No. 1/1999

The approval by the European Parliament and the Council during the last few weeks of the second Leornardo da Vinci programme is a new step forward in the field of vocational training at European level. This, combined with the appointment earlier in the year of Mr David O'Sullivan as Director-General of DG XXII (education, training and youth) of the European Commission, suggests that in spite of some criticism of the way in which the first Leonardo da Vinci programme has been implemented so far, the framework in which CEDEFOP will be implementing its 1999 work programme is a positive and dynamic one.

However, we see the criticism as a challenge to perform our tasks on time and with an eye to quality. In this connection I should mention that CEDEFOP has adopted and observes the 1998 Code of Conduct of the Committee on Budgets of the European Parliament for dealings with budgetary resources.

The first two pages of this edition of CEDEFOP Info contain a summary of the 1999 Work Programme. For more detailed information, a booklet can be obtained free of charge in German, English, French or Greek. The 1999 Work Programme can also be found on the Internet in German, English and French.

So what has been happening at CEDEFOP in the first quarter of 1999?

In February we hosted the first meeting of the European forum on the transparency of vocational qualifications. The Forum was established by a decision of CEDEFOP's Management Board in November 1998 and is constituted and organised jointly by the European Commission and CEDEFOP. Its objectives are to contribute to the mutual comprehension and commonly accepted interpretation of validation and certification systems, to facilitate monitoring of innovation in this field and to support European and national authorities and the social partners in their efforts to increase the transparency of vocational qualifications. We will report in future issues of CEDEFOP Info on the Forum's work.

The 'Report on Current Vocational Education and Training Research in Europe' has been a best seller in recent months. It is now also available in German and French. The English version has already been reprinted to meet the great demand. The Spanish version is currently being printed.

The monograph entitled 'The Vocational Training System in Sweden' has been available in English since April; the German and French versions are in preparation.

Sales and distribution figures show that the European Journal 'Vocational Training' remains in the top spot. In the last three months issues 15/98 and 16/99 have appeared. Issue 16/99 ushers in a conceptual change in the contents, about which you can read more on page 3, and a new design for the cover. It would give us great pleasure to welcome you as a subscriber to this journal, if you are not already one.

At the end of last year we signed an agreement with the competent Portuguese authorities for the production and distribution of a Portuguese language version of the Journal. Under the agreement we provide articles and contributions free of charge and make a contribution to the production costs.

There have been a number of new publications on the subjects of 'funding' and 'occupational profiles'.

In April we updated our catalogue of currently available CEDEFOP publications and CD-ROMs. You will find the catalogue enclosed with this edition of CEDEFOP Info. It is updated on a daily basis on the Internet. Perhaps you will find one or two publications of interest to you.

The Bookshop in our Electronic Training Village also provides you with direct online access to CEDEFOP publications. In the enclosed catalogue, publications available in the Electronic Training Village are marked with an asterisk.

On the subject of CEDEFOP's Electronic Training Village, the 'dossier' in CEDEFOP Info No 3/98 aroused considerable interest and met with a positive response as a result of which reprints were necessary. The number of vocational training specialists receiving rapid up-to-date information in their stated field of interest is rising sharply and currently stands at 3,300.

Cooperation with the Education Ministries of the EU Member States holding the Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers has become a permanent feature of our work. Thus, at the end of 1998 we welcomed a Finnish delegation visiting us in Thessaloniki for intensive talks. We agreed, that at the events to be held in Finland in the second half of 1999, we would report on, among other things, the findings of our projects 'Developments in the field of new occupations and occupational profiles in sectors in which employment is growing'.

We are providing support for the German Federal Ministry of Education for events held in connection with the German EU Presidency, for example the meeting of the directors-general for vocational training in Munich and a conference on the European dimension to vocational training to be held in Potsdam in June.

At the conferences we shall also have a stand presenting CEDEFOP.

At the end of April 1999 CEDEFOP had, for the first time, a stand at UNESCO's second international conference on lifelong learning in Seoul, Korea.

On 18-19 March 1999 CEDEFOP's Management Board met in Thessaloniki and dealt primarily with the following business: approval of 1999 budget, draft budget for the year 2000, 1998 revenue and expenditure account, and the 1998 Annual Report.

Johan van Rens
Director
April 1999