[November 2004 to February 2005]
[January to November 2004]
[September 2003 to January 2004]
[March to August 2003]
[September 2002 to February 2003]
[March to August 2002]
[September 2001 to February 2002]
[March to September 2001]
[August 2000 to February 2001]
[February to August 2000]
[August 1999 to January 2000]
[April to August 1999]
[Autumn 1998 to Spring 1999]
[Spring to Autumn 1998]
[Autumn 1997 to Spring 1998]
[Spring to Autumn 1997]
[Autumn 1996 to Spring 1997]
Developments in the field of vocational education and training (VET) in Member States and in acceding and candidate countries
November 2004 to February 2005
Introduction
During the semester in which the Maastricht conference took place and the Maastricht communiqué on co-operation in the field of vocational education and training (VET) was agreed, there were not any major pieces of legislation in this field in member states. However, public debates on the basis of broad-ranging discussion documents related to the whole education system within the context of lifelong learning are in full swing in several countries (e.g. Luxembourg and Spain). In addition, changes, which have an impact on the relationship between general and vocational upper secondary education and the status of VET, are now being implemented in a number of countries (for example Slovakia, England, Italy and Estonia). The key role of lifelong and life-wide guidance is reflected by initiatives in a number of countries (Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic), while activities related to the internationalisation of education and VET have many and varied characteristics (see paras 35 to 38). Back to top
Lifelong learning
The Luxembourg government is now preparing a coherent and integrated educational and training policy strategy within the framework of lifelong learning. Two declarations have lead to the publication recently of draft legislation, which is now being considered by the social partners. The introduction of a modular approach aims at facilitating the adoption of training provision to existing needs and at motivating learners, who should be continually guided towards new learning thresholds. The validation of prior learning should enable those, who have interrupted their formal learning process, to return to training and those who have gained experience informally to engage in training without having to go through the full programme. Lifelong learning and guidance will be aimed at helping adults to avail of the new opportunities. The strategy for lifelong learning in the Netherlands is to be realised through co-operation between all the relevant actors, i.e. government departments for education, for the labour market and for integration and social cohesion, the social partners, education organisations and temporary taskforces or platforms. A Lifelong Learning Taskforce has been set up in February 2005 for a period lasting until the end of 2006. Work will continue on developing and implementing an on-line market place for education and training, the recognition and validation of prior learning, and a learning rights system in higher education. The individual learning account (ILA) experiment will be continued, with a priority on the measurement of its effectiveness for improving access to training for poorly educated people. Back to top
Education system
A new Schools Act, which was approved in 2004 and introduces substantial changes in schools' operations, took effect in the Czech Republic in January 2005. It increases the autonomy of schools and teachers, particularly in regard to the choice and organisation of subject matter and teaching methods. In future, while programmes issued by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports will define a framework for the compulsory content and scope of education as a necessary base, schools will derive their own specific school-based programmes within that framework. Some subjects may be taught in foreign languages, while children of citizens of EU member states will be granted the same rights to use school facilities as Czech citizens. Free courses in the Czech language and some support in learning their mother tongue will also be made available to them. Setting up school councils involving parents, mature students, teaching and other staff, becomes obligatory for all schools. A major debate on the reform of the education system has taken place in Spain during the final months of 2004. This follows the publication of a major discussion document by the Ministry of Education and Science. In seven sections, this dealt in an open-ended way with quality and equality in an education system open to, and with the active participation of, all citizens. Its objectives also relate to those of the European Union for 2010. One section considers specifically the question of foreign languages and ICT. The debate is being encouraged by the opening of six open fora on the Internet. The conclusions of the debate were to be formulated in January and February with a view to a parliamentary debate and approval of a new law later in 2005 or in 2006. In October 2004, the final report of the working group looking at education and training for 14 to 19 year-olds in England was published. It recommended radical changes to the education system to help address employers' concerns over basic skills. These included the introduction of a four-level qualification system fully integrating vocational qualifications and the replacement of A-levels and General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. The reaction of employers to the report was generally positive. In February, however, the government issued a white paper and announced that although it would take up many of the proposals aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of vocational education and training, it would not implement this central proposal. The aim remains to transform secondary and post-secondary education so that all young people achieve and continue in learning until at least the age of 18. There is a commitment to ensure that the right staff, including those who have the necessary experience of the workplace to deliver vocational education will be in place and that they will have the professional development, qualifications and support that they need. Back to top
Initial vocational education and training in the education system
In December 2004, the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research published its development plan for vocational education and training 2005-2008. This plan builds on the previous (2001-2004) one and will provide a strategic base for a number of other planned education and training initiatives, e.g. ones concerned with VET institution development, education in prisons and VET standards. There are three overall strategic objectives in the 2005-2008 period, i.e. ensuing that VET provision matches the development needs of the economy and labour market, improving the standards and reputation of VET and ensuring that school-leavers obtain jobs, and ensuring greater co-operation between VET and the general education system. The June 2004 Norwegian white paper on "Culture for learning", resulted in the reduction of upper secondary VET programmes from 12 to 9 and of the programme modules from more than 100 to less than 50. Now the social partner co-operation bodies have been restructured. The tripartite Co-operation Council for Vocational Training has replaced the former Council for Vocational Training in Working Life, and nine trade councils, comprised of representatives from the social partners, have replaced the approximately 30 former training councils. These councils correspond to the nine VET programmes The Co-operation Council will have its secretariat in the new Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education established last June. Back to top
Apprenticeship
A law on social cohesion was adopted by parliament in France in December. It brings about substantial changes in the field of employment and vocational training. Many aspects of its implementation depend on decrees now in the process of being published. One of the specific measures in the field of VET is the increase of apprenticeship contracts to 500 000 per year, by providing a tax credit of 1 600 euro per apprentice to companies, which take them on for six months or more. Under the legislation, the National Employment Agency (ANPE) loses it monopoly on placement, while "employment houses" (Maisons de l'emploi) are created at local level to co-ordinate employment services. Faced with an increase of 30 000 in employment in Ireland during 2005, FÁS - the Training and Employment Authority has suggested a range of initiatives to maintain both employment and economic growth. It proposes a skills-based immigration strategy to attract professionals and appropriately skilled workers. It calls for the extension of apprenticeship, which has hitherto been limited to craft-level occupations (although there has been an 80 % increase in numbers between 1997 and 2002), to occupations for which little formal training currently exists or which are served by full-time off-the-job training. It also proposes a new paid learning scheme to fund off-the-job training for low-qualified employees. The Bundesrat (Upper House of Parliament) in February gave the green light to a comprehensive reform of the German ‘dual’ system. The Federal Minister for Education and Research described the legislation as leading to an improved quality and attractiveness of the system and therefore of ensuring its future. It will link training in the ‘dual’ system to full time schools and enable trainees to undergo part of their training in other countries. Since 1998, training for more than 150 occupations have been modernised or created. In August 2005 there will be training for six new occupations and 21 others will have been reformed. Figures have recently become available on the number of new apprenticeship contracts signed in Germany by the end of September 2004 for the present ‘training’ year. The government and the employer organisations draw a positive balance and argue that for the first time since 1999 there has been a trend reversal and an increase in the total number of contracts. The Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) estimates the total at about 519 000, a 4.5 % increase in comparison with the previous year. The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) acknowledges this increase, but noting that there has been an increase in the number of school drop outs and that the individual looking for a training place is worse off than in the previous year, argues that there is no trend reversal. Back to top
Continuing training
The rise of unemployment rates among higher education graduates has lead the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education to develop short-term measures aimed at promoting the employment of those with scientific qualifications. The Operational Programme - Science, Technology and Innovation (POCTI) provides a re-qualification course for graduates in areas with better employment prospects. This is a part of the active employment policies provided for in the National Action Employment Plan approved by the government in November 2004. The Portuguese government is also to invest 140 million euro in public administration reform during 2005 and 2006 under the Public Administration Operation Programme (POAP), approved by the European Commission in December 2004. The programme is supported within the 3rd Community Support Framework and aims to support productive and multiplier projects and investments that are expected to be the driving force of change in the Portuguese public administration. 25 % of all managerial and administrative staff are expected to participate in vocational training activities. The 2003 report on continuing training concluded that in Germany although the interest in continuing training was great, the participation in formal training courses was diminishing. A representative survey published in February found that, in comparison with the previous one in 2000, the participation rate in continuing education and training (Weiterbildung) had fallen by 2% to 41 %, with a particularly sharp drop (of 26 %) in continuing vocational training. The results also confirm a trend whereby younger and better educated people are the most likely to use training opportunities - for the 19 to 49 age range, 46 %, for the 50-64 age group only 31 %; for those with upper secondary education, 59 %, those with lower school qualifications only 28 %. Back to top
Quality/Certification
In November 2004, the Flemish employment and training agency (VDAB) obtained further recognition from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) for the quality of its services and in particular of the training provision its offers to both the employed and unemployed. It is the first Flemish public body to obtain this level of certification. Poland, In Slovakia, implementation of an August 2004 Ministry of Education decree has provoked lively disputes among educators. It provides legislative backing for a new model for secondary school leaving exams from the 2004/5 school year. The objective is to provide valid, nation-wide comparable information for all students, parents, employers and subsequent education providers, particularly higher education institutions. The changes introduce an internal and external element in the examination at central/national, school and subject level. The external component is composed of standardised-based tests. Many fear that these will be over-demanding and that this will have the result of decreasing the overall grades obtained by trainees and thus eventually lead to a downgrading of the status of VET. In November, the Secretary of State for Education announced that the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) would be restructured to take on the role of the new National Quality Improvement Body (NQIB). In June 2004, he had said such a body would be established to drive forward quality improvement in the English learning and skills (i.e. further education) sector. This is in response to consistent messages that current arrangements for accountability and quality improvement lack clarity and coherence. The further education sector is also to be encouraged to engage more with employers. A consultation process on the vision, roles and responsibilities of the NQIB is now taking place with the involvement of all the major stakeholders. In Italy, as part of the process of decentralisation and the handing over of responsibility for vocational training to the regions and provinces, there has been an important new agreement between the Ministries of Education and Labour, the regions and local entities. This lays down general principles for the certification of the outcomes of education and vocational training and the recognition of credits for those moving between the three training systems, i.e. vocational education provided by the Ministry of Education, vocational training by the regions and apprenticeship in companies. This agreement takes account of European-level initiatives, including Europass. Back to top
Validation of competencies
In December 2005, the Danish Minister of Education, on behalf of his colleagues responsible for Science, Technology and Innovation, for Culture and for Business and Economic Affairs presented parliament with a statement on the recognition, validation and development of skills and competencies that have been acquired outside the formal education system. This built on an earlier government statement in November 2002 and was expected to lead to a debate throughout 2005 by all the actors involved in this field, i.e. schools, other education institutions, local authorities, and social partners. When entering the labour market it is essential to make competencies visible. The results of Dutch pilot projects testing the development of an instrument to help (unemployed) job seekers to make their competencies visible are promising. The initiative is directly related to European activities on the accreditation of prior learning and the implementation of the Europass framework on the transparency of qualifications. It also takes the European CV format as a basis. The system was developed by employers in the metal sector. Young people and employers are eager to use the passport and it enables young people to look differently and more confidently at themselves. Back to top
Guidance
The Danish Ministry of Education launched a two-year mentoring pilot scheme at the beginning of 2005. This is aimed at reducing the number (one in four) of dropouts from school and in particular to ease the transition between lower secondary school and vocational training. The mentors are professionals (including teachers, guidance counsellors etc.), who are specifically equipped with pedagogical and guidance tools for the task of building a relationship, based on mutual confidence, with young people at risk, including second generation migrants. The results of a survey, which mapped guidance patterns and profiles of 13-20 year-old students in Denmark, were published in December. They emphasised the important role of both parents and the Internet. They showed that one-third of the 1 400 parents participating in the survey discuss education or job prospects with their children once a week and that 75 % wish to be involved in their children's choice of future pathway. New structures for guidance are currently being set up in Denmark, with separate, but similar, local youth guidance and counselling centres providing guidance to those deciding on upper secondary education or entering higher education. Given, in the context of lifelong learning, the growing need for increased access to vocational counselling and broad-based career information, a network of vocational counselling and career information centres is being developed in Poland. The numbers and types of vocational counselling institutions are being increased, while the form and scope of their activity are being expanded. There are now 528 municipal information centres providing easier access to modern ICT for young people and local communities, while 49 mobile career information centres are available in sparsely populated areas. The Czech Republic has also been expanding its network of information and counselling centres (IPS). The prime target group consists of those in the eight and ninth school years, with regular visits being made by counsellors to schools. Since January 2005 the IPS services have been expanded to cover Internet-based career counselling, via the websites of labour offices. This is considered not only quick, but also user-friendly, as some pupils have difficulties in expressing their needs on the phone or in having their parents speak for them. During April and May each year, a special information service is provided for pupils who failed in the first round of admission procedures to upper secondary education. Back to top
Equality/Specific target groups
As the PISA assessments underline, the quality of education and training in Finland is high. In addition, the differences between pupils, schools and regions are relatively small. Nevertheless some pupils and students underachieve; for example learning outcomes for boys are in all subjects less good than those for girls. A programme entitled "Diverse learners - common school" initiated by the National Board of Education, launched in spring 2004, will continue until the end of 2006. It will help develop environments that favour diverse learners, enhance teacher co-operation and strengthen co-operation between the school and the home. Its three themes are early detection of learning difficulties and early intervention, developing learning skills and pedagogy that stresses the awareness of learner diversity and guidance and counselling. A study by the Austrian Institute for Vocational Training Research has confirmed the relationship between the social background of parents and decisions on educational choices. Parents want their children to reach at least the same educational level as they themselves did. Accordingly those with only a compulsory education certificate want their children to complete an apprenticeship. It is important that this is recognised in attempts to make lifelong learning a reality. In February the government discussed a recently published report on the German system for financially supporting students and pupils (BAföG). The proportion of the age cohort commencing higher education has risen from 27.7 % in 1998 to 36.5 % in 2003, while the numbers receiving financial support rose from 341 000 to 505 000. The percentage of students, whose parents only have a lower secondary school (Hauptschule) qualification, has grown from 16 to 21 % in the period from 2000 to 2003. The Community Initiative Programme (CIP) Equal for Cyprus for the period 2004-2006 was agreed in April 2004. By the end of 2004, 23 organisations had submitted applications. It was expected that the procedure for assessing and selecting development partnerships would be completed in January 2005. The first of three priority themes is concerned with facilitating access and return to the labour market through innovative actions, including long-term training programmes. The other priorities are equal opportunities for women and men to achieve the reconciliation of family and professional life and promoting skill-enhancing interventions for asylum seekers, while they await the final decision on their applications. The recently published results of a survey by Cereq (Centre for Studies and Research on Employment and Qualifications) in France confirm inequalities in access to training, but also differences in the perception of the quality of training. The better trained get jobs more easily and the better employed get more training. However, if the less qualified receive less training, they are more satisfied with the quality of training they do receive. Within companies, eight out of ten managerial and administrative staff believe they are in a company where everybody is trained, but less than 1 in 2 of other employees, do so. Another French study - this one by the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Research (INSEE) - published in November suggests that training is no guarantee for getting a job. This particularly applies to adults, who have been unemployed for a long time. However alternance training does appear to assist unemployed young people in obtaining a job. A recent report on the development of second chance schools (‘É2C’) in France has been published. These schools grew out of a series of pilot projects launched during 1996-2000 under the third objective of the European Commission’s 1995 white paper "Teaching and Learning: Towards the Learning Society." 13 of these schools have now been opened in France. Just over 50 % of the ca 1 000 pupils admitted in 2003 succeeded in finishing their training and 57 % of these obtained a job or a training place. Back to top
Social partners
In November, the government of the French-speaking community in Belgium together with the representative organisations of the educational community in Wallonia and Brussels and the social partners, signed a common declaration fixing the objectives, general principals and priorities of the strategic contract on education. Due to its involvement of a wide group of partners and the intention of mobilising them, it is both a collective and ambitious initiative. The contract is based on a strategy for ensuring quality, by concentrating on the provision of basic skills, ensuring the value of educational qualifications, initiatives against educational inequalities and a plan for modernising the educational system. It will run from 2005 to 2013. In Austria, efforts aimed at increasing the preparedness of companies to invest in in-company training for their workers through the improvement of the framework conditions in which they operate, have been facilitated by anchoring the certification of training in the 2004 collective agreement in the IT sector. The certificate is developed jointly by the two social partners, is valid throughout the country and demonstrates the willingness of companies and employees to undertake a responsible role in the lifelong leaning process. The certification costs Euro 1 600 per person and is valid for three years. It is voluntary, but strongly recommended. There are about 20 000 companies in the sector and one of the aims is to facilitate the training and certification of older workers. A membership survey of human resource policy and practice in 400 companies by the Irish Business Employers' Confederation (IBEC) was published at the end of 2004. Seven out of ten respondents have a training budget. In an average company, spending on training is 3.15% of the payroll and provides 3-5 days of training per annum per employee. Over two thirds of companies evaluate their training. IBEC called on the government to be more supportive of employers' steps to move towards a knowledge economy by increasing spending on enterprise-led training. Research carried out in the United Kingdom by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) on the support needs of people providing learning in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), found that employers and employees learnt best from their everyday experiences. They place greater value on informal learning than on taught courses or structured training programmes. Learning providers need to focus on providing ready-made services to SMEs and on helping them develop in-house capacity for cascading knowledge and skills throughout the organisation. Back to top
Internationalisation of education and training
In November, the Department for Education and Skills published its strategy to build stronger links between schools and their peers overseas. The International Strategy for Education, Skills and Children's Services sets out plans to ensure a strong international dimension across the United Kingdom's education system. These include exchanging the latest ideas in education with international partners, offering educational support programmes to developing countries and maximising the contribution of education to the economy. All schools are to be twinned with schools abroad using an Internet Global Gateway, while all children at Key Stage 2 (i.e. pupils aged 7 to 11) are to study languages. Opportunities for further and higher education students to study abroad are to be provided and work within Europe towards greater comparability of qualifications will be progressed. At the tenth summit of French speaking countries held in Burkina-Faso in November emphasis was placed on co-operation in the field of education and vocational training. Co-operation and exchanges are to be put in place with a view to supporting national VET policies Reports on the development of the education and training system in Italy consider recent trends in the context of developments at European level and ask whether Italy will reach the Lisbon goals. In spite of both qualitative and quantitative improvements in training provision, Censis (the Centre for Social Investment Studies) reports that the gap between Italy and other EU countries remains. It will be particularly difficult to meet the target of 12.5 % of the adult population taking part in continuing education and training. At present the figure is about 4.6 %. Extra efforts are needed through guidance initiatives, especially for those who are low skilled or at risk of exclusion. Financial resources need to be increased, while new certification models and new tools for supporting learning processes need to be developed. The international quality label Investors in People (IIP), developed in the 1990s in the United Kingdom, is used world-wide in about 37 000 companies. Now it is being introduced in Austria, which thereby plays a pioneering role in Central Europe. The pilot project, driven by the Federation of Austrian Industry (IV), co-financed from the European Social Fund and supported by the Federal Ministry for Economics and Employment, began in early 2004 and involves companies in more than 10 different branches. IIP is a flexible package with 12 quality indicators. These are, for example, concerned with the motivation of the workforce and the quality of organisational processes.
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The above note has been prepared by Cedefop as background information for the meeting of the Directors General for Vocational Training (DGVT) to be held in Luxembourg on 18/19 April 2005. It is based primarily on information received from members of Cedefop's ReferNet and the National Observatories (NOs), established by the European Training Foundation (ETF), and in particular their contributions to Cedefop Info issue 1/2005.
Cedefop Info is published in hard copy form three times a year in English, French and German and is available free of charge from Cedefop. This note and the full text of Cedefop Info are available on Cedefop's interactive Internet site, the European Training Village.
These reports on recent developments have been prepared on a regular basis for the meetings of DGVTs since 1997. This is the last one for which the present author will be responsible. I would like to thank the members of the ReferNet (and its predecessor, Cedefop's documentary information network) for their support and tolerance, without which it would have been impossible to produce this document with the limited resources available. I hope readers and particularly the main target group, i.e. the Directors General for Vocational Training in the member states and their colleagues have found it a useful instrument. Cedefop would, as always, be pleased to receive your feedback and reactions to the note, which is also available in French and German.
Michael Adams
(E-mail: Michael Adams)
Brussels
17 March 2005
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