Introduction on Cedefop

1
EuroSkills Preview Founding meeting
ESPO European Skills Promotion Organisation 15
March 2007, Rotterdam

• Introduction on Cedefop
• In behalf of Aviana Bulgarelli, Director
• Marc Willem
• Acting Head of Information, Communication and
  Dissemination

2
Cedefops role and tasks

• Since its creation in 1975, the aim of the Centre
  is to assist the Commission in encouraging, at
  Community level, the promotion and development of
  vocational education training and of in-service
  training.
• As the European Unions reference centre for
  vocational education and training, Cedefop
  provides policy-makers, researchers and
  practitioners with information to allow them to
  have a clearer understanding of developments in
  VET and to take well-informed decisions on future
  action.

3
Cedefops role and task

• Cedefop promotes the European and international
  dimensions of education and training systems by
  encouraging and facilitating mutual learning
  (between countries, researchers and professional
  communities)

4
Cedefops role and tasks

• Cedefops statutory role is to provide
  information and to report on and analyse
  developments in Member States and at European
  level. In accordance with Article 2 of Cedefops
  founding Regulation, its main tasks are to
• contribute to developing and coordinating
  research
• exploit and disseminate useful information
• encourage and support a concerted approach to
  vocational education and training problems
• compile selected documentation and analysis of
  data
• provide a forum for all those concerned.

5
Serving its partners

• Cedefop supplies its products and services to the
  following stakeholders
• the European Commission, European Parliament and
  other European institutions
• the Member States
• social partners
• other policy-makers, including local and regional
  authorities
• vocational education and training researchers and
  practitioners
• associated countries (Iceland and Norway) and
  candidate countries.

6
Cedefops medium-term priorities 2006-08

• Cedefop contributes to the education and training
  2010 work programme in support of the Lisbon
  goals and the European Council Stockholm/Barcelona
  conclusions.
• Cedefop concentrates on the four priorities cited
  in the Maastricht Communiqué, e.g. necessary
  reforms and investment should be focused on
• the image and attractiveness of the vocational
  route in order to increase participation in VET
  importance of EuroSkills 2008
• high level of quality and innovation in VET
  systems
• make European VET globally competitive
• linking VET with the labour market requirements
  of the knowledge economy market participation
• Cedefop is looking at a wider public of European
  citizens, particularly supporting Europass
  instruments

7
Lisbon agenda

• Knowledge for
• competitiveness
• more and better jobs
• social inclusion
• Success for Lisbon depends on success in
  vocational education and training
• Success in VET requires
• knowing skills needs
• establishing systems to deliver those skills
• providing access for people
• This requires VET-effective policies

8
ReferNets role and tasks

• ReferNet (network of reference and expertise in
  VET) is a structured, decentralised, networked
  system of information collection and
  dissemination.
• It provides high quality information on a wide
  range of developments in vocational education and
  training, and learning in the European Union by
  bringing together the expertise of key
  organisations.
• It was established by Cedefop to meet the growing
  demand for information that makes comparisons
  between Member States, developments and policies,
  possible.
• It was created to enable Cedefop to carry out its
  task '... to compile selected documentation
  relating in particular to the present situation,
  the latest developments and research in the
  relevant fields, and to matters of vocational
  training structures' more effectively.

9
Role of ReferNet in the field of VET

• at European level
• 3 main categories of actors in VET( partly as
  in Cedefop Governing Board)
• - public bodies ministries, regional and local
  authorities
• - social partners, often by sector
• - research bodies
• fits with Copenhagen process
• - raising visibility and profile of VET
• - better understanding of VET
• - monitoring VET developments
• e.g. Maastricht study led by QCA, DG VET reports,
  Cedefop Info
• ReferNet is a priviliged information channel for
  Cedefop, EU institutions and other international
  organisations (Unevoc, OECD)

10
Role of ReferNet in the field of VET

• at national level
• unique platform of key organisations in VET
• consortia composed of public bodies, social
  partners research
• regional issues
• sectoral thematic approaches

11
Cooperation with other (European) networks

• with existing national networks
• e.g. in Germany AGBFN, Arbeitsgemeinschaft
  Berufsbildungs-forschungsnetz
• with European networks, particularly
• Study Visits Programme
• National Reference points of the Transparency
  Forum
• Eurydice
• National Resources for Vocational Guidance
• National Agencies for LDV Programme
• Europass National Contact Points
• with international networks
• Unevoc

12
Support to EuroSkills 2008

• As agreed between Mr Figel, Commissioner for for
  Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism
  , and Ms Bulgarelli, Cedefop Director
• Cedefop will support EuroSkills 2008
• trough its network ReferNet
• Cedefop and ReferNet national websites
• Newsletters
• mailing lists
• events, conferences and seminars, etc.
• For more information, please consult
• http//www.cedefop.europa.eu/