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Australian schools are facing unprecedented teacher supply and retention challenges, with workforce shortages one of the single biggest issues facing teacher employers in all school sectors and early childhood education settings across Australia. This is not just a problem in Australia. The world at large is experiencing challenges associated with the competitive global teaching market, and the ongoing impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic.

Declining numbers of new graduate teachers, increasing demand from a growing student population and an ageing teacher and leadership workforce are all contributing to teacher shortages. Previous modelling of teacher demand and supply has suggested that these shortages could worsen over the coming years, with the demand for secondary teachers to exceed the supply of new graduate teachers by around 4,100 between 2021 to 2025.

The existing shortages have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with teachers working in a challenging environment and education systems and schools having had to innovate to manage illness and absences. However, COVID-19 related shortages are just one part of a broader and systemic issue. Other factors impacting on shortages include the status of the profession, workload pressures and initial teacher education (ITE) participation. Governments and education authorities have put in place a range of measures to address teacher shortages. Despite efforts, shortages exist, underscoring the fact that teacher workforce challenges cannot be addressed by any one jurisdiction alone.

This issues paper sets out the nature of the problem and responses to date, to prompt discussion on priority areas of focus at a strategic discussion on the teacher workforce. The issues paper includes evidence and data on teacher supply and demand; a discussion of the factors that contribute to teacher shortages; an overview of government and non-government responses to date; and discussion questions on potential actions to address teacher shortages.

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In 2009, the Council endorsed the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018), known in short as the [European Union] EU Youth Strategy. Its objectives are to: (1) create more and equal opportunities for all young people in education and in the labour market; and (2) promote the active citizenship, social inclusion and solidarity of all young people. This Staff working document supports the Commission Communication which presents the draft joint report on the EU Youth Report to the Council. Summarising the results of the first cycle (2010-2012), it presents the actions taken at EU-level and in Member States, as well as initiatives taken by young people themselves. Separate chapters report on achievements in all eight 'fields of action' of the strategy, the general organisation and approach to youth policy, and the structured dialogue between young people and policy-makers. The references made to Member States' activities are based on national youth reports submitted by them. Young people are represented in the report by the European Youth Forum, which is an umbrella organisation of approximately 40 National Youth Councils and more than 60 international non-governmental youth organisations in Europe.

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Language competences are a key dimension of modernising European education systems, and this staff working document [SWD] is part of a larger policy initiative contributing to Europe 2020. It offers analysis and insight to support the Commission communication on 'Re-thinking Education: a blueprint to invest in the skills of the future for better economic and social outcomes'. Raising the language competences of children, young people and adults will foster the mobility of workers and students and improve the employability of the European workforce. Therefore, improved language competences will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy of growth and jobs. This SWD presents ground-breaking evidence. It draws on the new European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC), which assesses pupils' knowledge of the first and second foreign languages at the end of lower secondary education. Show less

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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This publication has been produced in response to the plan for Objective 3 in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 provides a summary of the main features of the labour market over recent years and current trends; the results of the monitoring and evaluation exercise for Objective 3 and 4 in the previous period, and a prior appraisal of the UK plan. Chapter 2 gives an outline of the strategic approach, discusses the priorities for European Social Fund (ESF) support, and the nature of the measures within each ESF supported priority. It also presents the indicators against which the ESF contribution will be assessed. Chapter 3 looks at the financing plan by priority, the explanation of additionality, how it will be measured, the additionality table, and the explanation of concentration and the concentration table. Chapter 4 describes the committee structure for the administration of the program, the method to be applied in the UK for monitoring and evaluating ESF, an outline of the criteria for selecting projects, the approach to multiannual approvals and the Commission standard clauses on administration of ESF in Member States. Show less

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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Volunteering is a creator of human and social capital. It is a pathway to integration and employment and a key factor for improving social cohesion. Above all, volunteering translates the fundamental values of justice, solidarity, inclusion and citizenship upon which Europe is founded into action. Volunteers help shape European society, and volunteers who work outside of their home countries are actively helping to build a Citizens' Europe. Indeed, volunteering activities are implicitly linked with many European Union policy areas - such as lifelong learning, rural development and sport - where they add a valuable dimension to European Union programs. For all these reasons and more, the year 2011 has been designated as the European Year of Voluntary Activities promoting Active Citizenship. The European Year gives the European Commission the opportunity to take stock of volunteering in the European Union and its contribution to society. It also allows the Commission to evaluate what the European Union and Member States can do to facilitate and promote volunteering, notably in cross-border situations.

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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