Cedefop newsletter No 95 – Nov/Dec 2019 – Focus on the 4th European vocational skills week

Jürgen Siebel
Cedefop Executive Director

Dear subscribers,

Vocational education and training (VET) is key for successful transitions: be it from school to work for learners, from an outdated skillset to a new one for workers, from low-demand to in-demand skills for employers, or for entire societies to cope with the digital or green transformations. Likewise, a new European Parliament, a new Commission, and new priorities will keep the VET community busy and in transition. The good news is that the community is ready. Because VET is about preparing for the future. This spirit was not only the motto of, but also clearly visible during the 4th European vocational skills week main events in Helsinki in October. It has also featured prominently in Cedefop events which were part of the week: workshops on key competences, on comparing VET qualifications, a Brussels seminar on the platform economy and our CareersNet workshop on smart labour-market intelligence and guidance. Successful transitions require creativity, currently one of the hottest skills. The #CedefopPhotoAward assures us that VET learners have plenty of it.

Skills for the future and VET in the world the focus of European vocational skills week 2019

As jobs and ways of working transform, so does the emphasis on skills and learning, said Cedefop Executive Director Jürgen Siebel in a keynote speech at the European vocational skills week (EVSW) 2019 main events in Helsinki.

Cedefop presents CrowdLearn study, offering a glimpse into future work and learning

Cedefop presented the main results of its CrowdLearn study ‘Skills formation and skill matching in online platform work’ to European policy-makers at its 8th Brussels seminar on 10 December.

New Cedefop study on key competences presented at workshop

The main findings of Cedefop’s comparative study on key competences in initial vocational education and training (IVET), which will be published in 2020, were presented at a workshop organised by the agency on 19 and 20 September in Thessaloniki.

Cross-country comparison of VET qualifications discussed at Cedefop workshop

Comparing the content of qualifications across European countries is part of Cedefop’s work on understanding qualifications, initiated more than two decades ago. A workshop explored yet another aspect of this work: Can we develop reliable and scalable methods to map, analyse and compare the content of vocational education and training qualifications to better understand similarities and differences, strengths and weaknesses across borders?

CareersNet meeting discusses how to support careers post-2020

Independent career development experts from across Europe, representatives from the European Commission and the European Training Foundation met on 19 and 20 September in Rome to debate how people will be supported in their careers in the post-2020 period.

#CedefopPhotoAward 2019 exhibition in Thessaloniki

Cedefop Executive Director Jürgen Siebel and Thessaloniki International Film Festival General Director Elise Jalladeau opened the #CedefopPhotoAward 2019 exhibition at the Thessaloniki Cinema Museum on 1 November.

From our video corner

#CedefopPhotoAward 2019 winners and runners-up slideshow

The winning teams of the #CedefopPhotoAward 2019 competition come from Austria, Croatia and Romania. In total, 112 teams of vocational education and training (VET) learners from 20 European countries took part in the award's fourth edition. The learners were asked to share a photostory of a memorable VET experience.