Cedefop

The resources result from a research process of over three years on the effective usage of labour market information (LMI) and information technologies (ICT) in career development services across Europe. Many practices have been inventoried and the most significant were documented and analysed in great detail.

This web-based set of tools showcases LMI’s importance with a special focus on the use of ICT tools.

Resources for guidance consist of three main sections:

• a  toolkit on LMI usage;
• a handbook for transferability of practices;
• training modules on how to use LMI and ICT in guidance.

The toolkit on LMI highlights the importance of labour market information and the use of ICT tools. It offers tips on how to effectively use career relevant information during the guidance process. It provides a wealth of information including definitions, examples, methods, national LMI sources and selected ways of LMI integration as well as information on the necessary LMI skills. The toolkit is translated into all EU languages.

The handbook departs from careful documentation of the most successful practices in Europe. It documents technical requirements, challenges and success factors in detail. It also offers a decision-making tool to select the best options and drive the reflection on what is better for the adopter. The decision-making tool is available as a printable document and will be also available as an interactive resource in the near future.

The training modules offer practitioners and careers service managers training on how to successfully integrate LMI contents and new technologies in career support practices. The modules are meant to help manage organisational change and prepare staff for innovative processes. The modules are currently available as downloadable pdfs and will be reworked into an interactive learning platform.

The resources for guidance were piloted during the first European guidance week in Tallinn Estonia (26-29 September 2017), which gathered representatives of the European guidance community, including practitioners, policy-makers and researchers.

Cedefop is open to suggestions regarding the expansion and improvement of the resources.

Workplaces and VET schools and colleges are constantly challenged by changes in the way we learn and work. Mr Calleja noted: ‘Training providers, like employers, are threatened by the speed of innovation. For both sectors, speed is a more challenging factor than digitalisation, big data analytics, the internet of things and advanced robotics. These developments are visible and manageable. But the speed of change is not. The need for the sectors of education and employment to join forces is more critical than ever.’

The high-level meeting was addressed by the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Iliana Iotova, the Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Policy Zornitsa Rusinova, the President-elect of EESC’s Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship Christa Schweng and the President of the EESC Employers’ Group Poland Jacek Krawczyk. Cedefop Governing Board members Barbara Dorn and Gerhard Riemer played an active role at the meeting.

In his presentation, Mr Calleja stressed that better personal lives and better working conditions lead to more productivity, more profit and happier employers. If there is a proliferation of employers this is added value to education and training and employment.

Recipe for success

Quoting statistical data from Cedefop’s European skills and jobs survey, he said that ‘preventing technological unemployment requires the right mix of digital and soft skills, better labour market intelligence and career guidance, upskilling and reskilling, particularly of low-skilled adults and the unemployed, and education that caters for personal and professional growth at the same time.’

The creation, transformation and replacement of jobs that Cedefop underlines in its briefing note on people, machines, robots and skills complements OECD’s prediction of 9% of jobs being displaced, 70% of tasks automated and 25% of jobs transformed in the near future. Mr Calleja argued that the way we teach must change: ‘A knowledge-based approach has been dominating our education system for over 200 years. We need new systems based on the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competence that will help young people and adults compete with machines and secure jobs that machines cannot perform.’

According to Mr Calleja, ‘it is time for workplaces to become learning environments as well, which implies that training providers need to spend more time in industry, and employers to engage in education and training policies and curriculum design.’

If we bridge the two sectors we must also ensure that traffic goes both ways. An important factor that will determine the success of this approach is career guidance, which Mr Calleja said must be a joint venture of the public and private sectors.

Forecasting limitations

Employers stressed the need for work-based learning and for future employees to possess soft skills. In their view, skills forecasting has its limitations due to the rapid changes that labour market is experiencing through technological developments. Shorter periods of skills anticipation are valid but emphasis should be put on the need for reskilling, upskilling and lifelong learning.

Governments should shoulder the financial burden of lifelong learning while employers would be ready to support such initiatives if skills strategies aim at a better trained workforce. The investment of over EUR 60 billion per year in training by German social partners is an example of how social partners can make a difference in a political environment conducive to lifelong learning.

The event presented good practices and ways of shaping independence in gaining and using information when planning a professional career. It provided information and ideas to 700 young people and policy-makers, including high-level officials of national and regional authorities. Stakeholders from different professional areas described their experiences and offered their opinions, helping create a forum for professional knowledge and networking possibilities.

In his presentation, Mr Zahilas referred to Cedefop’s work in shaping, valuing and informing VET and reflected on the need for responses to the challenges of globalisation, technological developments, unemployment and migration.

He said that societies are searching for a more meaningful vocational education and training in the context of the labour market and there is a need for a better package that would attract learners, get people back into work and promote equality, inclusion and solidarity.

Cedefop has commissioned an independent ex-post evaluation of the Europass resources and tools and of the pan-European skills supply and demand forecasts.

The evaluation’s aim is to understand whether the overarching objectives of the two projects have been achieved, and use findings and recommendations for future improvement.

The identity of those who take part in the evaluation will not be disclosed; however, identification information concerning the type of their organisation and Member State of origin will be used for the purpose of the analysis.

You can access the surveys here:

• Europass survey
• skills forecast survey

For queries on the survey or the evaluation itself, please contact Kahina Bensalem, Deloitte kbensalem@DELOITTE.com

The Cedefop representative is Marc Willem marc.willem@cedefop.europa.eu

Read the full statement issued by the heads of the agencies, including Cedefop Director James Calleja:

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