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This report focuses on how to improve the employment outcomes of migrants who are already in Australia. It examines the causes of poor labour market outcomes for migrants, in particular language proficiency, poor recognition of qualifications and discrimination. The research finds that recent migrants earn significantly less than Australian-born workers, and this has worsened over time. Many migrants still work in jobs beneath their skill level, despite often having been selected precisely for the experience and knowledge they bring. Failure to match the skills of migrants to the most appropriate jobs is holding back productivity at a time of historically weak productivity growth. In an economy facing widespread worker shortages, access to the right skills at the right time and getting the right people into the right jobs is critical.

The report makes four recommendations to redress this situation as follows: (1) expand access to English language training for skilled migrants, including occupation-specific training that enables them to achieve a competent or proficient level of English; (2) improve recognition of international qualifications by (a) assessing professional capacity through direct assessment of competence, rather than a requirement to hold qualifications under a specific system; and (b) requiring occupational regulators to justify their decisions where they decide not to recognise a migrant's international qualifications, and to identify skill top-ups and bridging courses to close the gap; (3) review the potential to give greater weight to the skills and work experience of secondary applicants to skilled migration visas, as part of the Federal Government's work towards a reformed points test for skilled migrants; and (4) reduce migrant labour-market discrimination through initiatives that build local knowledge and experience, together with pilot programs that reduce prejudice by emphasising individual diversity within all ethnic groups.

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In the years 2008 and 2017, the European parliament and the council published respective updated the European Qualification Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning to increase transparency and comparability of qualifications and the mobility of workers. Since then no or only very few advantages induced by [qualifications frameworks] QF have been published. One of the main reasons is the inherent broadness and openness of the descriptors of the levels. A promising approach to overcome this dilemma could be Sector Qualification Frameworks (SQF); [Integrating Companies in a Sustainable Apprenticeship System] ICSAS and [Developing Innovative and Attractive CVET programmes in industrial shoe production] DIA-CVET projects developed, implemented and evaluated a SQF level 2 to 7 for the sector of industrial shoe production.

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Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and across borders, and for promoting lifelong learning. This fifth edition of the Global Inventory of National and Regional Qualifications Frameworks consists of two volumes with up-to-date information on recent developments in this field destined for policy-makers, educators, researchers, and experts. The publication is the result of collaborative work between UNESCO, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and the European Training Foundation (ETF).

Volume I [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 154.604] features a series of thematic chapters that identify emerging issues in qualifications systems, including the digitalization of qualifications systems, the validation of informal and non-formal learning and the increased use of microcredentials. Volume II comprises 79 national qualifications framework country chapters, from all continents, and four regional qualifications frameworks. A cross-country analysis of national case studies is presented, examining the objectives, functions and characteristics of national qualifications frameworks and their contributions to wider educational and training systems.

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This study, conducted by the IBP at the University of Rostock and partners with responsibility for VET teacher education in an Erasmus+ project, aimed to identify challenges faced by these teachers and analyze similarities and differences in their qualifications across Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany. Using a quantitative survey, the study collected responses from 824 participants, including 389 VET teachers.

The results showed that teachers from different countries face varying challenges depending on their vocational education systems. Key findings include the higher prevalence of 'students with challenges' as a concern among German and Spanish teachers compared to their Nordic counterparts, and a lack of motivation among students in school-based training systems (Norway, Spain, and Sweden). Across all countries, teachers complained about a lack of resources, such as time for preparation and follow-up, staff shortages, and inadequate technical equipment. Additionally, teachers across the countries reported difficulties in staying up to date with market developments.

These findings emphasize the need to better prepare vocational teachers for diverse challenges and adapt teacher training to address them. This includes linking theory and practice through school-company networks, enabling teachers to stay current with industry developments, and providing sufficient resources. Systemic steps are also needed to support vocational education, such as adequate financial resources. The study's results provide a basis for further research and can inform strategies for improving vocational teacher training across European countries.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 153.651. Show less

Although a universal system regarding qualifications, education and training does not exist within the European Union, member and non-member states can use the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) to compare qualifications, promote lifelong learning, foster transparency, and facilitate freedom of movement among nations. This also makes it easier for people to continue their studies or work abroad. Ukraine had started to develop its own National Qualifications Framework in 2010 inspired by the EQF and established a national qualifications agency as a tripartite body. When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, priorities shifted and the work on this report was paused. The comparison work has become urgent given the need to recognise qualifications of Ukrainians in Europe, both for entry into the labour market and for educational purposes. This report is a result of joint efforts by Ukrainian and EU colleagues to conduct an in-depth comparative research and thorough examination of the Ukrainian qualifications and the EQF qualifications levels.

The following core topics are used for comparison and dialogue: (1) objectives of qualifications frameworks; (2) scope of the frameworks; (3) levels and level descriptors; (4) learning outcome approach(es); (5) validation of non-formal and informal learning/recognition of prior learning; (6) quality assurance; (7) recognition; (8) governance arrangements; (9) communication, visibility, transparency, access to information; and (10) transparency and quality assurance of the comparison process.

The comparison exercise found that the objectives and scope of the frameworks are very similar: both support career development, personal development, employability, and lifelong learning. The Ukrainian NQF is being implemented but there are areas where it is not yet fully operational. It is well-advanced in higher education, but progress regarding vocational education and general education is slower. The development, assessment and certification of professional qualifications remain in an early phase but are expected to accelerate. Regarding communication, both the EQF and the Ukrainian NQF can improve so that end-users are able to make full use of the frameworks. Stakeholders are actively involved in both the EQF and the Ukrainian NQF, which have clear institutional arrangements. The levels and learning outcomes are comparable. Systems for validation, quality assurance and recognition are informed by learning outcomes and the Ukrainian NQF. In short, the frameworks are comparable and can be linked. These links can be strengthened further through a Joint Action Plan that will be shared at a later stage.

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Literature on returns to education and labour market outcomes has been increasingly focusing on skill mismatch with regard to migrants' integration and adaptation processes. Researchers have studied the efficacy of official validation of prior skills as well as participation in training and vocational programmes as valid resources to expand labour possibilities in the host country. Fewer studies, however, account for the returns to adult higher education, in particular how formal credentials influence skilled-job chances and labour status. In this study, I hereby investigate the effectiveness of host country qualifications against the backdrop of miss-match and under-value of prior qualifications in the new labour market context. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel study, I compare the effects of tertiary education degrees between immigrants holding German degrees and those who only possess foreign credentials on their occupational outcomes in the local market. I find that the chances of obtaining a professional job that matches individuals' skills as well as their occupational status are higher for those with local qualifications. This suggests that local capital in form of tertiary education pertains 'valid' credentials that help migrants to achieve better outcomes in new labour market contexts.

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The contribution of immigration to the Canadian economy and society has been of continued importance in recent decades, due to being the main driver of population growth and their importance on the labour market. Given that Canada and other countries of the OECD are competing for skilled workers, measuring the socio-economic integration of immigrants into Canada is essential. Immigrants with postsecondary educational qualifications can help fill the labour demand in Canada, especially if their qualifications are readily recognized by the labour market. In this context, exploring the labour market outcomes and Canadian postsecondary educational attainment of immigrants is critical to understanding the various facets of their socio-economic integration.

Since the late 1990s, federal and provincial governments have shifted immigration policies toward immigrants with postsecondary qualifications, as part of the 'economic' category of immigrants. Despite this shift, the potential difficulty of qualified landed immigrants to transfer their educational qualification to the Canadian labour market continues to exist and may represent a barrier to accessing the labour market for some, and thus impact the supply of skilled workers.

This study explores in detail the educational attainment from Canadian public institutions and employment income of immigrants from the 'economic immigrant' programs who were granted permanent residency based on their ability to contribute to the Canadian economy. The analysis compares the skilled immigrants who returned to postsecondary education after admission to Canada to those who did not return to postsecondary education and explores their potential difficulty to transfer their educational qualifications onto the Canadian labour market. The analysis uses the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) integrated with the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and the T1 Family File (T1FF) through the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP). The study population is limited to immigrants admitted to Canada as permanent residents in 2010 who were at the core working age of 25 to 54 years old at the time of admission, who had not studied in Canada prior to their 2010 admission and who filed taxes in Canada at least once between 2011 and 2019.

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The special focus of the 5th International VET Conference Crossing Boundaries held on 25-26 May 2023 at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, is on 'vocational education and training transformations for a digital, sustainable and socially fair future'. Keynote speeches: Skill formation in Central and Eastern Europe: a search for patterns and directions of development / Vidmantas Tutlys, Jonathan Winterton, Jorg Markowitsch; Changes in vocational education and training in Lithuania: employers' perspectives / Vaidotas Levickis; Vocational education and training in the conditions of post-war reconstruction of Ukraine: challenges and strategic directions / Sergiy Melnyk. Papers were presented with respect to three thematic strands: (1) systems and policy of VET and lifelong learning; (2) educational institutions and institutional settings in the VET and skill formation; and (3) VET actors and stakeholders. The topics of conference papers are very diverse and provide insights on VET development in the conditions of digitalization, changing roles of VET providers, teachers and learners, sustainability of VET provision, challenges of VET provision in developing economies, empowering effects of VET, changing roles and work of VET teaching staff and many other issues.

Papers are as follows: Evaluation of resources for teaching of technical and vocational education and training courses in technical colleges in Osun State, Nigeria / Tajudeen Adewumi Adebisi; The attractiveness of the industrial technology program among newly arrived students in Sweden / Hamid Asghari; AI pioneers: developing a community of practice for artificial intelligence (AI) and vocational education and training / Graham Attwell, Ludger Deitmer and George Bekiaridis; Investment in human capital: company expenditures on continuing vocational training in times of technological change in Germany / Myriam Baum and Lisa Fournier; Open content development as a challenge and an opportunity (Hungarian case) / Andras Benedek and David Sik; Similarities and differences in the evolution of VET in Hungary and Poland 1989-2022 / Magdolna Benke and Tomasz Rachwal; Promoting VET by implementing a 'dual system' in Ukraine / Vera Braun and Oksana Melnyk; Promoting citizenship competence in Italian vocational education and training through assessment / Flavio Brescianini; Challenges and helpful conditions for vocational teachers in Europe: findings from the 'VETteach' project / Birger Brevik, Franz Kaiser and Melanie Hoppe; A bootcamp as an experiential learning activity for nurturing creative talent: a Hong Kong case study / Kara Chan, Maggie Fung, Justin Lau and Jasmine Zhang; Competence retention for non-routine-situations in digital working environments (condition): studies based on the professions of chemical technician and pharmaceutical technician / Stephanie Conein; The COVID-19 pandemic impacts on apprentices' occupational health in Western Switzerland: between invisibilisation of their status and ordinary suffering / Gilles Descloux, Mathilde Romanens, Nadia Lamamra and Barbara Duc.

Young apprentices' critical perspectives on the curriculum of Portuguese apprenticeship courses / Alexandra Doroftei; On the planned apprenticeship guarantee for Germany: an attempt to reduce the risk of social exclusion during the transition from school to VET? / Marcus Eckelt; Swiss VET: a successful model and its sacrifices on the balance of power between company- and school-based VET in the political governance of the transition to upper-secondary level in Switzerland / Raffaella Simona Esposito; Sitting on the fence: adapt or import?: a study on training activities of foreign multinationals in Germany / Lena Finken and Matthias Pilz; Dual apprenticeship and continuous vocational training of German family businesses in Central and Eastern Europe: commitment, motives and trends / Michael Gessler and Susanne Peters; Arts-based educational research in action in vocational education / Daniel Gregson; If it was going to work it would have worked by now / Margaret Gregson; Online and soft skills training in vocational education in international context: reflections about the state-of-the-art and future potential on the example of China / Karin Hamann, Anne Rickert and Shun Yang; From work force immigration to inclusion: a study of vocational education and training development in relation to society changes and immigration in a historical perspective / Lazaro Moreno Herrera, Asa Broberg and Ali Osman; The apprentice perspective: a blind spot in the governance of VET systems?: a German-Danish-Swiss comparison / Ute Hippach-Schneider and Janine Grobe-Rath; How an apprenticeship can direct learners beyond the local context of teaching and learning: transferable skills in Germany's dual system of vocational education / Gabriela Hohns; 'Making a virtue of necessity': substitution potentials in the face of the shortage of skilled workers: ways to a sustainable future using the example of the German vocational training system / Sebastian Ixmeier, Dieter Muenk and Nina Muscati.

Building bridges between higher education, vocational learning and employment: fostering a sustainable ecosystem through practically based higher education (HE) models / Natasha Kersh, Andrea Laczik and Katherine Emms; Using smartphones for learning: a case study on the impact of digitalization on apprenticeship in the informal sector in Ghana / Lena Krichewsky-Wegener and Lukas Bruck; Women in information and communication technology: creating opportunities for career changes towards IT and IT-mixed professions / Ida Kristina Kuhn, Valerie Ambrosi and Peter Kaune; Comparing dualised forms of initial VET across countries: insights from the IEM survey / Isabelle Le Mouillour, Daniel Neff and Paula Klein; Quality management in vocational education and training: a reflection on educational governance in Austria, Germany and Spain / Junmin Li, Ekaterina Schluter, Hannes Hautz, Julian Bell and Fernando Marhuenda; Vocational students at risk of social exclusion in Estonia: social ecology approach / Krista Loogma, Meril Umarik, Inna Bentsalo and Terje Valjataga; A narrative understanding of boundary crossing by vocational teachers in their career path / Maret Aasa and Krista Loogma; Vocational education and training offered in second chance schools in Spain: possibilities and limits from an organizational analysis / Fernando Marhuenda; Gentle guidance does it?: are public employment service recommendations affecting adjustment of IVET capacities in Croatia? / Teo Matkovic; Social partners' conceptions of their role in school-based initial vocational training of specialists / Rita Miciuliene; Defining green occupational groups in the Spanish vocational education and training system: an emerging approach / Monica Moso-Diez, Juan P. Gamboa, Mikel Albizu-Echevarria and Antonio Mondaca-Soto; Lecturer industrial attachment for TVET teachers in Kenya: access, challenges, opportunities / Moses Njenga; Innovation in vocational training: an action research project / Chiara Ostuni; Instructional technologies and training models in Industry 4.0: an explorative literature review / Marco Perini and Riccardo Sartori; Motivation in international VET cooperation: VET providers and their engagement in transfer / Susanne Peters and Lisa Meyne; VET, patience and the wealth of nations / Susanne Peters and Christine Siemer.

Study success in course of TVET: results of a mixed-methods study / Joana Pletscher; Italian higher technical education: reactive or proactive institution in the skill ecosystem? / Andrea Potestio, Francesco Magni and Paolo Bertuletti; Co-creation and indirect approach as a methodology to improve student engagement in initial and continuing VET / Elena Quintana-Murci, Francesca Salva-Mut, Carme Pinya Medina, Carlos Vecina Merchante, Caterina Thomas-Vanrell, Carme Rossello-Rossello and Julia Vilasis-Pamos; Framing an environment and sustainability lens on vocational education and training (VET): a laminated system analysis / Presha Ramsarup, Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Simon McGrath; A sector qualification framework (SQF) level 2-7 for industrial shoe production / Andreas Saniter and Vivian Harberts; Hydrogen as a future topic in German VET?: research design and initial findings from the research project H2PRO / Maximilian Schneider; Modelling skills mismatch evolution in the European Union / Mantas Sekmokas, Ashish Rajendra Sai, Maria Friedel and Naomi Tilon; Recognizing foreign acquired VET qualifications: potential to empower and challenge skill formation ecosystems / Jehona Serhati and Linda Wanklin; The impact of collaboration among vocational teachers implementing teaching practices during a state of emergency / Meidi Sirk; Emotional intelligence and scholastic achievement in VET: a study among apprentices in healthcare and social care / Laure Tremonte-Freydefont, Marina Fiori and Matilde Wenger; Vocational aspects of empowering at-risk VET students in the Baltic countries and Norway for employment and lifelong learning / Vidmantas Tutlys, Lina Kaminskiene, Tarja Tikkanen; Marieke Gerdien-Bruin, Biruta Sloka and Meril Umarik; Lehrkunstdidaktik and its potential for vocational didactics / Ruhi Tyson; Outside-in: public-private partnerships upgrading the institutional equilibirum in Morocco, the Netherlands and Serbia / Marc Van der Meer, Siria Taurelli and Aram Avagyan; Beyond the classroom: exploring teacher agency in making and breaking educational reforms / Linda Wanklin; What Swiss in-company trainers want: needs, interests, and availability for continuing education / Matilde Wenger and Nadia Lamamra.

Excerpts from conference website and program. Individual papers are available in VOCEDplus.

'Lehrkunstdidaktik and its potential for vocational didactics' by Ruhi Tyson is not included in the proceedings table of contents but can be found at pp. 458-462. Show less

These reports are part of the European inventory of national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). Since 2009, Cedefop has been carrying out a systematic mapping and analysis of NQF developments in countries participating in the European qualifications framework (EQF) process. These reviews, done in close cooperation with the EQF Advisory Group, the European Commission and the European Training Foundation (ETF), have directly supported the development of operational and sustainable NQFs. The reports offer a detailed description of the structure and scope of the NQFs, objectives, functions and institutional arrangements, along with data on the implementation and impact on broader policy areas of the frameworks.

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Maintaining the quality and comparability of qualifications has become a major priority for vocational education and training (VET) systems world-wide, especially for those countries which have decentralised assessment and reporting systems. In the absence of external examinations, one policy solution to align the assessment standards of different providers is the introduction of assessment moderation. Yet there has been little, if any, research conducted in VET that has examined different approaches to moderation for quality control purposes. By drawing on lessons learnt in a range of settings (i.e. schools, vocational and higher education), this paper identifies the optimal conditions for undertaking social, external and statistical moderation approaches to quality control. It also identifies a range of potential system level factors that could hinder implementation within the context of the Australian VET sector.

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