and still a long way to go

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Helsinki 2006
Copenhagen 2002
Maastricht 2004
Lisbon 2000
From Copenhagen to Helsinki - and still a long
way to go Manfred Tessaring
2

• Content
• Copenhagen Helsinki VET priorities
• Progress in VET policy areas
• Challenges
• Some conclusions

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Copenhagen Maastricht HelsinkiEnhanced
cooperation in VET
draft
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The Helsinki Communiqué 2006 (draft)to review
the priorities and strategies of the Copenhagen
Process

• European and national VET policies should ensure
• young people acquire the knowledge, skills,
  attitudes and values necessary for further
  learning and employability
• ? to reduce drop put and facilitate
  school-to-work transition
• skills and competences for adults
• ? recognition of prior learning
• ? provision of training and learning
  opportunities, including for disadvantaged
  people
• investments in skills and shared funding
• ? training should be more efficient and
  demand-driven

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The Helsinki Communiqué 2006 (draft)to review
the priorities and strategies of the Copenhagen
Process

• Reviewed priorities
• Improve the attractiveness and quality of VET
• Develop and implement common tools for VET
• Strengthen mutual learning and take all
  stakeholders on board
• Implementation and reporting
• Use of structural funds and the Lifelong Learning
  Programme 2007-13
• Support of CEDEFOP and ETF and their networks
• Active participation of other relevant Community
  bodies and committees
• Exchange of information with third countries
• Include progress in VET in the Lisbon and the
  Education and Training 2010 reporting

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Where countries report most progress
Progress
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Progress The EQF is setting the trend

• Developing NQF
• in more more countries, gaining in speed in
  2005/2006
• linked to emphasis on learning outcomes
  Progress in

educational / VET standards competence-based
curricula assessing learning outcomes
entrepreneurship language learning
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Progress Learning outcomes
gaining ground

• Validating non-formal and informal learning
• Slow but steady progress in valuing what
• people have learned at work and elsewhere to
• improve lifelong learning opportunities
• make VET systems more flexible
• improve employability and career
• Some progress in higher
• education, but less inclined to open
• up for non-traditional learners

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Progress NQF and quality go hand in hand

• Improving and assuring quality
• Progress in
• improving VET infrastructure, increasing
  efficiency
• ensuring trust in the value of learning
  outcomes (NQF) (e.g. through standards,
  competence-based curricula,
• qualifications register, provider
  accreditation)
• Countries recommend to apply the European
  Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF)

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Progress VET for excellence and
inclusion

• Integrating learning with working
• Progress in
• providing learner-need oriented and
  individualised pathways
• work-based training to attract and retain
  non-academic learners
• marrying theory and practice to develop high
  skills
• New types of apprenticeship and traineeships
  in
• initial and continuing training
• higher education (designed by institutions and
  industry)
• active labour market measures

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Progress Supporting individuals those
at risk

• Ensuring access and equity
• Progress in
• preventing drop out from initial VET
• enabling low qualified and migrants to acquire
  skills
• giving all employed chance for continuing
  training
• Guidance and counselling
• Progress in improving access and quality to
• assist disadvantaged
• help the young to make right VET choice
• Tools electronic information systems
• 11 countries (intend to) use Europass
  for guidance

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Challenges The demographic
time bomb

• By 2030
• almost 14 million more older people
• 9 million fewer young people
• 2 million fewer learners in VET(at secondary
  tertiary level, if participation rates remain
  unchanged)
• Future labour markets will rely more on older
  workers and migrants
• Chance to improve the quality of initial VET and
  provide better opportunities for adult learning

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Skills competition worldwide
Challenges
2005 72 million low skilled adults in Europe -
as many as the inhabitants of France, Ireland and
the Baltic States taken together !

• Europe scores
• low on high skills
• high on low skills
• strong at intermediate skills ?
• Europes comparative advantage
• ?
• necessary to cope withincreasing demands
  anddiffusion of new technologies
• ?
• high skilled jobs require both vocational
  qualifications (secondary tertiary level) and
  academic skills
• ! definitions vary between countries

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Challenges Maintaining human capital

• Older workers lifelong learning
• Promote age-sensitive HRD policy
• build on and value older workers skills and
  competences
• recognise their experience and knowledge gained
  at work
• engage them in workplace learning
• provide suited learning environments and
  pedagogies
• pass on their experience to the younger
  generation (e.g. by mentoring)

Participation in lifelong learning by age groups,
2005, EU25 ()
Source Eurostat, Labour Force Survey
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VET teachers trainers - The forgotten change
agents ?
Challenges

1/3 2/3 of upper secondary teachers work in
VET
They are getting older, their role is
changing, their tasks are getting more varied and
complex
work in teams
(co)design curricula
be familiar with new work processes
guide counsel learners
FACILITATE LEARNING
? but we know little about them
link school enterprise/management
assess learning outcomes
? but they receive little support to
cope with these
make progress happen
(co)decide VET offers
and even less about trainers in VET
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Challenges Show that VET is worth
investing in

• Data available for the first time

• Public expenditure on VET
• at secondary level
• ranges from 0.3 to 1.1 of GDP
• is lower than expenditure on general education in
  almost all countries (for which data are
  available)
• Private expenditure on VET
• data on enterprise spending expected end-2007
  (CVTS 3)

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Conclusions Four years to go until 2010
Stay focused

• Reinforce efforts, consolidate and build on
  achievements
• Continue at national level to
• establish NQF related to learning outcomes and
  linking to EQF through cooperation with all
  players and mutual learning
• develop Europass certificate supplements
  which inform on learning outcomes and make EQF
  mapping easier
• develop validation of non-formal learning -
  central to lifelong learning
• improve quality assurance and encourage
  implementing the CQAF

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Conclusions Maastricht priorities still valid

• Support VET teacher trainer development, value
  them as change agents
• Develop in-company learning pathways and improve
  older workers' lifelong learning
• Adequately invest in VET, make benefits visible -
  encourage cost-sharing
• Develop shared policies with other ministries,
  social partners and other actors

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Conclusions Evidence-based policy
making

• To make informed decisions we need
• joint efforts to collect more, more accurate
  more reliable statistical data
• comprehensive and joint initiatives to identify
  and anticipate skill needs
• research to evaluate policy impact prepare VET
  for future challenges

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Helsinki follow-up 2007 Thank you for your
attention !

• Cedefops AGORA event
• 26 27 April 2007
• Building a European VET area
• Conference to present and discuss
• analyses on progress in VET policies
• findings from research and statistics
• future challenges

www.cedefop.europa.eu www.trainingvillage.gr
Contact Cedefops policy analysis research
reporting team Pascaline Descy, Patrycja
Lipinska, Anelia Miteva, Lore Schmid and Manfred
Tessaring