More than 20 Cedefop and European Training Foundation (ETF) experts took part in the first knowledge-sharing seminar of the two EU agencies in 2016, in Turin on 15 July.

Cedefop and ETF organise every year two joint thematic meetings to ensure knowledge-sharing and complementarity in activities.

The experts participated actively in the various sessions, exchanged ideas and identified potential areas of complementary work.

Cedefop expert George Kostakis presented work on quality assurance of certification in initial vocational education and training (IVET) and the impact of globalisation on VET. The study on globalisation will run over two years and will explore the responsiveness of national VET systems and qualifications to changing requirements in Europe and across the world.

ReferNet coordinator Sylvie Bousquet presented the coordination process of the network created by Cedefop in 2002 to provide information on VET systems and policies in the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. She focused on monitoring through partnership.

Head of Department for VET Systems and Institutions Loukas Zahilas updated ETF colleagues on the IVET mobility scoreboard developments. The mobility scoreboard will help identify and monitor the conditions for supporting IVET learner mobility in Europe and will provide an evidence base for policy-making to achieve the 6% IVET mobility benchmark.

Several bilateral meetings took place during the seminar to discuss ETF’s contribution to the monitoring and reporting of the 2015 Riga conclusions on VET, the global national qualifications framework inventory and VET governance.