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'Old roots to new routes' is Cedefop's 40th anniversary theme for 2015. It aims to draw inspiration from the past to improve vocational education and training (VET) for the future. Around half of Europe's population acquires their first job-related skills through VET. Many more develop those skills and learn new ones through continuing training and other forms of learning at the workplace. VET is central to the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is fundamental to delivering the European youth guarantee that all young people under 25 receive a good-quality offer of a job, apprenticeship, traineeship, or continued education within four months of them leaving formal education or becoming unemployed. But Europe's VET systems are struggling to meet 21st century expectations. Implementing change can be difficult, especially at a time of economic hardship. Renewed strength can come from looking at progress to date. Less than 20 years ago the extent of European cooperation in VET with its shared aims (under the Copenhagen process), including common European tools, (such as the European Qualifications Framework), and joint initiatives (such as the European Alliance for Apprenticeships) was unimaginable.

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'The value of learning' is the third in the Cedefop series of reports on vocational education and training (VET) research. It covers three broad themes, published in three volumes: impact of education and training (indexed at TD/TNC 84.261); the foundations of evaluation and impact research (indexed at TD/TNC 84.262); and evaluation of systems and programmes (indexed at TD/TNC 84.263). This document is the executive summary accompanying the reports from this third series. It outlines the main functions and uses of evaluation, including its philosophies and theories; explains the approaches and methods of evaluation and impact research; discusses how evaluation can support the implementation and assessment of education and training systems reforms with case studies; and provides an overview of assessing the impact and benefits of education and training.

The synthesis report from this third series is indexed at TD/IRD 88.32; individual papers from the three volumes of the background report are indexed from TD/TNC 84.264 to TD/TNC 84.283. Show less

Skills lie at the core of well-functioning economies and inclusive societies. Skills systems support and shape transitions and play a crucial role in delivering skills, in using talent and in matching skills to jobs. With a view to promoting evidence-based skills policy in the EU, this policy brief uses Cedefop's 2022 European skills index to take stock of trends, to identify improvement potential and to locate best practices.

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Collecting data and information on labour market needs and skills trends is not sufficient to design and sustain responsive and efficient vocational education and training (VET) programmes and skills formation systems. Economies and societies need robust skill anticipation methods and trusted skills intelligence to translate data into actionable insights that support the skills revolution. This policy brief reviews trends in skills anticipation in Europe and explains how it contributes to more learning and better matching. It builds on Cedefop's monitoring of national skills anticipation systems and practices in the EU-27, Norway and Iceland and input from Cedefop's ReferNet partners.

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Focuses on the recognition, validation, and certification on non-formal and informal learning, knowledge, and competences. Ceased publication from 2010 onwards. Show less

This collection is a step towards updating Cedefop's work on professionalising career guidance since the publication of 'Professionalising career guidance: practitioner competences and qualification routes in Europe' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 95.530] over 10 years ago. The current papers consist of diverse authored contributions from independent CareersNet guidance experts and contributors to Cedefop's 2020 CareersNet meeting. Changing career guidance delivery and career learning contexts, responding to widespread labour market changes and digital transformation of services, lead to new challenges, developments, and opportunities. Papers focus on the broad theme of professionalising the career guidance workforce and the particular competences fit for the digital and wider societal context. Not all authors place direct focus on technology-related themes. Attention is also paid to developments prior to, surrounding, or triggered by, the [COVID-19] pandemic crisis. Theoretical/conceptual and overview papers are included, while several present illustrations of standards in national/regional guidance systems or particular training or service developments.

Published abstract.

The papers are as follows: Introduction / Cynthia M. Harrison; Identifying standards for career professionalism / Raimo Vuorinen, Jaana Kettunen, Ernesto Villalba-Garcia, Cynthia Harrison; Professionalising career guidance in Greece: current and future challenges / Fotini Vlachaki; The relevance of the Estonian occupational qualification sub-framework in the field of career guidance / Margit Rammo; Digital badges for career practitioner skills validation in Italy / Giulio Iannis; Active support for the unemployed: implications of digitalisation for professionalism in career guidance / Susanne Kraatz; Career chat: the art of AI and the human interface in career development / Fusun Akkok and Deirdre Hughes; Labour market management skills among career practitioners: tackling increasing complexity / Tibor Bors Borbely-Pecze; A context-resonant quality framework for continuous career guidance professionalisation: the case of Norway / Erik Hagaseth Haug; Social and emotional skills in career guidance: a Romanian school counsellor guide / Angela Andrei; An international dimension for improved capacity building of guidance professionals / Nina Ahlroos, Graziana Boscato, Margit Rammo; Strategic competence and the transformative role of ICT in lifelong guidance / Raimo Vuorinen and Jaana Kettunen; Enhancing practitioners' skills to work in the digital context / Jaana Kettunen; Career practice education and training in Portugal: challenges during the pandemic / Helia Moura, Maria do Ceu Taveira and Sofia Marques Ramalho; Career guidance in the digital context: trends in Germany / Susanne Kraatz, Matthias Rubner and Peter Weber. Show less

The European Commission's White Paper 'Growth, competitiveness and employment', released in 1994, refers to the use of a system of 'training credits' which would provide young people with training vouchers to be spent throughout their working lives to gain new knowledge and update their existing skills. This report is the result of a pilot study to assess the use of vouchers to fund different types of training within the European Union (EU). The focus is on post-compulsory secondary level education (initial and continuing training both work and non-work related) rather than compulsory or higher education. The report discusses issues related to the use of vouchers and similar mechanisms to fund or partially fund individual participation in vocational education and training (VET). Show less

This publication presents findings from about 100 study visits in 2008/09 related to improving quality and efficiency, one of the strategic priorities of European cooperation in education and training, and specifically, its important components: acquisition of key competences, challenges to teachers and trainers and new approaches to leadership and management. Group reports prepared by participants during study visits were the main source of information for this publication. They are a rich source of information about practices in education and training in participating countries. This selection represents only a small sample of initiatives identified and presented during visits and also at Cedefop's seminar on 1 and 2 February 2010 in Thessaloniki, Greece. This publication is aimed at building bridges between educational and [vocational education and training] VET institutions and developing interesting cooperation projects.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

'Skillset and match' is Cedefop's magazine promoting learning for work. The articles in this issue are: Researchers must meet practitioners (and vice-versa) / editorial by James Callja; Erasmus @30: new opportunities for VET learners / interview with Martine Reicherts by Rosy Voudouri and Sofia-Maria Giannouli; VET prospects for a gender-inclusive labour market / Sofia-Maria Giannouli; Training for skills - just like in football!; Vocational training for the long-term unemployed; Time for people to take control of their skills! / Rosy Voudouri; 13 national initiatives for the long-term unemployed / Gary Horsley; Opening up VET: Estonia's efforts to attract learners / REFERNET Estonia; How to stop early leavers / Gary Horsley. Show less

In 1997, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) began a project to produce financing portraits of the vocational education and training (VET) systems within the individual Member States of the European Union (EU). This report focuses on Ireland and provides a qualitative description of the movement of funding through VET structures, identifying funding sources and allocation mechanisms. This information is combined with quantitative data on expenditure for different training types, particularly initial vocational training, continuing vocational training and training for the unemployed. As there is no legal definition of vocational training in Ireland, for the purposes of this report, all programs with a vocational emphasis undertaken after compulsory schooling have been included within the scope of vocational training. The authors also stress that the data provided in the report is not comprehensive for all VET funding in Ireland due to the lack of a comprehensive, reliable source. However, the information presented for initial training and training for the unemployed is representative of the majority of these types of training as nearly all of it receives public funding. Show less