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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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The Joint Employment Report (JER) is a key input to EU economic governance, providing an annual overview of key employment and social developments in Europe as well as Member States' reform actions in line with the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States and Annual Growth Survey (AGS) priorities. Key indications are that: (1) the economic expansion, which now has reached all Member States, is accompanied by steady improvements in the labour market and social situation supported by the reform efforts made by Member States; (2) job creation has picked up and employment continues to expand at a firm pace; (3) the main labour market indicators have strengthened across the board; (4) while all Member States show improvements, very substantial differences can be observed; (5) underutilisation of the labour force is falling but remains sizeable even in countries where unemployment is low; (6) despite the improvements in the labour market, wage growth remains subdued in most countries; (7) several Member States have taken steps to enhance the predictability of the wage setting system, with the involvement of social partners; (8) in line with the labour market upturn there is a general improvement in the financial situation of households; (9) increasing labour market participation, employment rates, and productivity is an imperative in view of demographic change; (10) recent gains in employment have not been evenly distributed among different population groups; (11) while the employment rate of women reached another record high, they continue to be underrepresented in the labour market and face a significant pay differential; (12) in addition, more part-time work combined with shorter and more discontinuous careers often translates into lower pensions for women.

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Following the publication of ‘A memorandum of lifelong learning’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.400) in October 2000, the European Commission invited Member States to launch a consultation process to collect together all views on how best to make progress in implementing lifelong learning. Feedback from the Europe-wide consultation was then used to develop the analysis and proposals in the Communication on ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.264). National reports were submitted by each Member State as well as by candidate countries and Iceland and Norway. This document is the national report from the UK. It highlights the UK’s approach to lifelong learning against the six key messages of the Memorandum.

Documents from ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ are indexed from TD/TNC 77.521 to TD/TNC 77.539. Show less

This document explains how the [European Union] EU and its partners are improving vocational education and training (VET) to make them relevant to current and future labour markets. Work-based learning, access to VET, ongoing training for teachers and recognition of skills and qualifications are expected to help drive jobs and growth. The New Skills Agenda for Europe and the Riga Conclusions lay the foundations for this process. Progress in achieving the goals set out will be monitored by CEDEFOP and the [European Training Foundation] ETF.

The key deliverables outlined in the document are: (1) promote work-based learning in all its forms, with a special focus on apprenticeships, by involving social partners, companies, chambers and VET providers, and by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship; (2) further develop quality assurance mechanisms in VET in line with the [European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training] EQAVET Recommendation and, as part of quality assurance systems, establish continuous information and feedback loops in [initial] I-VET and [continuing] C-VET systems based on learning outcomes; (3) improve access to VET and qualifications for everyone through more flexible and open systems, notably by offering efficient and comprehensive guidance services and validating nonformal and informal learning; (4) provide an added boost to key competences in VET curricula and offer more effective opportunities to acquire or develop these skills through I-VET and C-VET; and (5) introduce systematic approaches to, and opportunities for, initial and continual professional development of VET teachers, trainers and mentors in both education and work-based settings.

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The comprehensive mid-term stocktaking of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) carried out in 2014, involving Member States and key stakeholders, and providing the basis for this report, led to three main policy conclusions: (1) The great value of an integrated framework covering education and training at all levels was confirmed. Today's need for flexibility and permeability between learning experiences requires policy coherence from early childhood education and schools through to higher education, vocational education and training and adult learning; (2) The ET 2020's four strategic objectives (and current European Union (EU) benchmarks) remain valid as they were formulated in a comprehensive and forward-looking manner in the ET 2020 Council conclusions of 2009, providing a solid basis for ET 2020 activities up to 2020. However, the policy focus needs to be re-calibrated to include both the pressing economic and employment challenges and the role of education in promoting equity and non-discrimination and in imparting fundamental values, intercultural competences and active citizenship; and (3) The role of ET 2020 as contributor to the overall EU agenda for jobs, growth and investment, including the European Semester, needs to be further deepened. This implies strengthening evidence building and mutual learning around reform challenges as well as increasing the country specific relevance of the framework.

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Following the publication of ‘A memorandum of lifelong learning’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.400) in October 2000, the European Commission invited Member States to launch a consultation process to collect together all views on how best to make progress in implementing lifelong learning. Feedback from the Europe-wide consultation was then used to develop the analysis and proposals in the Communication on ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ (indexed at TD/IRD 88.264). National reports were submitted by each Member State as well as by candidate countries and Iceland and Norway. This document is the national report from Sweden. The contents are: The Commission’s Memorandum and Consultation; General views; Management; Lifelong learning for all; Contexts for learning; Key message 1 - new basic skills for all; Key message 2 - more investment in human resources; Key message 3 - innovation in teaching and learning; Key message 4 - valuing learning; Key message 5 - rethinking study guidance and counselling; Key message 6 - bringing learning closer to home.

Documents from ‘Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality’ are indexed from TD/TNC 77.521 to TD/TNC 77.539. Show less

The Commission Communication on the draft 2012 Joint Report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) is accompanied by two Staff Working Documents (SWDs). While the other SWD examines the progress made in the implementation of ET2020 from a thematic, cross-country perspective, the present SWD examines the progress made at national level towards the ET 2020 objectives on a country-by-country basis.

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In 2009, the Council endorsed a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018), based on the Communication 'EU Youth Strategy: Investing and Empowering'. By reinforcing cooperation and sharing good practices, the renewed framework's two overall 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 2012 [European Union] EU youth report summarises the results of the first work cycle of the EU Youth Strategy (2010-2012) and establishes employment, social inclusion and health and well-being as new priorities in the youth field for the next three years. The report presents a comprehensive statistical analysis on the situation of young people in the EU under the eight fields of action of the EU Youth Strategy: education and training; employment entrepreneurship; social inclusion; health and wellbeing; participation; culture and creativity; voluntary activities; and youth and the world. It also summarises the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy at national and EU level 2010-2012 and presents comparative assessments and good practice examples from national reports submitted by all 27 EU Member States plus Croatia, Montenegro, Norway and Switzerland. In addition, it summarises action taken by young people themselves. The report also includes an assessment of the first cycles of the structured dialogue with young people.

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Based on an assessment of progress made in key policy areas in the last three years, this draft Joint Report proposes new working priorities for the period 2012-2014 geared to mobilise education and training to support Europe 2020. The draft Joint Report also sets out a number of options to adjust the governance of ET 2020 to ensure that it contributes to Europe 2020. The Communication is underpinned by two Staff Working Documents. They take stock of the situation in individual countries and key thematic areas and draw on National Reports provided by Member States as well as other information and data.

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Access to high quality adult learning contributes to employability, economic competitiveness, and social inclusion within Europe and its member states. However, statistics show that only a small proportion of adults participate in learning, with large variations between countries. The European Union (EU) average rate of participation in adult learning has been slowly decreasing since 2005. The European Agenda for Adult Learning, adopted in November 2011, is set to launch a joint program that makes adult learning a stronger link in the lifelong learning chain. The first challenge is to increase participation in adult learning and to make learners, providers, stakeholders and policy makers aware of the benefits of a high quality, easily accessible and equitable adult learning system. This guide is designed to help protagonists meet this challenge. It presents strategies to raise awareness of adult learning and explores how to make adult learning more popular and more accessible for target groups.

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