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The European Training Foundation (ETF) has supported human resources development in countries in North Africa, the Near East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia for over a decade. In December 2008, the European Parliament approved the broadening of the ETF’s mandate to human capital development in the context of lifelong learning. Three new European support instruments provide the framework for ETF activity: (1) the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA); (2) the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI); and (3) the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI). In this publication, the key activities of the ETF are grouped around six key themes included in the new mandate. These are: (1) providing information, advice and policy analysis; (2) supporting stakeholders; (3) exchanging information and experience among donors; (4) supporting European Union (EU) assistance; (5) networking and exchange of experience; and (6) analysing the overall effectiveness of training assistance. These themes are illustrated with a profile of a person whose professional life has been affected by the work of the ETF. Show less

One of the major challenges confronting the Mediterranean region is the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010, in the context of the Barcelona process. The successful implementation of the free trade area will rely on building the competitiveness of the productive sector and increasing the employability of the labour force. Education and training are important components of the overall economic and social development process. This paper analyses the vocational education and training (VET) systems and their link with labour markets in the different countries of the region. The first section examines the educational and training systems in the region, the level of human capital and the significant educational expansion achieved by governments in the region over the last 40 years. Common challenges related to the quality of educational systems are discussed. In the second section, the structure of labour markets in the region are examined. The main features of the labour markets are described and challenges surrounding the efficient allocation of human resources are emphasised. The author attempts to identify the commonalities of the education and employment systems in the region and focus on the most relevant features of the education and training systems and labour markets in terms of their implications on migration trends. Show less

This regional report draws together and analyses research findings from a study commissioned by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in seven countries in the Western Balkan region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The overall objectives of this study were as follows: to identify and map issues, challenges and opportunities in teacher preparation for inclusive education in the Western Balkans and to analyse these against relevant European and international trends; and to provide evidence for improving policies and practices in pre-service and in-service teacher development for inclusive education in the Western Balkans. Inclusive education is broadly conceptualised in this study as the process by which a school attempts to respond to all pupils as individuals by reconsidering and restructuring curricular organisation and provision and by allocating resources to enhance equality of opportunity. This process enables schools to increase their capacity to accept all the pupils from the local community who wish to attend and, in so doing, reduces all forms of exclusion and degradation of students on the basis of disability, ethnicity or anything that could render the school life of some children unnecessarily difficult.

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This study is part of European Training Foundation (ETF) research on pathways for improving access to work/employment for young unemployed and the first time job seekers. Youth unemployment has turned out to be a challenge to policy makers as it persists in being higher than average. This is particularly notable in ex-transition countries and is also the case in Croatia. This study will try to identify the main impediments to access for youth to the labour market in Croatia in order to better design policy measures and seek new pathways to sustainable and good jobs on the labour market. The methodology used is desk research including use of Labour Force Survey microdata base and other establishment survey and educational data. The main aim is to look at labour market outcomes of different educational streams and the rate of drop-out from the educational system. Interviews with different stakeholders have also been carried out in order to find out which particular barriers are regarded as the most important in youth access to the labour market.

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This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF). It covers: Socioeconomic background; Key policy issues and strategies in human resource development; EU (European Union) and other donor policies and interventions; Mid-term perspective ETF intervention strategies contributing to added value in national, EU and donor reform-support policies; The qualifications system and labour market intelligence; Social dialogue on VET (vocational education and training); Work Programme 2007: objectives and indicators. The ETF objectives for Georgia 2007 are: To support implementation of EU policies and interventions and to strengthen national capacities for VET reform particularly in the area of national qualifications.

In 2006, VET legislation was drafted, whose text was under discussion by the parliament in early 2007. The draft law suggests how the VET system will receive an impulse from approval of the new legislation. There are references to the continuity of VET with other branches of education, with different levels of qualifications and with formal and informal learning. There appears to be a clear intention to promote the role and place of the VET system in the world of work and in society. The draft law encourages openness and provides for the participation of other actors in VET governance (e.g., employers, unions, professional associations, regional entities and families). The draft law envisages the establishment of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF), alignment with European standards, and the concept of guidance. At the same time it has to be noted that explicit public-private partnerships should be considered as a necessary pre-condition for a functioning NQF and effective standards. The establishment of an NQF needs to include the concept of different modalities of learning in both formal and informal settings. Despite the recent policy developments acknowledging the role of lifelong and adult learning in education reform, further steps are required, such as: the development of a regulatory framework, the enabling of conditions for the development and supply of adult learning options, the development of mechanisms for the recognition and validation of prior learning and the outcomes of non-formal learning, the provision of lifelong information and guidance, the development of quality assurance systems, improved linkages with the education system at various levels, and the development of learning methods and financing.

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The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 90.820 to TD/TNC 90.844. Show less

This report belongs to a series of country analyses developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF) at the end of 2005 for all countries in the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It contains an overview of the country's social and economical contexts, an analysis of the educational system and a short review of the main initiatives in education and training carried out by international donors in the country. The main challenges for human resource development (HRD) in Syria are to increase the relevance and openness of the education and training system to its environment, and to improve its quality, in particular with regard to private employment standards. Various levers for action should contribute to improvements in both respects.

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The series of reports is indexed from TD/TNC 84.362 to TD/TNC 84.375. Show less

This report is one of a series of country reports and factsheets which the European Training Foundation (ETF) is currently producing on the reform process in each of the partner countries. The ETF intends to produce these documents on an annual basis. The intention is to provide accurate, up to date information on the progress of reform. The sections of the report are: basic data, recent developments in the vocational education and training system, international assistance and co-operation, challenges and further needs, and possible priorities for future assistance. Show less

In January 2002, the Kosovo Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare established a working group of key adult training providers and Ministry officials, to review existing practice and identify options for assessment and certification of training provided by the centres within the Ministry's vocational training services. The Group undertook three major activities: information collection about existing practices within the adult training network; the development of viable proposals; and the implementation of a pilot project to determine how certification could be established by way of interim certification institutions. This paper outlines the issues raised in the discussions which focused on the following key concerns: who should be assessed; why assessment should occur; who should undertake the assessments; what should be assessed; when should assessment be carried out; and how should it be undertaken. The main recommendations of the workshop were: (a) that a central policy framework for assessment and certification be established with interim supporting institutions which could eventually become permanent structures; (b) that policy and operational guidelines for assessment and certification of vocational training for trainees, instructors, vocational training courses, and training providers be elaborated; and (c) that a more global skills certification and qualifications structure be developed for Kosovo, possibly based on experiences of the pilot adult training services. Show less

This is the second volume in the European Training Foundation (ETF) 'Qualifications and training methods' series. The first volume (indexed at TD/INT 56.22) provided a guide to the design and implementation of vocational education and training (VET) standards for policy makers in Central and Eastern Europe as they faced the challenge of undertaking fundamental reform in their systems of initial and continuing vocational training. This second volume continues on from the first and is based on studies undertaken and commissioned by the ETF since the publication of the first volume. This volume has three goals. The first is to specify key terms in the international dialogue on standards development with a focus on such terms as qualification standards, competence, curriculum, modularisation and modules. The second goal is to report on current experience in developing vocational standards in Central and Eastern Europe and to suggest strategies to assist in solving the problems experienced. Thirdly, the manual invites four Member States of the EU; France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, to describe the processes by which they define, develop, implement and evaluate VET standards. These descriptions provide variations of the three fundamental models outlined in the first volume, i.e. the outcome based model, the occupation model and the modular model. A reference list and an appendix containing definitions of terms are included. Show less

This is one in a series of analytical reports that have been based on discussions and debates among the key actors within the Advisory Forum. Subgroup B was given training and retraining in regions as the theme for discussion and debate. Three principles were used to produce operational outputs. The principles were that: (1) it was accepted that regional level was opportune for running training and retaining programs within the framework of national orientations; (2) it rejected any model taken from an existing national situation but considered the regional approach of training and retraining as a long-term process; and (3) it gave no precise blueprint but rather general conditions for a successful management of training and retraining at the regional level. Two approaches are taken. Firstly, training and retraining are considered as a factor of regional development. Secondly, the region has to be regarded as an arena within which vocational education and training and the process of regionialising training and retraining systems and policy can operate. Show less