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This study examines the added value of microcredentials for end users. Current knowledge gaps in the perceived exchange value of microcredentials within the labour market raise the question of whether they can be sufficiently trusted by those acquiring them to become building blocks for lifelong learning, employment, improving professional status, and inclusiveness in education and training. Study results show that trust, which shapes potential engagement, is underpinned by socioeconomic factors and an individual's learning-work trajectory. Due to the different configurations of [vocational education and training] VET systems and how they are governed, extensive debate continues about the measures needed to support different groups of microcredential end users in varying labour market contexts.

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The need for lifelong learning is leading to rising demand for training opportunities. This will involve a transformation of the learning environment within companies, but also the provision of training outside the job itself. For adult employees, some of the most important barriers to training are lack of time, and conflicting training and work schedules. Paid training leave can therefore encourage more adults to add to and upgrade their skills. In times of economic crisis, paid leave can also be combined with part-time work to alleviate the effects of decreased demand. With this study, Cedefop maps the application of training leave in Europe, reviews how it operates, analyses its performance in several countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain), and sets out recommendations as to how to improve its effectiveness.

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In recent years the spread and dynamic of information and communications technologies (ICT) across Europe have been steadily increasing. Today the high importance of ICT for the EU [European Union] economy and business, services, domestic and leisure activities is obvious. ICT developments have created an 'information society' with consequential new possibilities and challenges in all areas of work and life. This is especially true of ICT work itself. ICT practitioners - skilled and highly skilled ICT staff - are needed to manage business and work processes in both the core ICT sector and in ICT user industries. To understand, produce and use the new information and communications technology (computers, networks, the Internet, new hard- and software applications, e-commerce, fixed and mobile telecommunications, consumer electronic devices, digital cameras and television, etc.) increasingly demands a wide range of ICT competences and skills. This synthesis report is part of the four studies which Cedefop launched in support of the e-Europe programme and e-skills forum set up by the European Commission in 2003, covering three user industries (automotive, banking and financing, media and graphic arts) and the ICT manufacturing industry. The focus of the last of these is on subdegree level skills and training issues. The report complements the findings of the four studies, focusing on innovative European ICT skills and curriculum solutions that address balance, mismatch and skill gaps. The contents are: Executive summary; Introduction; ICT skills needs: analysis and synthesis of demand and supply; Skills needs in a comprehensive European ICT skills framework: Matching the skills framework to ICT qualifications; Guidelines and recommendations for ICT curriculum development; Implementation issues and recommendations; Bibliography; Annex 1: Cedefop/ICT skills workshop participants; Annex 2: Comparison and transfer of skill and qualification level frameworks.

Published abstract with annotations and additions reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

Reports from the four studies are indexed from TD/TNC 82.193 to TD/TNC 82.197. Show less

1996 was the European year of lifelong learning bringing about greater awareness of and promotion of lifelong learning for all. In 2000, CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training)launched studies on the extent to which vocational education and training (VET) policies and actions nurture lifelong learning in four countries: Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. This report provides a description of the main principles of lifelong learning in Finland, detailing the arrangements to support lifelong learning, the participants, the pedagogical solutions and the learning environments. The analysis is based on data comprising documents, statistics and previous studies and evaluation reports about lifelong learning. Show less

Unlike many other [European Union] EU Member States, unemployment in Malta is not a major labour market problem. Its dynamic economy developed fast and withstood the crisis well. New sectors are emerging and employment has been growing. In a context of low educational attainment, high early leaving and an ageing population, this has led to skills shortages in several key sectors of the economy. This first short description on [vocational education and training] VET in Malta aims to contribute to better understanding of the system and recent developments. It analyses trends, contextualises policy responses and highlights areas of recent progress. The report paints a picture of an expanding and dynamically renewing VET system shaped by reforms that have been at the heart of Malta's response to social and economic challenges.

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Vocational education and training (VET) is crucial to Europe's efforts to reposition itself in the global economy and respond to the social challenges posed by ageing societies. To provide the knowledge and skills base for Europe to prosper, European ministers, the European Commission and European social partners agreed a policy agenda for VET in the Copenhagen process in 2002. The Copenhagen process was reviewed at informal biennial ministerial meetings in Maastricht (2004), Helsinki (2006) and Bordeaux (2008). The Agora conference, 'Continuity, consolidation and change: towards a European era of vocational education and training', held in Thessaloniki on 16-17 March 2009, discusses the results of Cedefop's third review of progress (report indexed at TD/TNC 95.531) in the Copenhagen process, focusing on the period from 2006 to 2008. This document summarises the main outcomes of the analysis, which were presented at the informal ministerial meeting held in Bordeaux in November 2008. Cedefop's analysis and countries' self-assessment show a closer alignment of national priorities and the European agenda in 2008. Although progress varies, a European VET area is emerging. Show less

Payback clauses are a legal instrument that may encourage companies to invest in training by allowing them to bind employees for a certain period of time after training in return for providing the training. In fact, employees are free to move to another company but may be requested to reimburse the cost of the training, or part of the cost. This Cedefop report provides an overview of whether payback clauses for employer-financed training are regulated in 33 European countries, and if so how they are regulated. In-depth analysis is carried out for eight selected countries: Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK. The report is largely based on information collected in surveys of key national stakeholders - representatives of ministries, employers' organisations and trade unions - and from company cases. The analysis of legal framework covers aspects such as: the level of regulation (national law, collective/sectoral level agreements and individual/company level agreements) and the conditions laid down in law (contractual retention period, types of training and categories of employees/contracts that payback clauses may apply to, costs to be reimbursed by employees, redemption form, etc.). The results of research show that there is relatively little information on the practical use of payback clauses: their implementation (the extent to which the payback clauses are actually included in employment contracts and training agreements) and enforceability (when reimbursement of training costs was indeed requested by employer). On the basis of information collected, the strengths and weaknesses of the instrument are discussed. Finally, recommendations for policy, research and practice are formulated.

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This reference publication maps and analyses the shift to learning outcomes in education and training policies and practices across Europe. Cedefop provides two interrelated definitions of the concept of 'learning outcomes': (1) statements of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process, which are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence; and (2) sets of knowledge, skills and/or competences an individual has acquired and/or is able to demonstrate after completion of a learning process, either formal, non-formal or informal. The relationship between these two definitions can be understood as the relationship, or feedback-loop, between intended and actually achieved learning outcomes. Bringing together evidence on the development of national policies from 33 countries, the study examines progress made in recent years (2009 onwards) and attempts to capture the character of political reform at national, institution and local levels. Ten case studies in nine countries produce new empirical evidence on the presence of learning outcomes approaches in the design and delivery of programmes and curricula for teacher education programmes.

Based on extensive literature review, interviews conducted with various stakeholders in curriculum policy-making and practice, focus groups and on-site visits, findings show how learning outcomes approaches increasingly feature as catalysts for policy and practical reform, influencing education and training practice. This publication also reveals the diversity of uses of the learning outcomes approaches being applied and highlights the complexity of implementing learning-outcomes-centred policies and developing appropriate strategies at both systemic and sub-systemic levels.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Level descriptors are essential elements of national qualifications frameworks (NQF) established and implemented across Europe. They define what is meant by learning outcomes, describing what an individual is expected to know, be able to do and understand, having acquired a qualification at a particular level. This publication provides an updated overview of NQF level descriptors of 39 countries participating in [European Qualifications Framework] EQF implementation [an overview published in 2013 is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 114.77]. It shows that all 39 countries taking part have now defined - and for a large part adopted - their levels of learning outcomes. The analysis illustrates the influence of the EQF on national level descriptors, and demonstrates how countries have adjusted and further developed the learning outcomes approach according to national needs and priorities. National level descriptors have mostly been developed through extensive dialogue between different stakeholders. This report celebrates the 10th anniversary of the EQF in 2018 and its further implementation, as anchored in the revised EQF recommendation (2017).

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This booklet focuses on some of the main aspects of vocational education and training (VET) in Cyprus. It provides an outline of the structure and characteristics of the training system and the challenges it faces. The booklet includes a chart of the Cypriot education system and some education and training figures. Show less