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The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) was established in 1975 and provides information on vocational education and training (VET), promotes and interprets research and identifies innovation, supports the specific needs of Cedefop's partners and provides forums for debate and links between policy makers, social partners, researchers and practitioners. The work program for 2001 provides a coherent approach to VET within its medium-term priorities for 2000-2003. In 2001 Cedefop will undertake an external assessment of its performance and impact and take into account the outcomes. Cedefop's activities in 2001 will continue within the four themes of: (i) promoting competences and lifelong learning; (ii) facilitating new ways of learning for a changing society; (iii) supporting employment and competitiveness; and (iv) improving European understanding and transparency. Show less

Validation of non-formal and informal learning is defined as 'a process of confirmation by an authorised body that an individual has acquired learning outcomes measured against a relevant standard'. It aims to make non-formal and informal learning visible socially, in the labour market and in the education and training system, based on the identification, documentation, assessment and certification of such learning. Validation has the potential to contribute to achieving the goals set by the Europe 2020 strategy, as it can contribute to matching skills supply and demand, supporting mobility across sectors and countries and fighting social exclusion. The European inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning is a regularly updated overview of validation practices and arrangements across Europe. It is compiled in cooperation with the European Commission and ETF. The inventory was endorsed by the Council recommendation of 2012 on validation and works together with the European guidelines as a tool to support countries in developing and implementing validation arrangements.

The inventory informs dialogue and learning between countries and stakeholders developing and implementing validation in Europe. Our key objective is to support Member States so that more learners and workers can acquire and make visible new skills, which will support their career and further learning and improve their quality of life. The 2018 update of the inventory is a unique record of how validation is being used nationally, regionally and locally across Europe. It contains the state of play and an overview of developments for 39 countries, illustrated by good practice examples. You will also find thematic reports on key issues in designing and implementing validation initiatives, plus three international case studies. The inventory is the result of a three-year process based on the work of a large network of national experts, extensive review of documents, and interviews with key stakeholders.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website.

The 39 country reports are: Austria / Karin Luomi-Messerer; Belgium-Flanders / Katleen De Rick; Belgium-French / Milica Popovic; Bulgaria / Mariya Dzhengozova; Croatia / Marija Pavkov; Cyprus / Anna Manoudi; Czech Republic / Milada Stalker; Denmark / Bokil Husted; Estonia / Marin Johnson; Finland / Anni Karttunen; France / Cecile Mathou; Germany / Claudia Ball; Greece / Anna Manoudi; Hungary / Eva Tot; Iceland / Fjola Maria Larusdottir; Ireland / Ilona Murphy; Italy / Elisabetta Perulli; Kosovo / Teuta Danuza; Latvia / Diana Ieleja; Liechtenstein /Jaana Puukka; Lithuania / Giedre Beleckiene; Luxembourg / Claire Duchemin; Malta / Suzanne Gatt; Montenegro / Slavica Dimovska; Netherlands / Ruud Duvekot; North Macedonia / Ognen Spasovski; Norway / Odd Bjorn Ure; Poland / Aleksandra Duda; Portugal / Paula Guimaraes; Romania / Magdalena Balica; Slovakia / Juraj Vantuch; Slovenia / Marija Pavkov; Spain / Patricia Vale; Sweden / Soren Kristensen; Switzerland / Deli Salini, Saskia Weber Guisan and Evelyn Tsandev; Turkey / Fusun Akkok; UK - England and Northern Ireland / Michael Richardson; UK - Scotland / David Scott; UK - Wales / David Scott.

The five thematic reports are: Bridging the gap: validation creation routes and links between sectors / Jo Hawley-Woodall; How digital forms of assessment and self-assessment might place a new challenge and opportunity for assessment methodologies / Karin Luomi-Messerer; How social partners and other labour marketrelated stakeholders are involved in validation arrangements / Mariya Dzhengova; Validation of non-formal and informal learning for migrants and refugees / Ilona Murphy; The role of validation in an upskilling pathway for young people not in education and training (NEETS), adults with low skills and long-term unemployed people / Gabor Endrodi.

The three case studies are: Canada-Nova Scotia / Cecile Mathou; Chile-Chilevalora / Gabor Endrodi; Hong Kong / Ruud Devekot. Show less

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) delivers information on vocational education and training, promotes and interprets research and identifies innovation, supports the specific needs of Cedefop's partners and provides forums for debate and links between policy makers, social partners, researchers and practitioners. Cedefop's activities in 2000 take forward four major themes in its medium-term priorities for the period 2000-2003: promoting competencies and lifelong learning; facilitating new ways of learning for a changing society; supporting employment and competitiveness and improving European understanding and transparency. Show less

This document offers a thematic overview of vocational education and training (VET) in France. It is presented in 11 sections: (1) General policy context: framework for the knowledge society; (2) Policy development: objectives, frameworks, mechanisms, priorities; (3) Institutional framework: provision of learning opportunities; (4) Initial VET; (5) Continuing VET for adults; (6) Training VET teachers and trainers; (7) Skills and competence development and innovative pedagogy; (8) Accumulating, transferring and validating learning; (9) Guidance and counselling for learning, career and employment; (10) Financing: investment in human resources; and (11) European and international dimensions: towards an open area of lifelong learning. It looks at strategies related to VET policy priorities, programs and initiatives both nationally and at European Union (EU) level, and discusses how France can contribute to the building of a European open area of lifelong education and training and to the implementation of the program of work for monitoring the objectives of education and training systems in Europe, including enhanced cooperation in the area of vocational training, and developing the mobility of pupils, students teachers and researchers. It describes a variety of initiatives that have been set up with the goal of improving the transparency of the qualification systems implemented in France. Other key themes are: the recognition of non-formal and informal training, which develops and expands the arrangements in place for awarding diplomas covering the validation of professional experience; the strengthening of links with the world of work and enhancing the quality of professional teaching; and ensuring everyone has access to information and communication technology (ICT). Show less

This report is based on a small research project conducted on behalf of the European Commission and Cedefop. The project’s objective was to undertake a series of case studies and a summary study of the development of e-learning in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in different countries. SMEs play a central role in the European Union, accounting for over 99% of all businesses, but have unfortunately been very slow in adapting to e-learning practices. Various factors - such as globalisation, the flood of information and communications technologies (ICTs), and the building of Europe’s lifelong learning culture - all demand an updating of the SME workforce’s skills and competences. This report seeks to identify good practices in the development and implementation of models for the use of e-learning, and discuss issues associated with them. The results indicate that there is: a missing training culture in SMEs; an ‘e-learning divide’ between white and blue-collar workers; poor content; linguistic issues; costs; and missing support structures. Suggestions made in regard to supporting the development and use of e-learning in SMEs include: possible changes in work organisation; the use of e-learning to support informal learning; development of effective pedagogies and strategies for e-learning in SMEs; and the important role of regions, networks and partnerships. Show less

This was the first European electronic training village, a site dedicated to bringing experts in all the aspects of the field of vocational training together to share the latest information and to generate synergistic problem-solving.

The site contained links to a newsagent (latest news), library (download and read free publications, access to the European Research Directory, the terminological database and the CEDEFOP institutional database, use the search engine to find information on a particular topic), listserv row (join a discussion group), speakers' corner (voice your opinions and read the opinions of others), community centre (who's who and contact details), software house (the necessary software for participating in village activities), the pub (chats are regularly scheduled), conference centre (register and attend a virtual conference), CEDEFOP factory (latest projects and research) and training organisations (links to international, European and national training bodies). Show less

The three volumes of the second report on vocational education and training (VET) research in Europe provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on key VET issues, building upon the first report, published in 1998. The articles cover six main fields: (1) VET systems, coordination with the labour market and steering; (2) lifelong learning and competences: challenges to reforms; (3) training and employment in a company perspective; (4) employment, economic performance and skill mismatch; (5) individual performance, transition to active life and social exclusion; (6) VET research activities outside the European Union. Volume one, covering the first two fields, contains the following articles: Steering, networking, and profiles of professionals in vocational education and training (VET) / Lorenz Lassnigg; Financing vocational education and training / Andy Green, Ann Hodgson, Akiko Sakamoto, Ken Spours; How to improve the standing of vocational compared to general education: a collaborative investigation of strategies and qualifications across Europe / Johanna Lasonen, Sabine Manning; Certification and legibility of competence / Annie Bouder, Laurence Coutrot, Edith Kirsch, Jean-Louis Kirsch, Josiane Paddeu, Alain Savoyant, Emmanuel Sulzer; The changing institutional and political role of non-formal learning: European trends / Jens Bjornavold; The problems raised by the changing role of trainers in a European context / Mara Brugia, Anne de Blignieres; Lifelong learning - how the paradigm has changed in the 1990s / Martina Ni Cheallaigh; Training for new jobs: contents and pilot projects / Jeroen Onstenk; Vocational training and innovative practices in the environmental sector: a comparison of five EU Member States, with specimen cases / Roland Loos; Company-based learning in the context of new forms of learning and differentiated training paths / Peter Dehnbostel, Gisela Dybowski.

Volumes two and three are indexed at TD/TNC 66.508 and TD/TNC 66.509; the executive summary is indexed at TD/TNC 67.408.

The first background report, published in two volumes, is indexed at TD/IRD 88.38 and TD/INT 58.286. Show less

The development of nanotechnology is often considered as a fundamental revolution in technology and compared with the discovery of antibiotics, television or computer technologies. Nanotechnology is expected to generate great opportunities not only for science and research but also for manufacturing and potentially for the every-day life of people. Which skills and qualifications will be in demand in the future? This publication reviews recent developments and trends in different fields of nanotechnology and their related skill needs. The study was also presented as a keynote contribution to the international workshop ‘Emerging technologies: new skill needs in the field of nanotechnology’ in Stuttgart, Germany in July 2005. Research results from Europe and other industrialised countries such as Japan and the United States provide estimates and forecasts of the scientific and technological developments in nanotechnology. These are assessed to analyse future demand for skills on the labour market. Particularly, the analysis reviews research into demands for basic and new skills, and occupations emerging in nanotechnology. Finally, it proposes measures to implement Europewide innovative qualifications and training in this technology. The publication also provides an inventory of major institutions involved in the analysis of the future skill and qualification needs in nanotechnology

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

The widespread introduction of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has had a significant impact on the skills required in the workplace. As a consequence, there is a need to train people to work directly with new technologies and also to adjust to the accompanying changes in working life. This report presents a critical review of recent and emerging research on the need for competences in response to the introduction of ICTs. Its aim is to inform the development of policies for vocational education and training (VET), particularly within the context of the European employment strategy. The report emphasises the need for VET programs to equip individuals with the wide range of skills needed to work in environments where ICT has been introduced. The authors explore a range of important issues that are relevant to the debate on competence needs. They examine the knowledge-based economy, new organisational forms in which ICT has transformed work, for example telework, distributed workplaces, ‘virtual’ organisations, and informatisation, or the ability of new technology to create work-related information while the work is being performed. They discuss the challenges associated with identifying skill shortages, education and training needs, and addressing the segmentation of the labour market in sectors that make use of ICT. In conclusion, the role of ICTs in the learning organisation is explored and it is suggested that VET strategies should address the entire range of learning needs created by these innovative organisations. Show less

This publication, which continues the debate in ‘Early identification of skill needs in Europe’ (indexed at TD/TNC 73.448), is based on the proceedings of the international conference ‘Early Identification of skill needs’. It highlights some challenges and solutions for early identification of skill needs and provides examples of good practice in identifying, anticipating and monitoring changing and emerging skill needs at national, sectoral and regional levels, and for specific target groups. The publication is presented in six main parts. ‘Part I - Welcome and opening of the international conference ‘Early identification of skill needs in Europe’‘ contains presentations by: Johan van Rens, Cedefop Director; Ioanna Panopoulou, Secretary General, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Greece; Sergio Corti, European Commission, DG for Education and Culture; Christoph Ehrenberg, Director general Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany; and Heikki Suomalainen, Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE). ‘Part II - Activities in early identification of skill needs in Europe, policy relevance and future needs’ contains: Linking research, policy and practice / George Psacharopoulos; The FreQueNz initiative - a national network for early identification of skill and qualification needs / Susanne Liane Schmidt, Gudrun Steeger; The need for early identification of future skill requirements in the European Union / Christoph Hilbert, Klaus Schomann. ‘Part III - Good practice and different practice: examples of approaches and transfer to policy and practice’ contains: Making the future: dealing with uncertainty in developing and delivering vocational education and training / Loek F.M. Nieuwenhuis; Skill shortages enquiry by a combined method / Olga Strietska-Ilina; Making qualifications fit for the future / Mike Coles; A network for identifying skill needs in Italy / Mario Gatti; Identifying interactions between global and local developments: the Observatory for the detection of skill and training needs in the Barcelona region / Jordi Planas; Transfer of pilot initiatives into policy and strategic implementation: perspectives from transition countries / David Parkes; Good practice and different practice: examples of approaches and transfer to policy and practice: summary and conclusions / Eleonora Waltraud Schmid. ‘Part IV - Early identification of skill needs in selected sectors in Europe’ contains: Changing occupations: early identification of skill developments in the tourism sector / Lothar Abicht, Henriette Freikamp; How the service sector is moving from standardisation to increasing complexity: an example from the hotel industry / Sibylle Hermann; Designing a methodology for the identification of skill needs in Greece / Olympia Kaminioti; Are infant industries evolving?: selected trends in the motor vehicle sector / Norbert Bromberger, Friedrich Hubert Esser; Early identification of skill needs in selected sectors: summary and conclusions / Ralf Mytzek. ‘Part V - Identification of transversal competences and qualifications’ contains: Identifying and measuring ICT occupational and skill needs in Europe / Veli-Pekka Niitamo; Skill and qualification needs at a time of structural change: the example of the IT sector in Germany / Peter Bott; New challenges for the ‘at risk’ group in the labour market / Hilary Steedman; New challenges for low-skilled people: theoretical framework / Teresa Oliveira; Linking quantitative and qualitative prospects for ‘low-skilled’ jobs / Gery Coomans; Identification of transversal competences and qualifications: summary and conclusions / Tiina Annus. ‘Part VI - Early identification of skill needs in Europe: conclusions and perspectives’ contains: The need for, and shaping of, a European network of activities on early identification of skill needs / Ulrich Mittag; Synthesis of responses to the questionnaire on setting up an early identification of skill needs network / Ginette Manderscheid; Early identification of skill needs: European activities and perspectives / Manfred Tessaring.

Selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 84.402 to TD/TNC 84.421. Show less