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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 handbook has been produced to support practitioners and decision-makers, such as teachers, trainers and administrators, in their efforts to support the professional development and well-being of vocational education and training (VET) professionals and organisations. Existing descriptions of the competences of teaching professionals mainly encompass those working in general education. This handbook is an attempt to capture the fast-evolving and complex activities and competences required of those working within VET. The handbook and its competence frameworks hope to contribute to a wider understanding of the roles and responsibilities of VET professionals in the development of vocational education and training. The handbook also points to areas where the VET professionals need to be supported, either through pre-service or in-service training. The handbook has been edited and printed by the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE). It reflects the views of the TTnet [Teachers and Trainers network] national networks.

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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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This first issue of Cedefop's semi-annual thematic bibliography includes references to monographs, chapters, journal articles, legal texts, Internet sites and CD-ROMs dealing with lifelong learning at European, international and Member State levels. The bibliography is organised into two main sections: (1) under headings currently of particular interest, e.g. lifelong learning as seen by international organisations, EU policy, employability, partnerships, and themes in line with the main keywords of the European Commission 'Memorandum on lifelong learning' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/IRD 88.400] including basic skills, financing innovation, accrediting and valuing learning, guidance, and access close to the learner; and (2) by the situation in Member States and the candidate countries and at international level. Data are provided by partner institutions from Cedefop's documentary network in each of the European Union (EU) Member states, Norway and Iceland and by Cedefop's librarians who add material from the EU and international organisations. Show less

This web page contains a regularly updated set of national monographs about individual countries' education and training systems. Descriptions relating to individual countries include basic information on the administration and structure of their systems of education and initial vocational training at all levels (from preprimary to tertiary). Also included are descriptions of initial vocational education and training in alternance and adult education and training within provision for lifelong learning. The initial and inservice training of teachers and their status are also considered. The information is set out in accordance with a common structure to facilitate inter-country comparisons while ensuring that special features peculiar to each system are duly emphasised. The description for each country is preceded by a diagram of its education system. The countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Show less

This publication results from proceedings of the Agora conference ‘Skills for Europe’s future’ organised by Cedefop in February 2008. It contains the contributions of the Agora conference, the summary of the discussions in the working groups, and the conclusions of the conference. The volume consists of six main parts: the first part deals with progress in early identification of skill needs (contributors: Rob Wilson, Alena Zukersteinova); the second section locates skills in a wider context (contributors: Carlo Dell’Arringa, Ernest Berkhout, Riel Miller); the third part covers presentations and discussions of the working group ‘Forecasting skill needs at European Union (EU) level’ and provides detailed information on the medium-term forecast (contributors: Rob Wilson, Ilias Livanos, Ben Kriechel, Frank Corvers, Ben Gardiner); the fourth part comprises contributions and discussions of the working group ‘Skill needs in sectors’ (contributors: Henriette Freikamp, Uwe Schumann, Martin Mulder, Donald Storrie, Thom ter Stege, Bernd Dworschak); the fifth section deals with presentations and discussions of the working group ‘Skill needs in enterprises’ (contributors: Olga Strietska, Germana Di Domenico, Ronald van Bekkum and Britta Ludeke, Jean-Louis Zanda, Frederike Behringer, Mark Keese); and the sixth part outlines key policy challenges, the conclusions of the Agora conference, and the way forward (contributors: David White, Xavier Prats Monne, Matthew Highham, Jean-Francois Robinet, Petri Lempinen, Slava Pevec Grm, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Torsten Dunkel, Manfred Tessaring, Alena Zukersteinova).

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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.

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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