary certification.’
‘At Cedefop,’ she noted, ‘we support the efforts of the Member States through our research activities and experience sharing. Our work has shown that all Member States have in place measures to facilitate the reinforcement and redeployment of skills. However, the main challenge is to group together the offer of services in a coherent and coordinated way.’
Ms Brugia argued that the landscape of adult learning in Europe is quite heterogeneous and tends to be less structured and regulated than initial VET: ‘In an “uberised economy”, people get to be more and more responsible for their own skill development. Skill development must be seen as an interest and responsibility shared between public institutions, employers and employees. This includes a major role for the social partners. Companies must also be proactive and make sure that the working environment allows their employees to develop their skills.’
Looking ahead
As 2020 approaches and we face multiple challenges, policy-makers have started to reflect on the future of VET. Cedefop has looked at past developments and has presented future directions that VET systems could take. ‘Our objective is not to make predictions,’ stated Ms Brugia: ‘We aim to illustrate how political choices can influence VET’s structure, content and results. Last December, these reflections led to a vision of VET post-2020, shared by the government representatives and social partners of all Member States: lifelong, excellent and inclusive.’
In conclusion, Ms Brugia stressed the ‘excellent cooperation’ that Cedefop has always had with France. ‘We will follow with great interest the development of this novel approach,’ she said.
French Minister for Labour Muriel Pénicaud was also among the speakers. She highlighted the need for equal opportunities, which ‘are vital for individuals and economies.’ Referring to the current reform in her country, she said that it has been a long-held aspiration to give continuing VET a boost. ‘A change of culture is necessary; we think that the brain is superior to the hands as if the two couldn't work together,’ noted Ms Pénicaud.
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Helping to make vocational education and training fit for the future: Cedefop activities 2018-19
Anticipating and being at the leading edge of developments is at the heart of Cedefop's modus operandi. While the EU’s course beyond 2020 will be decided once a new Commission has taken the helm, one issue remains crucial: investing in people’s skills.
The EU’s multifaceted challenges require immediate responses and comprehensive forward-looking policy approaches, with education and training strategies as part of the package.
Mit vollen Segeln in die ZukunftDEDOI: 10.2801/912912TI-BB-19-001-DE-NISBN: 978-92-896-2734-419/02/2019634.27 KB Mit vollen Segeln in die ZukunftDEDOI: 10.2801/250824TI-BB-19-001-DE-EISBN: 978-92-896-2735-119/02/2019173.42 KB
Ανοίγοντας πανιά για το μέλλονELDOI: 10.2801/347673TI-BB-19-001-EL-NISBN: 978-92-896-2726-919/02/2019684.49 KB Ανοίγοντας πανιά για το μέλλονELDOI: 10.2801/634684TI-BB-19-001-EL-EISBN: 978-92-896-2721-419/02/2019180.24 KB
Setting sail for the futureENDOI: 10.2801/934540TI-BB-19-001-EN-NISBN: 978-92-896-2736-819/02/2019577.49 KB Setting sail for the futureENDOI: 10.2801/048526TI-BB-19-001-EN-EISBN: 978-92-896-2737-519/02/2019207.04 KB
Rumbo al futuroESDOI: 10.2801/50206TI-BB-19-001-ES-NISBN: 978-92-896-2733-719/02/2019593.27 KB Rumbo al futuroESDOI: 10.2801/61862TI-BB-19-001-ES-EISBN: 978-92-896-2725-219/02/2019141.04 KB
Mettre le cap sur l’avenirFRDOI: 10.2801/763080TI-BB-19-001-FR-NISBN: 978-92-896-2729-019/02/2019646.23 KB Mettre le cap sur l’avenirFRDOI: 10.2801/131023TI-BB-19-001-FR-EISBN: 978-92-896-2720-719/02/2019174.53 KB
Rotta verso il futuroITDOI: 10.2801/380283TI-BB-19-001-IT-NISBN: 978-92-896-2728-319/02/2019649.99 KB Rotta verso il futuroITDOI: 10.2801/116054TI-BB-19-001-IT-EISBN: 978-92-896-2732-019/02/2019167.06 KB
Wyznaczanie kursu na przyszłośćPLDOI: 10.2801/950007TI-BB-19-001-PL-NISBN: 978-92-896-2731-319/02/2019675.02 KB Wyznaczanie kursu na przyszłośćPLDOI: 10.2801/61953TI-BB-19-001-PL-EISBN: 978-92-896-2722-119/02/2019175.2 KB
De olhos postos no futuroPTDOI: 10.2801/6666TI-BB-19-001-PT-NISBN: 978-92-896-2724-519/02/2019598.31 KB De olhos postos no futuroPTDOI: 10.2801/5395TI-BB-19-001-PT-EISBN: 978-92-896-2730-619/02/2019170.35 KB
Navigând spre viitorRODOI: 10.2801/758899TI-BB-19-001-RO-NISBN: 978-92-896-2727-622/02/2019667.44 KB Navigând spre viitorRODOI: 10.2801/737199TI-BB-19-001-RO-EISBN: 978-92-896-2723-822/02/2019163.78 KB
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Vocational education and training (VET) is provided at upper secondary and post-secondary levels in Romania.
Distinctive features of initial VET are its inclusiveness, with pathways among different levels of learning and between vocational and more academic tracks, and its focus on easing progression and avoiding dead ends.
Spotlight on VET RomaniaENDOI: 10.2801/614TI-01-19-166-EN-NISBN: 978-92-896-2847-125/02/20192.48 MB
În prim-plan Educația și Formarea Profesională în RomâniaRODOI: 10.2801/38838TI-01-19-166-RO-NISBN: 978-92-896-2849-502/09/20192.6 MB
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With 70% of upper secondary students following vocational studies, vocational education and training (VET) is highly valued in Austria. The country’s VET system covers a wide range of sectors from business to engineering and from healthcare to agriculture. Watch our animated video for all you need to know!
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In the context of its European Community of Learning Providers, Cedefop announces that the fourth meeting of the Working Group 1 “Learning Providers and the challenge of TEL: enhancing teachers’ and trainers’ e-skills” will take place in Paris on Monday 1 and on Tuesday, 2 April 2019.
The meeting aims at discussing the group’s work since its third meeting on 5-6 November 2018, in view of formulating by late 2019 concrete practical guidance to VET-providers and suggestions to the EU Commission for its post 2020 programming period.
More information will be available in due time.
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Cedefop informs that the fourth meeting of the thematic working group 3: “Learning Providers and Migration: Empowerment and Integration through Learning” will take place in Rome on Thursday, 4 and Friday, 5 April 2019.
The meeting will focus on the group’s work since its third meeting on 20-21 November 2018, in view of formulating by late 2019 concrete quality guidelines to VET-providers and suggestions to the EU Commission in relation to its post 2020 programming period.
More information will be provided at a later stage.
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Cedefop is currently organizing the fourth meeting of the Working Group 2: “Learning Providers and the EU Mobility: Reinforcing VET attractiveness through Staff engagement” planned to take place in Aveiro, Portugal on Monday, 8 and Tuesday, 9 April 2019.
The meeting aims at discussing work progress since the group’s third meeting on 27-28 November 2018, in view of formulating by late 2019 concrete practical guidelines to VET-providers and suggestions to the EU Commission for its post 2020 programming period.
More information will be published in due time.
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Globalisation, digitalisation and migration are changing the way we work and learn. Increasing skills mismatches and the challenge of integrating all learners into work and education call for everyone involved to act. Validation of prior learning (VPL) as a stimulus and ‘guide’ for sustainable personal, organisational and societal development is more relevant than ever. Validation is the process of making visible and giving value to individuals’ learning achievements, irrespective of their learning pathways.
The aim of the VPL Biennale is to strengthen the dialogue between policy-makers, practitioners, users of validation as well as other stakeholders in the process. The Biennale is a forum where different stakeholders can exchange knowledge, ideas and vision on how to make VPL work. The good practices and recommendations from the event will be used in the formulation and public adoption of the Berlin Declaration on VPL.
The third VPL Biennale focuses on taking stock of what has been achieved in terms of policy development and implementation in recent years and on how to move forward. Six VPL policy areas will be investigated:
- Organisational arrangements: how can bridges be built among stakeholders from the worlds of business, volunteering, and education for VPL results to have value?
- Financing: what forms of financing must in place to make VPL accessible to all learners?
- Procedures and instruments: what kinds of procedures and instruments provide valid results and can cater for a large number of candidates?
- Support structures: what support structures must be available to reach disadvantaged learners?
- Post-validation pathways: what follow-up actions are required for validation to facilitate further learning and career paths?
- Legal foundations: what issues need to be addressed by laws and regulations for VPL to be effective?
Apart from the conference, the Biennale will host a competition, the Global Validation Prize 2019. The competition has three categories: products, procedures and policies, and is open until 24 February 2019.
The Biennale has also launched a call for papers on ‘Current research and projects’, to be presented in an independent event at the Biennale (open until 1 March 2019). The Biennale invites presentations which highlight current academic research on the topic of VPL or showcase VPL projects in progress or recently completed.
Cedefop is contributing to the organisation of the Biennale hosted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung; its Organising Committee includes the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Nordic Network for Adult Learning (NVL), the European Centre Valuation Prior Learning (EC-VPL), the VIA University College, Globedu, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), the European Commission and Cedefop.
Find more information and register at: https://vplbiennale.org/
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Cedefop will host the 33rd ICT Advisory Committee Meeting of the EU Agencies (ICTAC), in Thessaloniki on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 of May 2019.
The mission of ICTAC is to promote inter-agency cooperation on issues of common interest in the area of Information and Communication Technologies, through knowledge and experience sharing and exchange of good practice.
ICTAC operates under the auspices of the EU Agencies Network. ICTAC meetings are forums of intense exchange and rich interaction. They have gained enormous traction among the wider ICT community of the EU Institutions and bodies and are highly regarded.
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Call for expression of interest
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Items submitted by ReferNet, Cedefop’s European network for VET
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