The development of concepts and
provisions of LLL in Member States: The
evolution of VET systems in Europe in the
perspective of Maastricht and Copenhagen
Burkart Sellin
Cedefop
Senior Advisor
Priorities for Vocational Education and Training
Copenhagen 2002 and Maastricht 2004
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European Qualification Framework & reference levels
Mobility, transparency/Europass, credit transfer for VET
Quality assurance, attractiveness of VET
Validation of non-formal and informal learning
Low skilled, early school leavers, disadvantaged
Lifelong learning and guidance
Identifying future skill needs on the labour market
Innovation in teaching and learning
Linking VET and higher education
Teachers and trainers
Improving statistics for evidence-based policy
(indicators, benchmarks)
Educational attainment of adults*:
Comparison with EU competitors
in ausgewählten OECD-Ländern 2002/03 (in %)
50
47
49
47
45
43
40
40
39
38
36
30
30 31
32
30
26
20
21
18
16
13
10
0
Australia
Low skilled
EU 25
South Korea
Upper/post secondary
Canada
Tertiary
Japan
USA
* 25 to 64 year old
Source: OECD
Strategy:
Reduce share of low skilled
 Significant increase in the skill levels in Europe
over the past decades
 However, proportion of low skilled (ISCED 0-2)
higher than in most competitor countries
 In 2004, more than 30% of the working age
population in the EU are low skilled
(at least 74 million people).
The share however has decreased considerably
Low skilled people (*) in the European Union 2002-2004
80
78.3
76.0
73.7
Mio
60
%
40
32.0%
30.9%
29.9%
2002
2003
2004
20
0
2002
2003
Million people
2004
% of working age population
(*) Working age population (age: 25-64) with educational attainment below upper secondary education
Source: Eurostat, NewCronos database (LFS 2002-2004).
Increase investments in education and training
• Public & private expenditure on education and particularly
training is not sufficient
• Investing in skills and literacy yields large benefits:
economic growth, company performance, individual returns
8
Public and private expenditure on upper and post-secondary
education and training institutions as % of GDP, 2001
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
Country mean: 1.3%
1.0
0.5
0.0
BE UK CH IS FR EL KR IT DE AT SE FI DK PT PL NO HU CZ SK US AU JP NL IE TR
Source: OECD
11 2004
Non-material benefits of
education and training
Social benefits are directly and indirectly linked with
education and training. Examples:
• Reduced violent crime
• Improved health and parenting
• Social cohesion and citizenship
• Trust in institutions and democracy
• Race tolerance
• Social, political and cultural participation
 from human capital to social capital
Foster mobility and transparency
• Remove obstacles to geographical and professional
mobility to achieve a true European labour market
• Qualification frameworks, credit systems, transparency
and recognition of formal and non-formal skills are
likely to promote mobility and transparency
• These measures are not fully implemented and in a
planning stage in most countries: their full
implementation is urgently needed
• Selective immigration, also to compensate for
demographic decline and skill shortages
12
EQF: Purposes
and main functions
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
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Voluntary meta-framework to allow linkage and translation of
national and sector levels frameworks
Contribution to:
 the recognition and transparency of qualifications
 supporting full implementation of the new Europass,
credit allocation and transfer systems
 facilitate mobility of learners and workers
 Setting benchmarks and targets for policy making
A draft recommendation on the EQF will be presented to the
European Parliament and Council in September 2006.
European Benchmarks for education and
training 2010
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In 2003, the Education Council agreed on 5 benchmarks
to improve education and training systems until 2010:
Improve reading literacy proficiency level (PISA)
Reduce dropout dates for young people
Raise share of young people with at least upper
secondary education
Increase number of graduates in Maths, science and
technology and improve gender balance
Raise participation of the working age population in
lifelong learning
Benchmark for the EU 2010 on low skilled:
The proportion of 22 years old with at least upper secondary
education and training should not be less than 85%
Population aged 20 - 24 with at least upper secondary education and
training (ISCED 3-6), 2003, 2005 (%)
100
2005
2003
BENCHMARK FOR 2010:
85% ON EU AVERAGE
80
60
40
20
Germany: 2003 and 2004
- Source: Eurostat
TR
MT
PO
IS
ES
LU
DE
IT
NL
RO
DK
BG
UK
EU25
BE
CY
EE
LV
FR
HU
EL
FI
LT
AT
IE
SE
PL
CZ
SI
SK
HR
NO
0
Benchmark for the EU 2010 on dropouts:
The rate of early school leavers should be reduced to 10%
Early school leavers in Europe 2003 and 2005 (%)
60
2005
2003
50
40
30
20
BENCHMARK FOR 2010:
10% ON EU AVERAGE
10
TR
MT
PT
ES
IS
IT
RO
BG
CY
EU25
UK
EE
NL
EL
BE
LU
IE
FR
HU
DE
LV
LT
AT
FI
SE
DK
CZ
SK
PL
HR
NO
SI
0
Germany: 2004 and 2004 - Source: Eurostat
Benchmark for the EU 2010 on lifelong learning:
The participation of working age population in LLL
should be raised to 12.5%
Participation of the European population aged 25-64 in lifelong learning
2002 and 2005 (%)
35
30
2005
2002
25
20
BENCHMARK FOR 2010:
12.5% ON EU AVERAGE
15
10.8
10
5
0
SE UK DK IS FI NO SI NL AT ES EU BE LU IE LV FR LT IT DE CZ EE MT CY SK PL PT HU HR TR EL RO BG
25
Germany: 2004 - Source: Eurostat
Conclusions
• The policy framework exists, but needs implementing
• Emphasis on action at decentralised levels involving
social partners and other stakeholders
• Synergy to be ensured between education/training
policies and economic/employment policies
• Innovation strategy needed:
public-private partnerships and innovation agreements to
foster investments in human capital
• Regular monitoring and assessment of progress
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Innovation strategy
Europe needs an innovation strategy to foster investment
in, and the quality of, human resources.
Some ingredients could be:
 More and more effective use of resources
 A future-oriented design of VET: closer links and
parity of esteem with higher education
 New approaches to learning in schools and at work
 Development of key KSC’s
 Learning partnerships at local and regional levels.
Governments and EU should identify key issues,
research, public-private partnerships and more binding
agreements with social partners and other stakeholders.
Cedefop’s support
• Expertises, études, investigations
• Travaux d’analyse et de recherche
• Electronic platforms, reseaux,
communautés virtuelles et d’échanges
• Participation et support active en “peer
learning” et “clusters” de priorités établit
par la Commission
• Fora, ateliérs, conférences, periodiques
• Information, documentation, dissemination