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The European Union's [EU's] Education and training 2010 work programme has set 16 core indicators for monitoring progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training. One of these benchmarks is participation by adults in lifelong learning; at least 12.5% EU average of the population aged 25-64 should be participating in education and training. In 2006, this figure was 9.6%, well below the benchmark. Sectoral training funds could contribute to achieving this target, which has also been a part of the European employment strategy for five years. This publication examines such sectoral training funds, designed to foster education and training financed and managed by employers and employees. It is the first time that Cedefop has gathered available information about financing vocational education and training through sectoral training funds. The report provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of sectoral experiences, detailing governance, income sources, types of activities, and strong and weak aspects.

Excerpt from published foreword. 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

This report looks broadly at vocational education in the Czech Republic and is centred on 11 themes. Theme one covers general policy relating to population and demographics, the economy and labour market and the educational attainment of the population. Theme two looks at policy development, objectives and priorities. Theme three looks at the provision of learning opportunities. Theme four covers the background to the vocational education and training system and looks at apprenticeships and other youth programs. Theme five focuses on continuing vocational education for adults. Theme six discusses training vocational education and training teachers and trainers. Theme seven looks at skills and competencies development and innovative pedagogy. Theme eight looks at validation of learning, recognition and mobility. Theme nine looks at guidance and counselling for learning, career and employment. Theme 10 looks at financing and investment in human resources and theme 11 looks at the European and international dimensions to vocational education, focussing on national strategies relating to policy priorities programs and initiatives at the European level. Show less

The European labour market is challenged by changes in the demographic composition of the labour force and by increasing work complexities and processes. Skills forecasting makes a useful contribution to decisions by policy-makers, experts and individuals. In this publication, Cedefop presents the latest results of skill supply and demand forecasts. Alongside the updated projections, collaboration between Cedefop and Eurofound has allowed examination of the tasks and skills content of the current and projected employment structure of Europe. This analysis confirms an increasingly more polarised occupational structure, a trend also highlighted by the main projections.

Abstract from publisher's website. 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

Education and training systems are being challenged by technological, economic, social and educational developments. In Europe, the Member States are increasingly questioning the European Community’s five-level structure of training and qualification levels. In 1998, in response to this concern and as part of CEDEFOP’s own work program, an in-depth study was launched of five national vocational education and training structures covering the following three fields: (1) an analysis of the characteristics of national qualification frameworks; (2) an analysis of the similarities and differences between the national frameworks and the 1985 European five-level structure; and (3) an assessment of whether the European structure qualification levels are being applied in the respective European Union (EU) Member States, and if they are, to what extent. The findings of this study are presented in three volumes and this volume explores qualification level developments in tertiary education. The report covers: standards, qualifications and classifications at the tertiary level of the German education system; and the categorisation of qualifications at tertiary level in England, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Volumes I and II are indexed at TD/TNC 68.242 and TD/TNC 69.292. Show less

This publication presents findings from 53 study visits during 2009/10 focused on preparing and supporting youth integration into the labour market and reducing unemployment among young people. This is one of European priorities supported by the 'Youth on the move' initiative, which focuses on policies and practices to support flexible learning modes and pathways for young people, easing their transition from education and training to the labour market and developing their entrepreneurial skills and competences. Group reports prepared by participants during the study visits were the main information source, from which 35 successful initiatives were selected. These were presented at the Cedefop seminar on 28 February and 1 March 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. This publication is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding among decision-makers and practitioners of how European countries deal with specific challenges within education and training. It should also help them find partners for cooperation projects and networks.

Abstract from Cedefop website. Show less

This second edition (the first edition is indexed at TD/INT 58.387) updates the description of initial and continuing vocational education and training (VET) in Belgium. The report begins with a presentation of the administrative, demographic and economic background in which the training system operates. A brief historical outline of the development of the VET system is followed by a detailed description of arrangements for initial and continuing vocational training and the supportive legislative and financial framework. Qualitative aspects including qualifications and certification, the training of teachers and trainers, and the availability of educational and vocational counselling, are also outlined. The final section discusses a number of present trends and developments relating to employment, the relationship between education and the business community, and the resulting challenges for policy makers. Show less

This journal caters for the interests of academics, decision-makers and practitioners in the field of initial and continuing training and is published three times a year in several official languages: German, English, Spanish and French.

Articles in this issue include: Tavitian discusses the gradual evolution of the Community dialogue since 1985, linked with the preparations for the Single Market and looking at the challenges the this dialogue presents; Theunissen explores the position that as an integral part of the social and economic construction process, vocational training can be seen as being at the very heart of different and contradictory trends; Moore notes that skill shortages combined with, in a number of member countries, falling numbers of young people and the accelerating pace of technological change all add up to a very serious situation; Piehl discusses the growing importance of social partners at the European level, social tripartisanism at the four policymaking levels of the future European Union, practical tripartisanism in the field of vocational training at CEDEFOP and future prospects; Auer briefly outlines the roles played by the two sides on industry and government in the continuing training system of five European countries; Mallet examines the extent to which the assertion that there is now little doubt that the forward management of employment and human resources provides a solid base for training policies is valid, and goes on to show those circumstances in which it is not just acceptable but actually of use; Kristensen notes that in countries where local areas are allowed some autonomy, it can have fatal consequences if the State tries to correct its vocational training policy on the basis of general ideas on what role the system of vocational training played in the past, and what role it ought to have in the present and the future; Germe looks at the role of training partners, the State and the social partners and focuses on the issue of the construction of a new type of link between vocational training and employment in which every partner's role has to be reformulated; Capecchi looks at a number of projects connected with vocational training and goes on to show that one of the main reasons for the success of these projects has been the coordinated work of a number of public and private partners; Onstenk discusses a number of problems arising in connection with an attempt to break down traditional divisions between industry and initial vocational training; Marques discusses the problem of the role of agents defining education and training policies in Portugal that lie in establishing policies for both education project organisation and management; Schmid summarises the arguments for and against the dual system of initial vocational training and puts them to an empirical test; Weegmann focuses on a complex system of institutionalised cooperation between government and the two sides of industry based on joint responsibility which has evolved in Germany; Lam and Marsden explore some of the evidence for underutilisation of skilled personnel in British industry, and possible reasons for it.

For individual entries see TD/INT 56.93 to TD/INT 56.106. Show less

This report to the European Commission provides a detailed breakdown of the institutional and economic conditions of training in the food and beverages sector in Luxembourg, together with case studies of various companies in which technology, human resources, working conditions, markets and training programmes are analysed. The report is one of a series, each devoted to a different member state of the European Union. Show less