Search Results

Language competences are a key dimension of modernising European education systems, and this staff working document [SWD] is part of a larger policy initiative contributing to Europe 2020. It offers analysis and insight to support the Commission communication on 'Re-thinking Education: a blueprint to invest in the skills of the future for better economic and social outcomes'. Raising the language competences of children, young people and adults will foster the mobility of workers and students and improve the employability of the European workforce. Therefore, improved language competences will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy of growth and jobs. This SWD presents ground-breaking evidence. It draws on the new European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC), which assesses pupils' knowledge of the first and second foreign languages at the end of lower secondary education. Show less

This report sets out steps to be taken without delay to get young people back into work, education or training. These steps cover: the implementation of the Youth Guarantee; investment in young people through the European Social Fund; the front-loading of the Youth Employment Initiative; support for intra-[European Union] EU labour mobility with EURES; steps to ease the transition from education to work by boosting the supply of high quality apprenticeships and traineeships and addressing skills shortages; an acceleration of reforms to deliver a genuine EU labour market in the longer run; and measures to support job creation in the immediate term, especially by [small and medium-sized] SMEs, and to incentivise the hiring of young people.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This publication has been produced in response to the plan for Objective 3 in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 provides a summary of the main features of the labour market over recent years and current trends; the results of the monitoring and evaluation exercise for Objective 3 and 4 in the previous period, and a prior appraisal of the UK plan. Chapter 2 gives an outline of the strategic approach, discusses the priorities for European Social Fund (ESF) support, and the nature of the measures within each ESF supported priority. It also presents the indicators against which the ESF contribution will be assessed. Chapter 3 looks at the financing plan by priority, the explanation of additionality, how it will be measured, the additionality table, and the explanation of concentration and the concentration table. Chapter 4 describes the committee structure for the administration of the program, the method to be applied in the UK for monitoring and evaluating ESF, an outline of the criteria for selecting projects, the approach to multiannual approvals and the Commission standard clauses on administration of ESF in Member States. Show less

ESCO is the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations. It identifies and categorises skills, competences, qualifications and occupations relevant for the [European Union] EU labour market and education and training, in 25 European languages. The system provides occupational profiles showing the relationships between occupations, skills, competences and qualifications. ESCO has been developed in an open [information technology] IT format, is available for use free of charge by everyone and can be accessed through an online portal.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This publication from the European Commission outlines an initial evaluation of the future needs of the [European Union] EU with regard to skills and jobs up to 2020. This initiative has two goals: to help make sure that there is a sufficient match between skills and the needs of the employment market; and to improve Member States’ ability to evaluate and anticipate the skills needs of their citizens and businesses. Targeted at the informed public, in particular stakeholders, this publication presents the full Communication, together with additional information explaining the context and providing further details. Show less

In December 2004, the Education Ministers of 32 European countries and representatives from the European Commission (EC) and the European Training Foundation (ETF) met in Maastricht to take stock of European cooperation in the field of vocational education and training (VET) following the Copenhagen declaration (indexed at TD/IRD 88.258). The intention of the Copenhagen declaration was to: improve the image and attractiveness of VET and learning; achieve high levels of quality and innovation in VET systems; link VET with new labour market requirements resulting from the knowledge society and demographic change; and improve social cohesion and labour market participation. This document sets out the progress made since, and describes the new strategies and priorities of the European countries on education and training for the next two years. Among the priorities are: continuing to set up common reference instruments to accentuate transparency (of the Europass variety); facilitating private and public investment; breathing new life into the role of teachers and trainers; and putting together reliable and relevant statistics. Show less

This volume presents the proceedings from an international conference on labour markets which was organised by the Ministries of Labour and Finance in Finland with the support of the OECD and the European Commission. It puts forward thinking on new policy measures focusing on the specific experiences of the United States, Japan, Finland and Denmark. The volume includes highlights from the conference and most of the interventions. The papers, presented by politicians, high level officials from the European Commission and the OECD Secretariat, social partners and academics, are divided into six parts. Part one, 'Opening session' contains: A comprehensive strategy works: Finland's experience in the 1990s / Paavo Lipponen; Europe's employment and social challenge: competitiveness and cohesion / Anna Diamantopoulou. Part two, 'Assessing international strategies' contains: Putting Europe to work / Allan Larsson; Implementing the OECD jobs strategy: assessing performance and policy / Jorgen Elmeskov; A comment / Edmond Malinvaud. Part three, 'Experiences in selected countries' contains: Neither too hot nor too cold: the U.S. economy in the 1990s / Robert J. Gordon; The Japanese employment system in the 1990s / Tsutomu Tanaka; The Finnish experiences in the 1990s / Oertti Sorsa. Part four, 'Making work pay' contains: Tax policy, unemployment benefits and structural unemployment / Martii Hetemaki; A comment / Jan Horst Schmidt; Employment promotion and transfer payments / Georg Fischer and Manuel Sanchis i Marco; What do we know about policies to make work pay? An overview / Mark Pearson and Stefano Scarpetta; A comment / Tor Eriksson. Part five, 'Preventive approaches against labour market exclusion' contains: Removing barriers to employment for groups at the margin of the labour market / Markku Lehto; Active and preventive approaches: a note based on the recent Danish experience / Per Callesen; A comment / David Stanton. Part six, 'Active labour market policies' contains: Active labour market policies: continuity and change / Juhani Lonnroth; What works among active labour market policies: evidence from OECD countries' experiences / John Martin. 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.

Summary from publisher's website and excerpts from publication. Show less

This Communique, which follows the Copenhagen Declaration (2002) and Maastricht Communique (2004) sets the priorities and strategies for the European cooperation in vocational education and training [VET] for the next two years. The Communique is based on the Council Conclusions adopted on 14 November 2006 and the background document prepared by the Finnish Presidency. Its aim is to communicate European policy strategies in the area to all stakeholders, including VET providers/institutions, teachers, trainers and learners.

The Communique has four parts: (1) Europe needs investments in VET - this part addresses the challenges for the European VET policies; (2) Making it happen - The Copenhagen process delivering reforms - this part describes the role of the Copenhagen process in responding to the European challenges and outlines the main strategies for continuations of the process; (3) Reviewed priorities - this part describes the four priorities for the next period; and (4) Implementation and reporting - guidelines for the implementation.

Published abstract. Show less

This report responds to the challenges associated with the provision of language skills for the European labour market. It calls for a sharpened focus on employment-related aspects of language learning. The aim is to provide input for the current discussions at national and European levels on modernising education systems and quality assurance built on learning outcomes. The main challenge is for language teaching to become learner-focused, and better geared to professional contexts and the needs of the jobs market. This, in turn, will improve learner motivation and the successful taking up and use of available opportunities. This will benefit not only learners but those seeking to employ people who are well-trained and properly qualified to assume their professional responsibilities.

Excerpts from publication. Show less