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Cedefop has recently started new research and analysis to provide more insights on skill mismatch issues and problems in Europe. Several new studies are planned to provide policy-makers with new information needed to anticipate and address mismatch. To establish policy-relevant themes for Cedefop’s skill mismatch research in the coming years, experts have been invited to the Centre to share their experience on the most promising research opportunities. Combining the views of experts with careful analysis of relevant academic research has led to five overall research priorities. This working paper gives an overview of these priorities.

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Validation of non-formal and informal learning is a centrepiece of lifelong learning and has become a priority for national and European vocational education and training (VET) policies in the last decade. Validation of non-formal and informal learning is not only a political challenge but also an ethical and especially a methodological question: how to measure, how to validate, how to assess. These developments have considerable impact on the professional development of VET teachers and trainers, as they are keys to improving the quality of education and training. This report addresses the role of validation of non-formal and informal learning for enhanced professional recognition of VET teachers' and trainers' competences. It presents the outcomes of a study carried out by Cedefop's training of trainers' network - TTnet. From nine countries, 28 examples are described and analysed in the report. They highlight developments and current practice by describing the aims and outcomes, the processes and methodologies of validation, as well as quality assurance mechanisms put in place.

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Increasing Europe's competitiveness while preserving the European social model, coping with population ageing, reducing unemployment, tackling labour market skill needs and shortages, and improving enterprises' economic performance all exert pressures on [vocational education and training] VET, pushing for its modernisation. The search for models of good governance in VET is an effective policy response to the increasing degree of uncertainty for economies and individuals that characterise our times. It allows VET to become more responsive to changing labour market and individual needs and flexible enough to address skills imbalances and shortages. European and national policy has set high expectations for VET modernisation. VET should be an attractive option for young people and adults to foster the acquisition of professional qualifications and their updating throughout working life. Professional competences and skills delivered through VET should be a model of excellence, while being transparent to relevant parties at individual, company and state levels. This fourth report on VET research in Europe analyses the above pressures for VET modernisation. Research, however, also underlines the key role of VET itself in addressing these socioeconomic challenges. VET, therefore, not only reacts to change, but is also a driver of success and competitiveness for European economies and societies. Throughout this publication, Cedefop has gathered evidence of the role VET plays in sustaining economic development, promoting active ageing, ensuring adequate skill supply, supporting corporate innovation capacity, growth and productivity, combating social exclusion and improving social cohesion. Synchronised and modern VET is not only an aim but also a means of addressing the challenges that lie ahead.

Published abstract.

Volume 1 is available in VOCEDplus at TD/IRD 88.433, volume 2 at TD/IRD 88.434 and volume 3 at TD/IRD 88.435. Show less

Vocational education and training (VET) systems must adapt to the labour market, to technological developments, to changes in existing occupations and to new ways of work organisation. Differences in learners' performance or prior knowledge, skills and competences, also require flexibility in education and training provision. Modularisation and unitisation of VET programmes and qualifications is seen as part of the answer to these challenges.

This study investigates the role of modules and units in VET in 15 [European Union] EU countries and aims to determine how these structures fit in the wider VET systems. It provides a comparative analysis of different modularisation and unitisation practices and the rationale behind their implementation, and an outline of the different national contexts in which modular and unitised structures developed over time. It also offers a close-up of three different approaches to modularisation in one occupational area, in Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland.

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This report aims to provide evidence in support of European policy-making in vocational education and training (VET). It provides an update of Cedefop's statistical overview of VET and lifelong learning in European countries. It covers challenges and opportunities arising from developments in the statistical infrastructure. It details the situation of each country and, to best possible extent, their progress on 36 indicators selected for policy relevance and contribution to Europe 2020 objectives. Key areas of education and training policy in Europe are covered using national evidence: access, attractiveness and flexibility of initial and continuous VET; investment, skill developments and labour market relevance in VET; and labour market transitions and employment trends.

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This [European Monitoring Centre on Change] EMCC Company Network Seminar, [entitled 'The role of competence and qualification development in fostering workforce mobility'] was organised jointly by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). This seminar report summarises the seminar conclusions and highlights how individuals, companies and policymakers can act to develop schemes that simultaneously promote workers' mobility and develop their skills. The contents are: Introduction - Joint seminar on mobility; European Year of Workers' Mobility; Overview of the seminar; Geographical mobility within the EU - Public attitudes to labour mobility in an enlarged Europe; Companies and geographical mobility; Perceptions among European citizens; Expected barriers when moving to another Member State; Policy initiatives to facilitate greater mobility; Job mobility and company policies - Patterns of mobility; Benefits of changing jobs; Flexicurity at company level; Competence development - different approaches; Competence development and the economic cycle; Role of companies; Transferability of competences and qualifications; The European Qualification Framework (EQF); Sectoral initiatives; Conclusions; References; Annex: Speakers at the seminar.

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Europe faces an increase in the age of its natural population and a reduction in available labour force. The retirement of a highly qualified workforce, alongside a rise in demand for medium- and high-skilled workers, will likely result in labour shortages in several sectors and countries. The movement of qualified, third-country immigrants into the European Union is needed for economic recovery. Guidance services are to the fore in the reception of third-country immigrants; they provide fundamental career information and career management skills (CMS), empowering individuals to acquire autonomy in managing their career in a new country. This Cedefop study analyses guidance strategies to support labour market integration of immigrants. Its findings suggest the need for greater engagement by employers, trade unions and immigrant communities, as well assurance of appropriate practitioner training and improved marketing and communication strategies.

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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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This book examines European case studies on regional and local innovation. It is based on the work of a European network project. Regional innovation depends on dialogue, networking and learning between all social and economic actors. The interfaces between the different interest groups in a region or locality are the places where learning takes place: people learning to act together to address their problems. This can be understood as collaborative learning for action along 'learning region' lines. Education and training agencies can facilitate this process by being moderators of action-oriented learning and carrying out accompanying research. The cases in the book look at how education and training agencies, including universities cooperated with other regional actors to promote innovation. Different regional concerns are covered, ranging from manufacturing, regional universities, women's cooperatives to promoting social cohesion in a multicultural community.

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The contents are as follows: Part I, 'Addressing the issue of local innovation', contains the following chapters: Building learning regions for innovation in Europe: a challenge for education and training / Barry Nyhan; Designing a European project on learning for local innovation / Bjorn Gustavsen, Richard Ennals. Part II, 'European regional learning cases', contains: The Rhine-Neckar-Triangle regional development partnership / Thomas Stahl; The role of development facilitators in company innovation in Norway / Trond Haga; The Amadora Lisbon agenda / Maria Joao Filgueiras-Rauch; Women's cooperatives in Magnesia, Greece: taking steps in partial learning / Yeoryios Stamboulis, Yannis Psycharis; Supporting innovation: case study of two Swedish industrial development centres / Marie-Louise Eriksson; Raufoss: from a learning company to a learning region / Tom Johnstad; Promoting regional innovation through healthy working centres in south-east England / Anne-Marie McEwan, Richard Ennals; Learning Lithuania: building a small country / Arunas Augustinaitis; Making regional networks more effective through self-evaluation / Ludger Deitmer.

Part III, 'Changing role of universities in promoting regional learning', contains the following chapters: The winding road to the learning region: a case study from Sweden / Bernd Hofmaier; Emilia-Romagna after industrial districts: regional policy implications / Andrea Bardi; Engagement of a university in regional development in the UK: a critical reflection / Peter Totterdill. Part IV, 'Theoretical reflections on the learning region concept', contains: Critique of the learning region concept and reevaluation of regional innovation systems / Philip Cooke; Learning and innovation in a globalising economy: the role of learning regions / Bjorn Asheim. Part V, 'Learning from European cooperation', contains: Summary and conclusions: learning from the cases / Bjorn Gustavsen, Richard Ennals, Barry Nyhan. Show less

'The value of learning' is the third in the Cedefop series of reports on vocational education and training (VET) research. It covers three broad themes, published in three volumes: impact of education and training; the foundations of evaluation and impact research; and evaluation of systems and programmes. This volume of the background report gathers contributions on recent evaluations of education and training systems and reforms and uses case studies to provide an insight into current evaluation practices in several European countries and to assess the results of international programs and initiatives supported by the European Union (EU). It contains: Evaluating the impact of reforms of vocational education and training: examples of practice / Mike Coles; Evaluating systems reform in vocational education and training: learning from Danish and Dutch cases / Loek Nieuwenhuis, Hanne Shapiro; Evaluation of EU and international programmes and initiatives promoting mobility: selected case studies / Wolfgang Hellwig, Uwe Lauterbach, Hermann-Gunter Hesse, Sabine Fabriz; Consultancy for free?: evaluation practice and culture in the European Union and central and eastern Europe: findings from selected EU programmes / Bernd Baumgartl, Olga Strietska-Ilina, Gerhard Schaumberger; Quasi-market reforms in employment and training services: first experiences and evaluation results / Ludo Struyven, Geert Steurs; Evaluation activities in the European Commission / Josep Molsosa.

The three volumes of the background report are indexed from TD/TNC 84.261 to TD/TNC 84.263; individual papers from these volumes are indexed from TD/TNC 84.264 to TD/TNC 84.283. The synthesis report from this third series is indexed at TD/IRD 88.32; its executive summary is indexed at TD/TNC 84.259. Show less