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The European Union (EU) hopes to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economic area in the world by 2010 and making lifelong learning a reality for all citizens is the guiding principle for meeting this goal. This booklet contains the initial highlights of the Eurobarometer survey, which directly asks citizens their opinion of lifelong learning, and includes a brief country profile of Greece, the EU Presidency country at the time of publication. Findings of the survey include: nine in 10 European citizens think lifelong learning is important, at least to some extent; the majority of citizens think they learn best in informal settings; and social and personal reasons for learning outweigh work-related motives. Policy implications of these findings are also discussed. The contents are: Creating one world of lifelong learning - an integrated approach for an inclusive society; Skills for a Europe of knowledge; Lifewide learning and the diversity of learning; Incentives, motivations and intentions; Citizens’ views on lifelong learning in Greece. 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

Cedefop aims to support the implementation of lifelong learning in an enlarged European Union and an international conference was held as part of Cedefop's special activities to emphasise this commitment. As part of the preparation for the conference, four thematic workshops were held by Cedefop to provide background information for conference workshops that will further develop the four themes. This is the report of the thematic workshop on workplace learning - reaching those with low skills and older workers. Practitioners, researchers and policy makers from government, the social partners and European and international organisations participated in the workshop. They examined selected examples of innovative and good practice in workplace learning with particular reference to those with low skills and older workers. The aim was to gain insights into effective strategies to raise the participation of these workers in workplace learning. The workshop consisted of presentations and discussions on three issues considered to be crucial in promoting the participation of these workers in workplace learning: (1) access, quality and relevance of workplace learning; (2) new types of partnerships between enterprises, the social partners and education and training providers; and (3) the growing role of the workplace as an arena for the promotion and recognition of learning.

The summary conference report is indexed at TD/TNC 77.629. Other workshop reports are indexed at TD/TNC 77.625, TD/TNC 77.628 and TD/TNC 77.630. Show less

Cedefop aims to support the implementation of lifelong learning in an enlarged European Union and an international conference was held as part of Cedefop’s special activities to emphasise this commitment. As part of the preparation for the conference, four thematic workshops were held by Cedefop to provide background information for conference workshops that will further develop the four themes. This is the report of the thematic workshop on adaptive hypermedia and its role in lifelong learning. Practitioners, researchers and policy makers from government, the social partners and European and international organisations participated in the workshop. Lifelong learning for all requires broad access to information and knowledge to encourage people to participate in learning throughout their lives along with high quality teaching and learning experiences. Adaptive hypermedia can support this, especially in raising the quality of learning processes and outcomes. The report provides an introduction to the terminology of adaptive educational hypermedia, an outline of current thinking and examples of ongoing research, including the challenges involved in successfully integrating technology with education and training practice.

The summary conference report is indexed at TD/TNC 77.629. Other workshop reports are indexed at TD/TNC 77.624, TD/TNC 77.625 and TD/TNC 77.628. 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

European goals related to 'lifelong learning' and the development of a 'knowledge-based society' can only be attained if the organisations in which people work are also organisations in which they learn. This means that work organisations must also become learning organisations. Thus, people are learning from their work - they are learning as they work. The aim is to build organisations that are continuously learning how to be more productive, while at the same time, individual members of these organisations are developing themselves through their work. This book, the second of a two-volume publication [volume I is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 74.115], is a reader comprising 15 papers, written by different experts, that present the work of a number of individual European projects. As well as exploring the meaning of the learning organisation, these papers present case studies and examine the role of human resource development and education and training actors in supporting learning organisations. Part one, 'The meaning of the learning organisation', contains: Developmental learning - a condition for organisational learning / Per-Erik Ellstrom; Challenges and open questions raised by the concept of the learning organisation / Martin Fisher; How organisations learn - a theory of learning and organisational development / Hans-Werner Franz; Competing perspectives on workplace learning and the learning organisation / Alan Brown, Ewart Keep; The conundrum of the learning organisation - instrumental and emancipatory theories of learning / Peter Cressey, Michael Kelleher. Part two, 'Organisational learning realities in different contexts', contains: Social dialogue and organisational learning / Michael Kelleher, Peter Cressey; Implementing organisational change in British Telecom / Peter Cressey; Banking on learning - the Deutsche Bank Corporate University / Daniela Reimann; Stimulating a thirst for learning - the case of the Guinness Dublin brewery / John Findlater; Learning to network - the transformation of a social research institute / Hans-Werner Franz; The relationship between critical reflection and learning - experiences within Dutch companies / Marianne van Woerkom, Wim J. Nijhof, Loek Nieuwenhuis. Part three, 'Human resource development in support of organisational learning', contains: The learning organisation and HRD in the knowledge economy / Massimo Tomassini; The changing role of HRD practitioners in learning-oriented organisations / Sally Sambrook, Jim Stewart, Saskia Tjepkema; Experiences of HRD consultants in supporting organisational learning / Rob Poell, Geoff Chivers; Human resource development in Europe - at the crossroads / Barry Nyhan.

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

This booklet, based on data from Eurostat's New Cronos database, contains key figures on vocational education and training (VET) and VET-related topics in Europe. Data suggests that: the educational level is comparatively higher in candidate countries than in European Union (EU) Member States; the higher the level of education, the lower the risks of unemployment; the vocational stream predominates in upper secondary education; most participants in VET programs mainly attend an education and training establishment; most participants in VET programs are aged between 15 and 24; and proportion of enterprises providing continuing vocational training (CVT) increases with size. The contents are: Introduction; Background information on the education and training system; Vocational education and training; Continuing vocational education and training; Methodological notes. Show less

This publication reports on a study which examined existing environmental education and agricultural practices that were environmentally friendly with the aim of defining new knowledge, skills and qualifications related to environmental issues in organic farming, and how these qualifications can best be acquired. The report is structured as follows: the first chapter outlines the background, objectives and design of the study; chapter two contains the European policy on agriculture and employment; chapter three describes the European agricultural sector, including the European organic farming sector, and the organic farming and certification systems in the five countries (Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands); chapter four discusses education, training and innovation transfer in these five countries; chapter five describes the processing and distribution of organic products and presents the types of information dissemination among the consumers of organically produced products; chapter six provides national case studies; chapter seven contains conclusions and suggestions; chapter eight provides a summary of the main results (that regardless of education level, education, training, innovation transfer, and information on the production of certified organic products as well as on their distribution in the market, are important for all bodies involved in the chain); and the final chapter contains a bibliography. Show less

This publication reports on a study of the skill needs of small firms in the services sector in seven European Union (EU) countries: Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. It is a follow-up to a previous study which focused on the manufacturing sector (indexed at TD/TNC 71.399). This present study is based on surveys which set out to investigate whether there were similarities or differences between the manufacturing and services sectors. The surveys examined: factors inducing internationalisation of small services firms; strengths and weaknesses of small firms in the services sector; keys to success of internationalised small firms; small service firms' internationalisation-related competences; and mechanisms and procedures for the development of internationalisation-related competences. The study found that the experiences of internationalised small firms in the manufacturing sector are similar to those experienced by services firms. The chapters are: Introduction; The significance of the services sector in the European Union; Goods-producing and services small firms compared - ex ante comparison of internationalisation strategies; Internationalisation and skill needs: synthesis of the results of the Cedefop survey; Individual countries surveyed and survey results; Policy issues and recommendations. Show less

The 1997-98 restructuring of the Greek vocational education and training (VET) system was aimed at promoting parity of esteem for vocational education pathways. In the restructured VET system, upper secondary now comprises the new Technical Vocational Schools (TEEs) together with the more general Unified Lykeio, post-secondary initial training is offered at the new Institutes of Vocational Training (IEKs) and continuing vocational training is mainly offered at Vocational Training Centres (KEKs). This short description of the Greek VET system is presented in seven main sections: Background information; The education system; The vocational training system; Financing vocational training; Teacher training in vocational education; Guidance and counselling; Trends and perspectives. Show less