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This report sets out steps to be taken without delay to get young people back into work, education or training. These steps cover: the implementation of the Youth Guarantee; investment in young people through the European Social Fund; the front-loading of the Youth Employment Initiative; support for intra-[European Union] EU labour mobility with EURES; steps to ease the transition from education to work by boosting the supply of high quality apprenticeships and traineeships and addressing skills shortages; an acceleration of reforms to deliver a genuine EU labour market in the longer run; and measures to support job creation in the immediate term, especially by [small and medium-sized] SMEs, and to incentivise the hiring of young people.

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Since 2008 Europe has been suffering the effects of the most severe economic crisis it has seen in 50 years: for the first time in Europe there are over 25 million unemployed and in the majority of Member States small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not yet been able to bounce back to their pre-crisis levels. To bring Europe back to growth and higher levels of employment, Europe needs more entrepreneurs. As a follow up to the Small Business Act review of April 2011 and of the Industrial policy communication adopted last October, the proposed action plan sets out a renewed vision and a number of actions to be taken at both [European Union] EU and Member States' level to support entrepreneurship in Europe. It is based on three pillars: developing entrepreneurial education and training; creating the right business environment; role models and reaching out to specific groups.

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The quality of human capital is crucial for Europe's success. The Europe 2020 Strategy puts a strong emphasis on education and training to promote 'smart, sustainable and inclusive growth'. This Communication responds to the call of the Europe 2020 Strategy to reinforce the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET) and maps out its potential with respect to the Flagship Initiatives 'An Agenda for new skills and jobs' and 'Youth on the Move', including its Youth employment framework. VET must play a dual role: as a tool to help meet Europe's immediate and future skills needs; and, in parallel, to reduce the social impact of and facilitate recovery from the crisis. These twin challenges call for urgent reforms.

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The establishment of systems for the recognition and validation of all forms of learning has become one of the central themes in all sectors of education and training. This evolution reflects various societal changes, in particular the shift from the 'job for life' culture to the expectation of a succession of jobs throughout a career, often in different occupational areas. It is also closely related to the need for all active citizens who wish to secure their employment and employability in a fast-evolving technology-rich environment to constantly develop their knowledge and skills through learning activities which may, or may not, be explicitly designed as formal learning. In this context, it has become necessary to enable all those involved in lifelong learning - regardless of where it takes place - to have their learning achievements recognised and validated.

The document is divided into four sections. The first section looks at the recognition of prior learning as one of the main forms of alternative access routes into higher education. It is followed by a section that provides information on whether students can use the process as a mean of progression in their studies, i.e. to gain credits towards a qualification and/or exemptions from some program requirements. The third section evaluates the overall level of development and implementation of recognition practices across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), while the fourth examines whether and how such recognition practice is addressed in legal frameworks covering the higher education sector. The document concludes with a look at other developments in the area of higher education that could have an impact on the recognition of prior non-formal and informal learning, and issues that could be considered for future policy development.

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This report contends that Europe is in transformation and that the crisis has wiped away years of economic and social progress and exposed the weaknesses in the economy leading to need to collectively, as the European Union (EU), take charge of the future. Europe 2020 revolves around three interconnected priorities: (1) smart growth (developing a knowledge and innovation based economy); (2) sustainable growth (promoting resource efficiency and competitiveness in a greener economy); and (3) inclusive growth (fostering social and territorial cohesion in a high-employment economy). The report describes a number of headline targets, including: (1) 75 per cent of work-able people to be employed; (2) three per cent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) should be invested in research and development; (3) early school leavers should number no more than 10 per cent and at least 40 per cent of the younger generation should have a tertiary degree; and (4) 20 million fewer people should be at risk of poverty. A list of initiatives are given to help member states deliver the 2020 goals. These initiatives are divided into EU level actions and Member State actions. The report gives a strategy for exit from the current crisis in pursuance of its long-term goals. The report concludes with a list of decisions to be made at the European Council’s spring meeting for 2010. Show less

In this paper, the author argues that the obsolescence of human capital, or the deterioration of the skills workers have acquired in the past, is central to the key challenge for western economies to achieve a knowledge-based society through lifelong learning. The first section outlines a typology of the various possible causes of human capital obsolescence, in which five different kinds of human capital obsolescence are identified: the wear of skills due to ageing, or illness that may be related to working conditions; the atrophy of skills due to insufficient use; job-specific obsolescence due to technological and organisational change; sector-specific obsolescence due to shifts in employment; and firm-specific skills obsolescence due to displacement. This is followed by a discussion of the different ways in which the obsolescence of human capital can be measured: (1) objective method: testing; (2) subjective method: asking workers or their employers; (3) workers' wages; and (4) the probability of losing their jobs. The next section reviews the evidence on skills obsolescence that exists in the literature. An example of some empirical indicators of the potential risks of human capital obsolescence for workers in the various sectors of industry in the Netherlands is presented. The discussion then moves to what kinds of learning or training activities could be remedies for the different kinds of human capital obsolescence and some empirical evidence on training participation in the various sectors of industry in the Netherlands is presented. Training participation in the various sectors of industry in relation to the specific potential risks of human capital obsolescence in each sector is discussed, with particular reference to older workers. The author concludes with some policy issues.

Selected papers from the conference are indexed from TD/TNC 87.81 to TD/TNC 87.84. Show less

Article 150 of the EC Treaty states that “the Community shall implement a vocational training policy which shall support and supplement the action of the Member States while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organisation of vocational training”.

The underlying objective of this survey on vocational training is to determine whether current vocational training systems meet the needs and wishes of citizens and to identify the type of reforms and innovations necessary in order to meet the Lisbon goals by 2010.

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In March 2018, following a consultation of cross-industry European social partners and an opinion of the tripartite Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT), EU Member States agreed on a Council Recommendation on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (EFQEA). The framework aims to ensure that apprenticeships respond to the needs of both apprentices and employers throughout the European Union. The European Commission committed to report on the implementation of the framework within three years from the date of its adoption. This report presents the state of play of implementation of the Council Recommendation as of September 2020. The analysis is based on input provided in the 2nd half of 2020 and in early 2021 by all EU Member States, as well as European and national social partners and members of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA). The analysis focuses in particular on how Member States have been putting in practice the 14 criteria for quality and effective apprenticeships set out in the EFQEA. It also describes further aspects related to the implementation at national level (involvement of social partners, gender equality, national reform programmes, use of EU funds). It presents how the European Commission supported Member States in the implementation and summarises remaining challenges. The Annex describes the key features of apprenticeships in each Member State.

Three years into the implementation of the recommendation, this report shows that the 7 criteria on learning and working conditions are in place in the majority of Member States, while further progress is needed in implementing the 7 criteria on framework conditions. The report confirms that the Framework continues to be relevant and up to date, and that it remains a key instrument to enhance the quality and effectiveness of apprenticeships across the EU. The report also indicates that the Framework supports Member States in an incremental, continuous improvement of their apprenticeship schemes, including on those criteria that were already partially in place in 2018.

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Currently, more than five million young people in the European Union (EU) are unemployed. It is becoming harder for young people to find work and some are deciding to either prolong their studies or going back to study. This could be a positive move for the future if the right skills are acquired. However, a large number of young people are neither working nor studying. The European Commission is proposing a Youth Opportunities Initiative to target those young people not in employment, education or training. Although most of the work will need to be done by the Member States, the EU can provide a supporting role through review of policies and performance and by providing financial support to national and cross-border initiatives. This report outlines the initiative's first steps in supporting skills development and school-to-work transitions. Show less

Following the publication of ‘A memorandum of lifelong learning’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.400) in October 2000, the European Commission invited Member States to launch a consultation process to collect together all views on how best to make progress in implementing lifelong learning. Feedback from the Europe-wide consultation was then used to develop the analysis and proposals in the Communication on ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.264). National reports were submitted by each Member State as well as by candidate countries and Iceland and Norway. This document is the national report from the UK. It highlights the UK’s approach to lifelong learning against the six key messages of the Memorandum.

Documents from ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ are indexed from TD/TNC 77.521 to TD/TNC 77.539. Show less