Timeline
  • 2023Implementation
  • 2024Implementation
ID number
46831

Background

A brief overview of the context and rationale of the policy development, explaining why it is implemented or why it is important.

Since the COVID-19 crisis, the use of ICT in education has grown significantly, presenting new challenges in maintaining quality and ensuring secure collaborations between schools and digital learning material suppliers. A series of ransomware attacks, including one targeting a VET college in 2021, has highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the digital security of students and schools. Tackling these challenges will enable VET institutions to harness ICT more effectively, fostering both agility and security in their digital environments.

Objectives

Goals and objectives of the policy development.

Policy measures regarding digitalisation have two primary objectives:

  1. to develop an agreement system regarding standardized, secure, and reliable exchange of personal data in the educational context to establish a secure infrastructure for digital teaching and learning resources;
  2. to ensure the protection of students' and VET schools' private data while enhancing schools' digital resilience against cyber threats.

Description

What/How/Who/For whom/When of the policy development in detail, explaining its activities and annual progress, main actors and target groups.

With regard to the first objective, in 2022, the ten-year programme 'Digital Education Well Organised', now called Edu-V, was allocated EUR 34 million from the National Growth Fund. During its first year, representatives from VET schools and suppliers of digital teaching and learning resources collaborated on developing an agreement system to ensure easy, secure, and reliable access to digital educational resources. By 2024, the agreement system was finalised, and its implementation began with the issuance of 'quality marks' to suppliers who adhered to the established quality and cybersecurity standards. These quality marks provide assurance to schools that their suppliers of digital tools comply with the information security and privacy requirements established in the agreement system. In the years to follow, it is planned that the programme focuses on the continued implementation of the established agreement system and the development of an infrastructure for digital educational materials. This includes the systems, tools, and frameworks necessary to support the creation, distribution, management, and utilisation of digital learning resources in education.

The second objective has been pursued since 2023 through the 'Cybersecurity VET programme', a five-year initiative with a budget of EUR 24 million. This programme brings together ICT experts and schools to share and disseminate knowledge, enabling schools to better...

With regard to the first objective, in 2022, the ten-year programme 'Digital Education Well Organised', now called Edu-V, was allocated EUR 34 million from the National Growth Fund. During its first year, representatives from VET schools and suppliers of digital teaching and learning resources collaborated on developing an agreement system to ensure easy, secure, and reliable access to digital educational resources. By 2024, the agreement system was finalised, and its implementation began with the issuance of 'quality marks' to suppliers who adhered to the established quality and cybersecurity standards. These quality marks provide assurance to schools that their suppliers of digital tools comply with the information security and privacy requirements established in the agreement system. In the years to follow, it is planned that the programme focuses on the continued implementation of the established agreement system and the development of an infrastructure for digital educational materials. This includes the systems, tools, and frameworks necessary to support the creation, distribution, management, and utilisation of digital learning resources in education.

The second objective has been pursued since 2023 through the 'Cybersecurity VET programme', a five-year initiative with a budget of EUR 24 million. This programme brings together ICT experts and schools to share and disseminate knowledge, enabling schools to better identify cyber risks, implement protective measures, and respond effectively to cyber threats.

All listed bodies are initiators in Edu-V and actively participate in relevant working groups.

2023
Implementation

For the programme Edu-V in total eight working groups, consisting of representatives from suppliers of digital teaching and learning resources as well as education stakeholders (e.g., schools), collaborated on topics such as the framework for the agreement system, combining and arranging digital learning materials, evaluation of learning progress, examinations, privacy, and the secure exchange of personal data. In total, 200 different parties participated in formulating agreements.

In addition, the programme Cybersecurity VET (Programma Cyberveiligheid mbo), was launched. At the end of the year, a covenant on cyber security measures is signed by the Council for upper secondary VET schools.

2024
Implementation

For Edu-V, the board of the programme approved the first version of the agreement system. Due to this agreement, Edu-V can now issue quality marks to suppliers that comply with the agreements on digital data sharing. More than 50 suppliers applied for the quality marks.

In the Cybersecurity VET programme, a governance study, culminating in the final report on information security governance in late 2023, revealed that VET school boards acknowledge the importance of cybersecurity. However, the study found that the level of actual security is influenced by the board's engagement with the topic. Additionally, VET school boards agreed to initiate 'cyber risk pooling', a shared insurance mechanism for security breaches. Furthermore, the Council for Upper Secondary VET Schools (MBO Raad) decided to implement mandatory external cybersecurity audits, replacing the prior practice of internal audits.

Bodies responsible

This section lists main bodies that are responsible for the implementation of the policy development or for its specific parts or activities, as indicated in the regulatory acts. The responsibilities are usually explained in its description.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
  • Cooperation organisation of VET colleges on ICT (MBO digitaal)
  • Foundation for Education and ICT (Stichting Kennisnet)
  • Council for Primary Education (PO-Raad)
  • Council for Secondary Education (VO-raad)
  • Council for upper secondary VET schools (MBO Raad)
  • Trade association Media Education Trade and Science (Branchevereniging Media Educatie Vak en Wetenschap)
  • Trade association Digital Education Service Providers (Branchevereniging Vereniging Digitale Onderwijs Dienstverleners)
  • Association of Educational Distributors Netherlands (Vereniging Educatieve Distributeurs Nederland)

Target groups

Those who are positively and directly affected by the measures of the policy development; those on the list are specifically defined in the EU VET policy documents. A policy development can be addressed to one or several target groups.

Entities providing VET

  • Companies
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • VET providers (all kinds)

Thematic categories

Thematic categories capture main aspects of the decision-making and operation of national VET and LLL systems. These broad areas represent key elements that all VET and LLL systems have to different extents and in different combinations, and which come into focus depending on the EU and national priorities. Thematic categories are further divided into thematic sub-categories. Based on their description, policy developments can be assigned to one or several thematic categories.

Governance of VET and lifelong learning

This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.

This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.

The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.

Engaging VET stakeholders and strengthening partnerships in VET

This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.

In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.

Modernising VET infrastructure

This thematic category looks at how VET schools and companies providing VET are supported to update and upgrade their physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, including digital and green technologies, so that learners in all VET programmes and specialities have access to state-of-the-art equipment and are able to acquire relevant and up-to-date vocational and technical skills and competences. Modernising infrastructure in remote and rural areas increases the inclusiveness of VET and LLL.

Improving digital infrastructure of VET provision

This thematic sub-category focuses on establishing and upgrading to state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, equipment and technology, such as computers, hardware, connectivity and good broadband speed that should ensure quality and inclusive VET provision, especially in blended and virtual modes. It also includes specific measures to remove the digital divide, e.g. supporting geographically remote or rural areas to ensure social inclusion through access to such infrastructure for learning and teaching. It also includes support measures for learners from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire the necessary equipment.

European priorities in VET

EU priorities in VET and LLL are set in the Council Recommendation for VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, adopted on 24 November 2020 and in the Osnabrück Declaration on VET endorsed on 30 November 2020.

VET Recommendation

  • VET as a driver for innovation and growth preparing for digital and green transitions and occupations in high demand

Osnabrück Declaration

  • Resilience and excellence through quality, inclusive and flexible VET

Subsystem

Part of the vocational education and training and lifelong learning systems the policy development applies to.
IVET

Further reading

Sources for further reading where readers can find more information on policy developments: links to official documents, dedicated websites, project pages. Some sources may only be available in national languages.

Country

Type of development

Policy developments are divided into three types: strategy/action plan; regulation/legislation; and practical measure/initiative.
Practical measure/Initiative
Cite as

Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Cooperating on cybersecurity: Netherlands. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/46831