annual report - cedefop · po box 22427, 551 02 thessaloniki, gr ec tel. +30 2310490111, fax +30...

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Europe 123, 570 01 Thessaloniki (Pylea), GREECE

PO Box 22427, 551 02 Thessaloniki, GREECE

Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020, E-mail: [email protected]

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

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ANNUAL REPORT

ANNUAL REPORT

ISBN 978-92-896-1870-0

4136 EN – TI-AB-15-001-EN-N – doi:10.2801/69484

ISSN: 2443-6410

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015

2014ANNUAL REPORT

Please cite this publication as:Cedefop (2015). Annual report 2014.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Cedefop information series.

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015

ISBN 978-92-896-1870-0ISSN: 2443-6410doi:10.2801/69484

Copyright © European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), 2015All rights reserved.

Layout by [email protected] Printed in the European Union

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) is the European Union's

reference centre for vocational education and training. We provide information on and analyses of vocational

education and training systems, policies, research and practice.Cedefop was established in 1975

by Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75.

Europe 123, 570 01 Thessaloniki (Pylea), GREECEPO Box 22427, 551 02 Thessaloniki, GREECE

Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020E-mail: [email protected]

www.cedefop.europa.eu

Joachim James Calleja, Director Barbara Dorn, Chair of the Governing Board

ANNUAL REPORT 20146

FOREWORD 8

1. 2014 AT A GLANCE 10

2. RESULTS ACHIEVED 202.1. Supporting modernisation of VET systems 20

2.1.1. ACTIVITY: Policy analysis and reporting 202.1.2. ACTIVITY: Common European tools, qualifications

and learning outcomes 242.1.3. ACTIVITY: Study visits 30

2.2. Career and transitions – CVET, adult and work-based learning 312.2.1. ACTIVITY: Empowering adults and young people 31

2.3. Analysing skills and competence needs to inform VET provision 352.3.1. ACTIVITY: Skills analysis 35

3. COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION AND DISSEMINATION 413.1. ACTIVITY: External communication 413.2. ACTIVITY: Documentation and information 423.3. ACTIVITY: Publications and content management 42

4. RELATIONS WITH EU AGENCIES 444.1. Cooperation with ETF 444.2. Cooperation with Eurofound 444.3. Cooperation with the EU agencies’ performance development network 454.4. Joint presentation of Cedefop, ETF, Eurofound and EU-OSHA

to the new European Parliament 45

5. MANAGEMENT, RESOURCES AND INTERNAL CONTROL 46

ANNEXES 49I. Organisation chart 49II. Selected performance indicators 50III. ReferNet 51

TABLE OF CONTENTS 7

TABLEOF CONTENTS

L ooking back to look ahead. Just over a year ago, Ijoined this agency, which is very relevant to the key

issues that Europe is dealing with today: the need toaddress youth unemployment and skills mismatch,encourage job creation and improve competitiveness.Vocational education and training (VET), though not thesole remedy, has the potential to contribute to the aimsat both ends of the scale – economic excellence andsocial inclusion. These were the main forces thatattracted me to Cedefop.

A transitional period in EU-level VET policy-making,my first full year as the agency’s director gave me ampleopportunity to participate in discussions at European andnational events on how VET and Cedefop can help totackle these challenges. These discussions confirmedthat the content Cedefop generates for policy-makersand the support it gives to its key stakeholders, MemberStates, social partners and the European Commission,are highly relevant. The reputation the agency hasacquired among international organisations such asOECD, Unesco or the World Economic Forum, in partic-ular through its expertise in skills anticipation andmismatch and qualifications frameworks, also prove this.

However, in terms of European vocational trainingpolicy, we are probably cruising at a height which some-times is not visible enough to Member States and socialpartners. Voluntary cooperation on common priorities forVET and the Bruges communiqué gave clear indicationson how VET could be improved to respond better tolabour market needs and empower people to adapt to arapidly changing world of work. Cedefop’s reviewshowed that many countries have worked to improvetheir VET systems, not least because of pressing youthunemployment and complementary initiatives by theEuropean Commission and the Council in education andemployment. Renaissance of apprenticeships and otherendeavours to give more young people a chance toacquire skills and experience in or through collaborationwith enterprises are clear evidence.

Nevertheless, implementation seems to be laggingbehind in several areas. Changing mind-sets and ensur-ing that all education and training and labour marketactors are on board takes time. To reach Europe’s 2020education and employment targets, communicationbetween policy and provision will need reinforcing. Thiswas also confirmed at Cedefop’s conference ‘Steppingup the pace’, which discussed how to take the commonEuropean tools forward to ensure they are used byteachers and trainers, guidance and counselling andemployment service staff and employers and help citi-zens progress in their educational and professionalcareers. Reaching end-users should be a priority. Toachieve this, tripartite relationships, as reflected innational representation of Cedefop’s board, are crucialfor success.

ANNUAL REPORT 20148

FOREWORD

To help this process, Cedefop took its first stepsto support Member States more directly, as recom-mended in its 2013 external evaluation. The GreekEU Presidency concern to boost job creation andfaced with youth unemployment helped to put VEThigh on the political agenda of our host country,where higher education traditionally enjoys muchhigher esteem than VET. An opportunity to presentits work to the Greek parliament in October was thefirst time that Cedefop was invited to discuss withnational parliament members how it can contributeto VET development. Budget committee represen-tatives of Germany’s Bundestag visiting Cedefopwith General Consul Ingo von Voss was anotheropportunity to discuss how Cedefop can supportMember States.

The need to understand better how VET worksin other countries at technical and practitioners’ lev-els and demand for assistance was also evident atthe conference ‘Steering partnerships for growth’that Cedefop organised jointly with the EuropeanCommission in spring to support the Europeanalliance for apprenticeships. Understanding othercountries’ education and training systems toencourage collaboration and take common toolsand principles on board was the EU study visitsprogramme objective for education and trainingspecialists. Regretted by many, programmes whichinspired and encouraged numerous policy-makers,practitioners and social partners came to an end in2014. While study visits, which Cedefop had thehonour to coordinate for the European Commis-sion, focused on potential of individual players toact as multipliers, our new approach promotes col-lective peer learning.

As ‘transferring’ approaches that have provedsuccessful in some countries to others is high onthe agenda, policy learning is key for success. Sim-ply taking one model as a blueprint will not work.Policy learning and individualised support, as notall countries require the same type of assistance,were at the heart of apprenticeship reviews wepiloted in Lithuania and Malta in the past year. Asresults so far indicate this is a constructive way tosupport our stakeholders, and we plan to intensifythis in the years to come. Cedefop experts areready to embark on this new challenge to conductthematic reviews and moderate policy forums.

Our work on VET policies and, in particular,apprenticeships, skills and the common Europeantools also attracted interest of high-level visitors:outgoing President of the Progressive Alliance ofSocialists and Democrats in the European Parlia-ment, Hannes Swoboda and Greek MEP SylvanaRapti discussed benefits of VET with Cedefop man-

agement and senior staff in January. In March, wehad the honour to welcome Commissioner forEmployment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, LászlóAndor who discussed the potential of youth guar-antees and advantages and drawbacks of labourmobility with all staff.

Little did we know at this stage that this visitwould be followed by a major change to Cedefop’sgovernance. In the new European Commission,responsibility for skills, qualifications, VET and adultlearning lies now with Commissioner MarianneThyssen and the Directorate General for Employ-ment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility. Theyear 2015 will show what this new parent DG andrevised Founding Regulation will hold in store forCedefop’s work.

The year 2014 also marked a change in Cede-fop’s management. Christian Lettmayr, Cedefop’sdeputy director since 2005 and acting director inthe three-year interim period before I got the oppor-tunity to join the agency, set sail to new shores. Iwould like to thank him for his support and his ded-ication to the agency and its cause. On behalf of allstaff, I would like to wish him all the best for hisretirement. With Mara Brugia, I was happy to wel-come a highly experienced Cedefop staff memberas deputy director.

Looking back at a year of change, I would liketo thank all staff for their commitment to reachCedefop’s objectives. The EU Institutions’ auditshave confirmed that it is a well-run and effectiveorganisation. The many tasks Cedefop has beenentrusted with show our work is appreciated withinand beyond the European Union. Together, we arenow steering Cedefop on a new course closer toMember States and European citizens. Buildingnew capacity to interact more effectively with ourstakeholders will be one of our main challenges intimes when tighter EU budgets require cuts offinancial and human resources. The next land-marks on this new route will be a new set ofpriorities for VET, Cedefop’s 40th anniversary in2015 which we are all looking forward to, a newlease of life for our ReferNet and a stronger andmore focused commitment towards teachers andtrainers in VET, guidance and the role VETproviders can play to implement European policiesand tools that contribute to employability andemployment.

Joachim James CallejaDirector

FOREWORD 9

2014AT A

GLANCE

B etter links between education and training and the labourmarket was a main thread of the Greek and Italian EU Pres-

idency programmes of 2014. This thread guided Cedefop’s workand demand for its expertise throughout the year.

With youth unemployment rates at more than 40%, improvingyoung people’s employability through more work-based learningwas central to both Presidency policy agendas. Skill mismatchand labour market imbalances have become a main concern. TheEU, OECD, ILO and World Economic Forum are discussing howto close the gaps. In 2014, two thirds of Member States were rec-ommended to make their VET more relevant, effective andefficient. Countries began to put youth guarantees in place as rec-ommended by the Council (1). Developing and extendingapprenticeships is a main feature of this work and a strand thatCedefop reinforced substantially in 2014.

As the EU’s agency for VET, Cedefop assisted the Commis-sion, Member States and social partners in their efforts toempower young people and adults to manage education andcareer transitions. To improve VET’s quality and relevance, pol-icy-makers require better evidence and labour market information.Take-up of Cedefop’s skills forecasts and analyses in media andpolicy documents and downloads of its briefing notes illustrate thisdemand: Skills mismatch: more than meets the eye (2) was by farthe most popular, and with 8 000 downloads also top of all otherpublications; Keeping young people in education and training (3)and Developing apprenticeships (4) came equal second amongthe briefing notes (5 000 downloads).

Besides the mandate from 2010 to conduct regular skills andsupply forecasts, since 2014 Cedefop has also been responsiblefor developing and maintaining the EU skills panorama (5) in coop-eration with the European Commission. Outcomes have helpedimprove Europe’s quantitative and qualitative information base ontrends in skills and jobs.

Support for the European alliance for apprenticeships (6) alsowent into full swing in 2014. The European Commission askedCedefop to contribute to this initiative when it was launched in2013. Besides its assistance to European and international initia-tives, Cedefop piloted an interactive conference format to promotepolicy learning and a new strand of work: supporting MemberStates and social partners more directly, as proposed by its recentexternal evaluation.

ANNUAL REPORT 201410

(1) Council of the European Union (2013a). Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on estab-lishing a youth guarantee. Luxembourg, 22 April 2013. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2013.120.01.0001.01.ENG

(2) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publi-cations/9087



(5) The EU skills panorama is an online platform aimed at improving transparency ofskills and labour market intelligence in Europe.

(6) Council of the European Union (2013b). Council declaration of 15 October 2013 ona European alliance for apprenticeships. Luxembourg, 15 October 2013.http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/139011.pdf

2014 AT A GLANCE 11

PERFORMANCE

31 POLICY DOCUMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS (OECD, COUNCIL OF EUROPE, UNESCO)

97 EU POLICY DOCUMENTSAND IN

KEY POLICY USER■ EUROPEAN COMMISSION 64% FOLLOWED BY

■ THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 8% AND■ EU SOCIAL PARTNERS 5%

including keynote speeches to majorevents such as EU OECD dialogue oninternational migration and mobility, theEuropean jobs and skills summit, theWorld Economic Forum summit on theglobal agenda and the meeting on globalNQF inventory and global reference levelsfor qualifications with ETF and Unesco

CITATIONSIN ACADEMIC LITERATURE IN 2013-14

CONTRIBUTIONSTO EU SENIOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS (7) THAT SUPPORT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

Most frequently quoted topics are those related to skills supply and demand in Europe, the shiftto learning outcomes, skills for green jobs and on validation of non-formal and informal learning

DOWNLOADS OF CEDEFOP

PUBLICATIONS

000600

413

164 CONTRIBUTIONSTO OTHER CONFERENCES AND EVENTS 78

HIGH LEVELS OF

EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCYOF CEDEFOP’S ADMINISTRATION AND INTERNAL SERVICES

2 700 PARTICIPANTS

FROM 34 COUNTRIES

IN 245 STUDY VISITS TAKING PLACE

IN 32 COUNTRIES

331 000 VISITSTO CEDEFOP WEBSITE22 million VISITS

TO EUROPASS WEBSITE

114 PUBLICATIONS

69 MEETINGS/EVENTS ORGANISED

2 098 VISITORSAT CEDEFOP EVENTS

REFERENCESTO CEDEFOP’S WORK IN

AVERAGE TIMETO PAY INVOICES

OCCUPATION OF THEESTABLISHMENT PLAN97%BUDGET EXECUTION AT 99%

12.5 DAYS

(7) These include meetings of the Advisory Committee and Director Generals for VET (ACVT, DGVT), the European Parliament, the EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, Commission, Commission working groups, such as the advisory group forthe European qualifications framework (EQF), Presidency and European social partner events. Contributions include presentations, actingas chairs, rapporteurs.

The joint Cedefop/European Commission con-ference ‘Steering partnerships for growth’ (8)encouraged bilateral and multilateral cooperationon apprenticeships. Several initiatives that origi-nated at this event are supported by Erasmus+. InLithuania and Malta, Cedefop piloted thematiccountry reviews to help them in their work todevelop and expand apprenticeships takingaccount of their specific economic, labour market,and education and training characteristics. A jointmeeting in autumn promoted policy learningbetween government representatives and socialpartners of the two countries. Since then, othercountries have also signalled interest in this newcountry-specific approach.

The year 2014 also saw a review of what EUMember States, Iceland and Norway had achievedin commonly agreed priorities. Based on its exten-sive and systematic analyses of countries’ progresstowards the 22 deliverables and overall objectivesset in 2010, Cedefop prepared its report ‘StrongerVET for better lives’. Report findings, in particularthe areas for improvement it identified, were dis-cussed at a conference ‘Building European VET –Time to move on’ (9). Report and event resultsinformed discussions of Directors General and theAdvisory Committee for VET (DGVT (10) andACVT (11)) on a set of new deliverables for the com-ing years that will be decided under the LatvianPresidency.

VET-related statistical data by country comple-mented Cedefop’s qualitative analyses. Together,Cedefop’s quantitative and qualitative work con-tributed to the ‘Education and training monitor’ andthe European Commission’s joint assessmentframework. It also served as a source for the Euro-pean Commission’s discussions on specificrecommendations that countries receive in follow-up of their economic reform programmes. Besidesstatistical data, the information drew in particularon: Cedefop’s skills anticipation work, its analysesof countries’ achievements in national qualificationsframeworks (NQFs), as well as information aboutVET systems, one of Cedefop’s core tasks since itsfoundation in 1975.

Cedefop analyses, presentations and publica-tions informed debates at events organised by or

under auspices of EU Presidencies. Theseincluded a workshop on apprenticeship and a VETconference on addressing skills mismatchesthrough work-based learning in Athens. The ItalianPresidency conference ‘youth guarantee: firstresults’ gathered policy-makers from VET andemployment and experts involved in Social Fundinitiatives. This enabled Cedefop to reach out to awider audience at a time when the European Com-mission had decided to integrate its units onqualifications, VET and adult learning into the Gen-eral Directorate for Employment.

Input that Cedefop was asked to provide forACVT and DGVT meetings covered a range of dif-ferent themes related to early leaving fromeducation and training, CVET, teachers and train-ers and VET-business partnerships. Around 25% ofCedefop’s contributions to all senior stakeholdermeetings and Presidency events focused onempowering young people and adults, thus reflect-ing and informing priority themes of EUPresidencies.

While many events centred on supportingEurope’s youth, DGVT and ACVT also consideredthe need to address skill mismatch in the adultlabour force and enable them to refresh and replen-ish their skills. Cedefop’s policy handbook Access


(8) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/events/22591.aspx(9) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-

projects/events/building-european-vet-time-move(10) Advisory Committee on Vocational Training. Established to

assist the Commission in implementing a Community vocationaltraining policy, the ACVT consists of three members per MemberState, representing governments, employers and employees.

(11) Directors General of Vocational Education and Training.

to and participation in continuous vocational educa-tion and training (CVET) in Europe as well asGuiding principles on professional development oftrainers in VET (12), which the Centre was asked toproduce as follow-up to the Bruges communiqué,provided a comprehensive evidence base. Valuingdiversity: guidance for labour market integration ofmigrants (13) highlighted the importance of guidanceto support adults and specific target groups.

For EU-level education and training policydevelopment, 2014 was a transitional year. Thepolicy framework was under scrutiny: fromEurope’s 2020 strategy, to the Education and train-ing framework (ET 2020) and the deliverables andobjectives for VET set out in the Bruges commu-niqué. Decision-making has been postponed to2015, as the new European Commission only tookoffice in autumn. This limited numbers of policydocuments likely to take up findings of Cedefop’swork, entrust the agency with new tasks or extendits mandates.

Nevertheless, the European Commission, as inprevious years, used Cedefop’s findings exten-sively. The European Parliament, EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee (EESC), Euro-pean social partners and ‘sister agencies’ also usethem regularly. Commission papers made up nearlytwo thirds of those citing Cedefop’s work. Theareas they cover include: assessment of nationalreform and stability programmes, industrial policyimplementation and monitoring, reporting and eval-uation frameworks for the EU’s multiannualfinancial framework 2014-20. This clearly signalsand confirms trust in Cedefop’s work, as do propos-als by the Commission, the EESC and Europeansocial partners to tap Cedefop’s expertise for futuretasks. The EESC expressly acknowledged Cede-fop’s role in underlining VET’s potential tocontribute to economic recovery (14). BusinessEu-rope called for the Commission and Cedefop tohelp policy learning in short-term skill need antici-pation. In its communication Tapping into the jobcreation potential of the green economy the Com-mission states that it ‘will work with […] sector skillscouncils and […] alliances to encourage develop-ment of green skills intelligence, and strengthenlinks with ESCO and the EU skills panorama [and]promote exchange of good practice on skills-basedstrategies under the mutual learning programme ofthe European employment strategy and in cooper-ation with Cedefop’ (15).

Explicitly, this statement refers only to theagency’s work on skills. Nevertheless, it also con-firms that Cedefop’s medium-term priorities,activities and projects are fully aligned with the EUpolicy agenda and complement one another.Closer analysis of citations corroborates this. Skilland competence needs analyses continued to becited most frequently. Use of forecast results andfindings of sector skills analyses (green skills) hasbecome ‘common standard’, in particular in Com-mission papers. Cedefop’s support for modernisingVET systems follows closely its work on Europeantools, qualifications and learning outcomes and pol-icy analysis and reporting. Within this area,citations reflect increased attention paid to valida-tion of non-formal and informal learning since the2012 Council recommendation and countries’ initia-tives to open up their NQFs to qualificationsacquired outside formal education and training.

2014 AT A GLANCE 13

(12) Cedefop (2014).http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/news/24007.aspx

(13) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12036

(14) European Economic and Social Committee (2014). Draft opinionof the section for transport, energy, infrastructure and the infor-mation society on the digital society: access, education, training,employment, tools for equality.

(15) COM/2014/0446 final. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1400658727626&uri=COM:2014:446:FIN

Demand for Cedefop’s expertise at meetingsand conferences of senior stakeholders shows thereverse, even though influence of Presidency prior-ities is clearly visible. More than half the meetingswere dedicated to helping implement policies. Thisreflects Cedefop’s continued support and advice forEuropean cooperation in VET, mainly the work oncommon tools and learning outcomes: in particularthe EQF (16), ESCO (17), Europass, ECVET (18) andvalidation of non-formal and informal learning; allareas where the agency has been entrusted withspecific responsibilities. Cedefop’s contributions toEU policy papers demonstrate this markedly.Around two thirds are linked to activities and proj-ects under its medium-term priority ‘Supportingmodernisation of VET systems’, nearly all to theEuropean tools.

Most of Cedefop’s mandates in this contexthave their roots in the years before 2010. Thisreflects appreciation for the agency’s help in devel-oping the tools and shaping EU policy. Since itsbeginning, the European Commission and Cedefophave jointly coordinated work of the EQF advisorygroup. As in the past, this support made up a sub-stantial share of its work. The more so, as it entailedfollowing up the 2012 Council recommendation onvalidating non-formal and informal learning. Closelylinked to this, Cedefop was asked to take care ofthe 2014 validation inventory update. Cedefop’swork also focused on taking the European tools for-ward to make them more coherent.

Contributions to Commission initiatives linkedto these mandates illustrate the value attributed toCedefop’s long-standing expertise in these fields:■ comprehensive analyses of countries’ reports

explaining how they link their NQFs to the EQF.The support package also included a briefingnote Qualifications frameworks: expanding influ-ence, persisting obstacles. Underpinningextensive analysis of NQF developmentsrevealed that NQF and EQF levels need to bemade more visible to benefit citizens. A workingpaper and a briefing note on level 5 qualifica-tions and their potential to act as a bridge to thelabour market and further learning comple-mented the picture;

■ coordination and contributions to the 2014update of the European inventory on validationof non-formal and informal learning (19) whichwent online in November. It includes individual

country reports and thematic analyses such asthe link between guidance and counselling andvalidation. Relevant activities outside the publicsector were reviewed in Cedefop’s report Use ofvalidation by enterprises for human resourceand career development purposes;

■ a conference ‘Stepping up the pace – Europeantools: relevant to citizens and the labour mar-ket’ (20) at end of November. A series of Cedefopstudies informed this debate complementingfindings of a public consultation the EuropeanCommission had conducted earlier in the year.

In addition, Cedefop continued its work towiden the evidence base on learning outcomeapproaches which are becoming more common inEurope but vary across and even within countries.A workshop discussed quality requirements for e-learning and other forms of technology-enhancedlearning. This was a contribution to the work onEQAVET and the Commission’s initiative promotinguse of new technologies and open educationalresources for innovative teaching and learning. Fur-ther, Cedefop contributed to Commission initiativesrelated to ICT skills, jobs and growth and the ET2020 working group on digital skills.


(16) European qualifications framework.(17) European skills, competences, qualifications and occupations.(18) European credit system for VET.

(19) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/validation-non-formal-and-informal-learning/european-inventory

(20) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/events/cedefop-conference-stepping-pace

(21) European Parliament; Council of the European Union (2008).Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European qualifica-tions framework for lifelong learning. Official Journal of theEuropean Union, C 111, 6.5.2008 – Annex 1.http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:111:0001:0007:EN:PDF and Cedefop (2008). Terminology ofEuropean education and training policy. A selection of 100 keyterms. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/4064_en.pdf See also sec-ond edition 2014. http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/411

THE LEARNING OUTCOMESAPPROACHLearning outcomes are defined as a set ofknowledge, skills and/or competences anindividual has acquired and/or is able todemonstrate after completion of a learningprocess, either formal, non-formal or infor-mal (21).

Invitations to national events from public orsocial partner organisations show that the workCedefop carried out under all three medium-termpriorities was of topical interest. Its keynote speechat the conference ‘Keeping young people inemployment, education and/or training: commonchallenges – shared solutions’, organised byRomanian ministries jointly with the EuropeanCommission, is an example. It combined findingson skills, early leaving from education and trainingand VET, apprenticeship and European tools andprinciples, in particular validation of non-formal andinformal learning.

Invitations from international organisationsprove that Cedefop has built a reputation as a cen-tre of expertise on interaction between skills,training and the labour market beyond the EU’sborders. Besides an opportunity to share its expert-ise at a meeting of the European Association ofInstitutions in Higher Education, Cedefop was alsoinvited to discuss European NQFs in a publicationby Korean researchers.

With OECD, ILO, IMF and other world-leadinginstitutions, Cedefop participated in the World Eco-nomic Forum’s global agenda councils onemployment and the future of jobs (2012-14 and2014-16). The agency helped shape the reportMatching skills and labour market needs – Buildingsocial partnerships for better skills and better jobs,a theme discussed extensively at Davos in January2015. Cedefop also contributed to the jointOECD/European Commission round table andpublication on Matching economic migration withlabour market needs. Collaboration with OECD,ILO and ETF included input into a survey on skillsanticipation arrangements and their use to informeducation, employment and migrations policies.

Following release of OECD’s adult skills survey,Cedefop analysed data from the VET perspectiveand helped prepare relevant information for the2014 edition of Education at a glance. Joint work inthe inter-agency working group on green skills withparticipants from Unesco-Unevoc, Unitar (22),OECD, ILO and ETF continued. In February, thesecond Cedefop/OECD ‘Green skills forum’ (23) washeld in Paris. The joint publication Greener skillsand jobs based on the first forum in 2012 wasreleased for this event.

The past year also marked the end of an era:the study visits programme for education and voca-tional training specialists and decision-makers, andspecifically social partners, came to an end. From1985 onwards, Cedefop had managed the pro-gramme dedicated to VET and, since 2008,coordinated its successor programme for educationand training more generally. Over these years,more than 27 000 education and training specialistsand decision-makers participated in over 2 600 vis-its. The wealth of experience gained, however, willnot be lost. Outcomes of the last round of visits willfeed into related Cedefop activities, as did previousones. Cedefop’s nearly 30 years of experience andenabling dialogue between different actors from theworlds of education and training and employmentwill feed into its new strands and ways of working:thematic country reviews and policy learningforums.

2014 AT A GLANCE 15

(22) United Nations Institute for Training and Research.(23) http://www.oecd.org/innovation/greenskillsforum2014.htm

Matching skills and labour market needs – Building socialpartnerships for better skills and better jobs.

CEDEFOP GOVERNANCEGOVERNING BOARDCedefop is governed by a board made up of threemembers from each Member State representingthe government, employers’ and employees’ organ-isations; and three members representing theEuropean Commission.

Member States’ representatives are appointedby the Council for three years (renewable). Com-mission’s representatives are appointed by theCommission.

The Governing Board convenes once a year.

BUREAUTo operate and be more closely involved in moni-toring the agency’s activities, with a view toreinforcing supervision of administrative and budg-etary management, the Governing Boardestablished a smaller-sized Bureau. The Bureauusually meets five times a year. The GoverningBoard may decide to enlarge the Bureau for meet-ings with strategic issues for future GoverningBoard decisions.


(24) Council of the European Union. Regulation EEC No 337/75 ofthe Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centrefor the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). OfficialJournal of the European Communities, L 39, 13.2.1975 as lastamended by Council Regulation EC No 2051/2004.http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/Consolidated_version_Founding_Regulation_EN_01975R0337-20041221-en.pdf

CEDEFOPCedefop is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies.Founded (24) in 1975 and based in Greece since1995, Cedefop supports development of Europeanvocational education and training (VET) policiesand contributes to their implementation. Theagency is helping the European Commission, EUMember States and the social partners to developthe right European VET policies.

Cedefop’s activities are guided by its strategicobjective and medium-term priorities. Cedefop’sstrategic objective is to contribute to designing andimplementing policies for attractive VET that pro-motes excellence and social inclusion andstrengthening European cooperation in developing,implementing and analysing European VET policy.The strategic objective is supported by threemedium-term priorities 2012-14:1. supporting modernisation of VET systems;2. careers and transitions – Continuing VET,

adult and work-based learning;3. analysing skills and competence needs

to inform VET provision.The medium-term priorities steer activities of

Cedefop’s annual work programmes and ensurecontinuity in its work allowing necessary flexibilityto respond to changing needs.

Cedefop Governing Board – 2014.

THE MATCHING GAMECedefop/European Commission apprenticeshipconference: ‘Steering partnerships for growth tosupport the European alliance for apprenticeship’

On 7 and 8 May 2014, government and socialpartner representatives from EU and othercountries participating in Erasmus+ engagedin cross-country dialogue at Cedefop. Deci-sion-makers and experts shared theirexperience aiming to identify potential part-ners to work jointly on apprenticeshipsacross borders. This interactive event wasthe first in Cedefop’s new strand of work to sup-port countries more directly through policy learning.

Debates in small groups centred on three mainthreads: attractiveness, quality assurance, gover-nance and financing of apprenticeships. Participantsdiscussed policies, showcased approaches andprogrammes related to more than 20 subthemeslooking into success factors and challenges theyencounter. Cedefop experts steered discussions.

The event showed that potential project part-ners still needed more information about othercountries’ apprenticeships and VET more generallyto understand commonalities and differences toidentify suitable areas for collaboration. While forsome exchange of experience was an initial step,others found partners or consolidated earlier ideas

for cooperation. Areas ranged from aligning trainingstandards better to labour market needs to integrat-ing dual learning approaches into tertiaryeducation. Subsequently, some partnershipsreceived Erasmus+ support.

Through quality apprenticeships youngpeople acquire skills that may help themfind jobs more easily, European Commis-

sioner Androulla Vassiliou underlined inher video message. The European alliancefor apprenticeships (25) and European fund-ing support such initiatives. Commission

representatives stressed that public supportand partnerships with social partners are

essential to make them work. In the margins of theconference EU social partners confirmed their com-mitment to the alliance. However, more trainingplaces and monitoring would be needed. In his ple-nary statement, Peter Thiele (government group onCedefop’s Governing Board) underlined that theCommission’s and Cedefop’s support is needed tomake the alliance work.

See: Cedefop Skillset and match, Issue 2, September 2014.

2014 AT A GLANCE 17

(25) Joint declaration by the European social partners, the EuropeanCommission and the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of theEU in July 2013 and Council declaration in October 2013.

‘We have not managed to reach end-users in theways we aspired to; there is still too wide a gap’director James Calleja said in his speech openingCedefop’s conference on 27 and 28 November. Toprogress in learning and work, citizens must beable to move within and across countries, educa-tion and training sectors and employment.European cooperation in VET has led to a range ofinstruments and principles to help achieve thisobjective. Developed on a ‘tool-by-tool’ basis, theyare at advanced though still different stages. Citi-zens are not yet well aware of their benefits.

Some tools clearly act as bridges between edu-cation and training programmes, across nationalborders and from the world of education to workand vice versa. Others focus on VET relevance.More than 100 policy-makers, social partners andexperts from 20 countries discussed how to makethe tools more relevant for citizens and betterknown among teachers, trainers, employment serv-ice and guidance staff, employers, learners andworkers. Time has come to move from a ‘tool-by-tool’ to a more integrated approach that explicitly


(26) Greece and Cyprus are not included as they have specific eco-nomic adjustment programmes.

EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING TOOLS AND HOW THEy CAN WORK TOGETHERTO HELP LEARNERS AND WORKERSPROGRESS

COUNTRY-SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS2014 RELATED TO:

VET

19COUNTRIES (26)

Youth guarantee Youth guarantee(explicitly) (implicitly)

8 10COUNTRIES COUNTRIES

Work-based Transitionslearning/ from education

apprenticeship to employment


Early leaving/VET Skills mismatch


Adult/CVET

17COUNTRIES

SPECIFIC TASKS ENTRUSTED TO CEDEFOP

CAREER AND TRANSITIONS – CVET, ADULT AND WORK-BASED LEARNINGINITIATIVES/TASKS:■ support to European alliance for apprenticeshipCONTRIBUTIONS TO WORKING/EXPERT GROUPS:■ thematic working group on trainers (joint

coordination; closed in 2014)NEW SINCE 2014 (*):ET 2020 working groups on:■ VET with focus on apprenticeships■ adult learning (also previously)■ transversal skills

ANALYSING SKILL AND COMPETENCE NEEDS TO INFORM VET PROVISIONINITIATIVES/TASKS:■ Biennial pan-European skills and supply forecasts

(since 2010)■ EU skills panoramaCONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL WORKING/ EXPERT GROUPS:■ World Economic Forum global agenda council on

employment (2012-14)■ World Economic Forum global agenda council on

the future of jobs (2014-16)■ Interagency working group on greening TVET and

skills development

(*) invitation to contribute to groups in 2013.

addresses users’ needs, participants agreed.Discussions built on Cedefop’s extensive work

over the past two decades, in particular five recentstudies which examined: how tools address andserve citizens at different stages of their lives; theirlabour market relevance; how learning outcomesare applied in practice; in what way credit systemscan help people to transfer, combine and build onlearning experiences and outcomes; critical role ofquality assurance for generating trust betweeninstitutions, education and training sectors andcountries.

Just like with mobile phone apps, ordinaryusers do not need to understand the technologybehind them. Instead, they need to know how theycan benefit from them, where to get them, how touse them and if they are free of charge or not. Peo-ple also need advice and guidance to select theright ones, when to use what and how to combinethem. Cedefop, therefore, proposed to create a‘front office’ and a ‘back office’. The ‘front office’could be a virtual and institutional reception areagiving end-users access to the services and help

them understand how the tools work and can addvalue to their education and employment careers.

To offer good services, the ‘front office’ requiresa ‘back office’, based on solid technical, conceptualand organisational elements. This is where thework to link the tools has to take place and wherechallenges have to be addressed. To achieve thecore objectives – transparency, representation,valuing and guidance – a series of questions needto be asked: are specific tools still needed? Doesthe original design need adjusting? Which combi-nations/links could be beneficial? Who needs to beinvolved and at what level?

Praising Cedefop’s work on the tools and theevent, Karin van der Sanden, detached nationalexpert at the European Commission, explained thatthe Commission intends to work on creating a sin-gle access point to bring different tools together,making them more coherent for the end-user.

See: Cedefop Skillset and match, Issue 3,January 2015.

2014 AT A GLANCE 19

SUPPORTING MODERNISATION OF VET SYSTEMS,POLICY ANALYSIS AND REPORTINGINITIATIVES/TASKS:■ Reporting on progress on common priorities for VET

(Copenhagen process/Bruges communiqué)■ Mobility scoreboardCONTRIBUTIONS TO WORKING/EXPERT GROUPS:■ Enlarged ACVT bureau (previously Copenhagen group)

COMMON EUROPEAN TOOLS, QUALIFICATIONSAND LEARNING OUTCOMESINITIATIVES/TASKS:■ Help support follow-up to the recommendation on

validation■ Validation inventoryCONTRIBUTIONS TO WORKING/EXPERT GROUPS:■ EQF advisory group (content support)■ EQF national coordination point group■ ECVET steering group, forum and user group■ EQAVET steering committee, thematic groups,

forum ■ ESCO boardSINCE 2014 (*):■ EQF advisory subgroup on international sectoral

qualifications■ EQF external dimension■ EASQ task force (closed in 2014)ET 2020 working groups on:■ digital learning■ transversal skillsCONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL WORKING/EXPERT GROUPS:Interagency working groups on:■ global NQF development■ world reference levels

(*) invitation to contribute to groups in 2013.

2.1. SUPPORTINGMODERNISATION OF VETSYSTEMS2.1.1. ACTIVITy: POLICY ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

T he year 2014 took stock of progress accom-plished by countries and at European level

towards the strategic objectives set for VET in 2020in the Bruges communiqué (27) and actions in Mem-ber States to implement agreed short-termdeliverables. Cedefop’s analysis of the main devel-opments in VET over the past four years highlightsthe communiqué’s strong impact and showsincreasing emphasis on work-based learning and


(27) http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/brug-escom_en.pdf

RESULTSACHIEVED

WRITTEN CONTRIBUTIONS

TO EU POLICY DOCUMENTS

00030

6

ACTIVECONTRIBUTIONS

TO EU SENIOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT SUPPORT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

24

49IN EU POLICY DOCUMENTS

REFERENCES

Increasing trend compared to previous years.

Cedefop’s work cited, e.g. in the EuropeanParliament resolution of 17 July 2014 on youthemployment and the Commission report Monitoringthe evolution of education and training systems: aguide to the joint assessment framework

Outcomes of Cedefop’s analysis on progressaccomplished by Member States towards thestrategic objectives set for VET in 2020 in theBruges communiqué discussed at DGVT meetings,the enlarged ACVT bureau and the indicator expertgroup on adult skills

Country-based analyses provided evidence tosupport ‘policy analysis sessions’ on DG EACcontribution to country-specificrecommendations 2014 as well as discussionson future priorities for VET

Most in demand:On the way to 2020: data for vocational educationand training policies – Update, which outlines datafor a series of 32 statistical indicators related toVET in 30 countries

PERFORMANCE


PUBLICATIONS

apprenticeships and more focus on measures toreduce early leaving from education and training.These and other findings of Cedefop’s 2014 analy-sis informed discussions at the ACVT enlargedbureau and meetings of the DGVTs and the ACVT.

Findings of Cedefop’s monitoring and analysisof VET policy developments were presented at aconference ‘Building European VET – Time tomove on’ (28) organised jointly by Cedefop and theEuropean Commission (29 and 30 September,Thessaloniki). The event gathered VET experts,policy-makers, social partners and other represen-tatives responsible for implementing policymeasures and initiatives from all over Europe todebate progress and obstacles to reforms and dis-cuss priorities for 2015-17.

The conference concluded that pursuing com-mon priorities within a voluntary framework hasmade European VET stronger in the past years. Toreflect on possible ways forward, discussions insmall working groups zoomed in on four areaswhere achieving progress appears challenging:monitoring labour market outcomes and ensuringfeedback on VET provision, use of incentives inVET, VET’s role in innovation and key compe-tences in VET.

Cedefop’s analysis on the key developments inVET, along with results of the conference and feed-back received from Directors General for VET werereflected in Cedefop’s report Stronger VET for bet-ter lives which was finalised in November and willbe published in print and online early in 2015.

Description of the national VET system inGreece (29) was published in March with the spot-light (30). Hard copies were distributed at eventsorganised by the Greek Presidency (31). Thedescription contributes to a better understanding ofthe VET system in Greece and the challengesahead, such as high youth unemployment andother labour market imbalances. Reforms aim toraise attractiveness of VET and recent legislationaims to reinforce work-based components of edu-cation and training thus strengthening links with thelabour market. Vocational education and training inItaly (32) and the Spotlight on VET in Italy (33), pub-lished in September, highlight several reformscarried out to make VET more flexible and respond

better to labour market needs. In Italy, VET is char-acterised by multilevel governance with broadinvolvement of national, regional and local stake-holders. Ministries of Labour and Education definethe general framework and policies. Regions andautonomous provinces are in charge of providingseveral vocational programmes and most appren-ticeship-type schemes.

In addition to the above publications dedicatedto Presidency countries, in 2014, 25 country spot-lights were published online. They summarise keyfeatures, challenges and developments of nationalVET systems in European countries (34). The VET

RESULTS ACHIEVED 21

(34) Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta,the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and theUnited Kingdom.

(28) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/events/BuildingEuropeanVET2014/index.html

(29) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12004(30) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12006(31) Greek Presidency conference/DGVT meeting 26 to 28 March

2014.(32) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12038(33) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12040

OtherNon-governmentalorganisation

Education and vocational training

institution, educational service,

labour office or guidance centre

University or research

centre

European Commission, European Parliament or other EU body

National/regional/local government organisation or agency (including guidance centre)

Social partner organisation

4.8%5.1%

17.3%

4.8%

8.2%

10.2%

3.6%

General education programmes

VET programmes

Also available to adults

Officially recognised vocational qualifications

Qualifications allowing access to the next educational level

Giving access to tertiary education

Admission by the assessment of competences

End of compulsory education

Possible progression routes

Right/duty to education for at least 12 years or until obtaining a vocational qualification

Higher education and research apprenticeship possible in all these programmes

Those entering directly after completion of lower secondary at 15, do not need an extra year in ISCED 3 level programmes

Prior studies may be recognised affecting programme duration

Work-based learning, either at the workplace or a VET institution

19+ 13+

YEARS in E&T

10

13

11

12

7

6

(*)

(●)

WBL

ISCED 344

EQF 4

TERTIARY LEVEL

SECONDARY LEVEL

ISCED 354

EQF 4

ISCED 352, 353

ISCED 224

EQF 1

Lower secondary programmes, 3 years

EQF 4

CONTINUING TRAINING(outside the education system)

ADULT LEARNING

16

915

19

18

17

(*)

13

814

12

AGE

POST-SECONDARY LEVEL

EQF 4 EQF 4

EQF 3EQF 3

Upper secondary general

programmes (●), 5 years

Technical and vocational school programmes (●),

5 years

Regional VET (leFP), BL:30%,

3-4 years

Appren-ticeship for 15-25 year-olds, 3-4 years

ISCED 665ISCED 766

EQF 5EQF 6

EQF 7EQF 7

EQF 8

ISCED 864

PhD programmes (●),3 years

Master programmes(●), 2 years

Bachelor programmes (●),

3 years

Integratedbachelor

and masterprogrammes (●),

5 years

EQF 8

ISCED 768

ISCED767

Master level II (●),1-2 years

EQF 7

ISCED 667Master level I (●),1 year

Highertechnical programmes (ITS) (●),WBL:30%, 2-3 years ISCED 554 IFTS programmes (●),1y, WBL:30% ISCED 453

Training provided

and financed by the

private sector

CVT for skills upgrade or new

qualification, financed by

regions and/or joint interprofes-sional funds

IVET(Post-

secondary,post-leFP

andpost HE), offered

by regions

Adult education

for compulsory and upper secondary certificates,

CPIA

system charts in the spotlights were developedusing a new and unified approach to displayingVET within education and training systems whichmake it easier to get a quick impression of VET ina particular country and eases cross-country com-parisons.

Throughout the year, 66 national news onVET (35) were published. Examples include: out-comes of a pilot project conducted by Audi Brusselsto alternate onsite training and education in voca-tional schools, based on Germany’s proven dualtraining system model (Belgium) (36); worrying PISAand PIAAC results in Slovakia (37); new guidelinesto improve VET provision to prison inmates to pro-mote successful reintegration into society(Germany) (38); inclusion of incentives in the newemployment promotion law for employers to pro-vide jobs and apprenticeships to youngunemployed (Bulgaria) (39); and reform of nationalapprenticeship schemes (Malta) (40).

The research paper Attractiveness of initialvocational education and training (41), published inMarch, investigates the state of play in EU Mem-ber States as well as in selected non-EUcountries. The study concludes that many policiesaiming at improving attractiveness of VET havefocused on improving specific characteristics ofIVET systems, such as permeability of pathways,opportunities for transition to higher education,standardisation of qualifications systems, or qual-ity assurance. But while IVET systems’ featuresare important, a wider range of factors make anIVET system attractive. In particular exogenousdemand drivers, such as labour market composi-tion and strengths, or wider societal factors mayinfluence students’ choices, such as the educa-tional context, views of family members,perceptions about VET quality, and norms withincountries.


Spotlight on VET – Greece. VET system chart – Italy.

(35) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/networks/refernet/news

(36) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12718(37) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12724(38) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12729(39) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12755(40) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12772

(41) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12000(deliverable from 2013).

European Centre for the Developmentof Vocational Training

EN

2014

spotlight on VET

GREECE

As requested, Cedefop provided analytical inputand country-based information for ‘policy analysissessions’ held in February at the Commission ascontributions to country-specific recommendations2014. Cedefop’s information drew on its intelligenceon VET policies and systems in EU countries gath-ered through follow-up of the Bruges communiqué.Later in the year, Cedefop provided the Commissionwith updated country fiches summarising achieve-ments towards the Bruges short-term deliverables.Further, the agency contributed to discussions onpotential new short-term deliverables and presentedits ideas on how to monitor progress in the future toDGVT and ACVT.

Cedefop’s reporting on VET systems and poli-cies relies strongly on input from its network,ReferNet. Cedefop and its ReferNet partners con-tinuously strive to improve work processes toensure country-based information provided is up todate, reliable and as comparable as possible.ReferNet partners peer reviewed VET systems’descriptions drafted by their counterparts. Theannual plenary meeting (17 and 18 November) pro-vided an opportunity to reflect on the first threeyears’ (2012-15) cooperation (framework partner-ship agreement) and draw lessons on how toincrease its effectiveness and efficiency in provid-ing ample evidence on VET policy developments.

On the way to 2020: data for vocational educa-tion and training policies – Update (42), published inFebruary, presents 32 indicators to provide criticalinformation on each country’s position in relation toEuropean VET and lifelong learning policy priori-ties. Indicators inform on: access, attractivenessand flexibility of initial and continuous VET; invest-ment, skill developments and labour marketrelevance of VET; and labour market transitionsand employment trends. This statistical material isalso available in an online interface that allowseasy comparisons between countries.

The first ‘Statistical highlight’ published in 2014year focuses on increase in demand for science,technology, engineering and maths (STEM)skills (43). Despite the economic crisis, in 2013,employment of physics, mathematical and engi-neering science professionals and associateprofessionals was around 12% higher in the Euro-pean Union (EU) than it was in 2000, and this trend

RESULTS ACHIEVED 23

VET indicators for Denmark for the most recent year available –Index numbers (EU=100).

On the way to 2020

(42) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/11984(43) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-

and-resources/statistics-and-indicators/statistics-and-graphs/rising-stems

is expected to continue. VET is traditionally animportant supply line for STEM skills, but there areconcerns that this supply may be insufficient andconstrain Europe’s economic growth, also in light ofcompetition for highly skilled STEM professionalsfrom countries outside the EU (such as the UnitedStates, Canada and Australia).

The second highlight (44), which reports onOECD’s survey of adult skills (PIAAC), shows that,unsurprisingly, adults with upper secondary VETqualifications generally have lower levels of literacyand numeracy proficiency than people with generalupper secondary education. PIAAC’s findings sig-nal importance of fostering information-processingskills, such as literacy and numeracy, to have moreadaptable VET graduates in the labour market.

The third highlight (45) reports on early school-leaving and rates of young people not inemployment, education or training and highlightssome recent policy measures that countries havetaken. The findings illustrate the difficulties youngpeople face in today’s world, as well as economicand social consequences of their being cut off fromthe labour market and education. They also under-line importance of keeping young people ineducation and training.

2.1.2. ACTIVITy: COMMON EUROPEAN TOOLS, QUALIFICATIONS AND LEARNINGOUTCOMES

Cedefop supports the European Commission,Member States, social partners and other

stakeholders in developing and implementing com-monly agreed European tools and principles (‘Ed-ucation and training 2020’ framework for coopera-tion in education and training; VET communiquéssince 2002 with the Bruges communiqué in 2010;and relevant Council recommend ations and reso-lutions). This work aims to make qualifications moretransparent, ease mobility of learners and workersand promote lifelong learning. Cedefop’s work pro-vides a strong evidence base for all who (co)shapeVET policies. Its analyses show that developmentand implementation of the tools has stimulated (re-forms of) VET and lifelong learning policies at alllevels, strengthening dialogue and interaction be-tween education and training and labour marketstakeholders.

Cedefop’s fifth annual review and analysis ofNQF developments in Europe, which includes 36updated country reports, was carried out anddrafted in-house. The analysis shows that qualifica-tions frameworks are increasingly becoming anintegral part of Europe’s education and training sys-tems. More countries refer to NQF levels whendeveloping new or updating qualification standardsand curricula. Increasingly, countries see NQF as atool for reform in education and training. However,


STEM graduates from upper secondary vocational programmes (%).

(44) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/statistics-and-indicators/statistics-and-graphs/adult-skills-and-vet

(45) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/statistics-and-indicators/statistics-and-graphs/keeping-young-people

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 BE BG CZ DK DE EE ES FR CY LV LT LU HU NL PL SI SK FI SE

Source: Cedefop calculations based on Eurostat, UOE data collection on education systems.

2006

2011

EU-27 average 2011 (29.4%)

EU-27 average 2006 (32%)

RESULTS ACHIEVED 25



VISITSTO THE EUROPASS WEBSITE

million22

80

PARTICIPATIONSIN EU SENIOR STAKEHOLDERMEETINGS THAT SUPPORTPOLICY IMPLEMENTATION

66


REFERENCES

Cedefop’s work on NQFs and validation of non-formaland informal learning cited, for example, in: ■ a Commission staff working document impact

assessment, accompanying a proposal for aregulation of the European Parliament and of theCouncil on a European network of employmentservices

■ European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) report onchallenges, actors and practices of non-formal andinformal learning and its validation in Europe

■ Reports on the processes countries use to linktheir NQFs to EQF (‘referencing reports’)

■ Analytical notes on state of play on countriesvalidation systems for non-formal and informallearning

■ Conceptual input on ESCO and internationalsectoral qualifications

■ EQF advisory group and its subgroup oninternational sectoral qualifications

■ ECVET users and steering groups and forum■ EQAVET steering committee, thematic groups and

forum■ ESCO board, maintenance committee and cross-

sectoral reference group■ Cedefop’s contribution to senior stakeholders’

meetings and EU expert working groups had thehighest demand (40%)

TOP THREE PUBLICATIONS:

■ Analysis and overview of NQF developmentsin European countries

■ Qualifications frameworks in Europe: forgingthe right links

■ Monitoring ECVET implementation strategiesin Europe

■ AVAILABLE IN 27 LANGUAGES

■ 102 million VISITS SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2005

■ 13 million CVS COMPLETED ONLINE IN 2014 (47 MILLION SINCE ITS LAUNCH)

00039

PERFORMANCE


PUBLICATIONS

to reach its full operational stage all relevant users– learners, parents, teachers, employers, and guid-ance and counselling practitioners – need to beaware of their added value and use them. IncludingNQF and EQF levels on certificates, diplomas andin qualifications databases is critical for achievingthis. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Den-mark, Estonia, Ireland, France Germany, Lithuania,Malta and Portugal have made significant progressin this area. For NQFs to benefit end-users, thelearning outcomes approach needs to be applied.Learning-outcomes-based NQF levels clarify whatis expected from the person who holds a specificqualification. It is a description of learning outcomeswhich makes qualifications more transparent.Results of the above analysis were published in thebriefing note Qualifications frameworks: expandinginfluence, persisting obstacles (46) in November.NQFs closely related to arrangements for validationof non-formal and informal learning are more rele-vant to individual learners. As Cedefop’s evidenceshows, in half the countries, NQF implementationhas led to discussions on how to ensure links withvalidation. The other half have already establishedthem, at least partly or for specific qualifications.Some countries, such as the Netherlands, havemade significant progress to include qualificationsfrom the non-formal and private sectors.

Outcomes of other Cedefop studies and analy-ses also informed implementation of EQF/NQF. Theworking paper Qualifications at level 5: progressingin a career or to higher education (47)and the briefingnote The hidden potential of level 5 qualifications,published in June (48), showed that these qualifica-tions play an important role in providing access toemployment and career advancement. They alsoenable further learning and progression to highereducation. This double function makes them attrac-tive to learners and employers. Acting as a bridgebetween education and training institutions and sub-systems, level 5 qualifications support vertical andhorizontal mobility. This allows learners to enrichtheir educational and professional profiles. Cede-fop’s analysis concludes that policy-makers maywant to explore EQF level 5 qualifications. Under-

standing types and purposes can help them deter-mine whether their qualifications landscape lacksoptions which combine labour market and highereducation appeal. It can also help them identify anddevelop qualifications required by the labour market,as is already the case in some countries.

Cedefop’s increased analytical work in 2014also fed into the EQF referencing process. Cedefopdrafted comments on 10 countries’ national reports(draft and final) explaining how they relate theirnational qualification levels to the EQF: Cyprus,Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Norway, Romania,Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. Cedefop’sanalysis shows that countries are putting consider-able effort into preparing credible and reliablereports explaining in detail terminological and con-ceptual links to the EQF. However, they encounterseveral challenges such as use of learning out-comes when assigning qualifications to NQF levels;or how to involve all stakeholders, including socialpartners, and improve cooperation with those veri-fying that higher education qualifications are in linewith the three-cycle Bologna framework. To informthe next stage of work, Cedefop analysed com-ments made by the EQF advisory group on the 26national reports submitted between September2009 and June 2014. This analysis shows that thereferencing process has worked in line with theEQF recommendation (2008) and the 10 referenc-ing criteria. Several challenges remain: manyreports are ‘work in progress’; others do not explainhow decisions to assign levels to qualificationshave been reached; often reports fail to describewhether and how quality assurance allows estab-lishment of levels of qualifications, or not. Findingsshow that referencing reports should be consideredas a first phase of a continuous process that shouldbe systematically reviewed and renewed.

NQFs are being increasingly used tostrengthen cooperation between countries andregions. Through its analysis of risks and benefitsof relating national frameworks of non-Europeancountries to the EQF, Cedefop also supported theCommission and Member States in their discus-sions on how to align NQFs of Australia, NewZealand and Hong Kong to the EQF. The analysisconfirmed that extended zones of common trustbetween EQF and non-European NQFs are impor-tant for recognition and mobility.

Discussions within the EQF advisory grouppointed to a need for better understanding of inter-national sectoral qualifications (ISQ) awarded bybodies operating outside direct jurisdiction ofnational authorities. To help understand better dif-ferent national policies and approaches used torelate these qualifications to NQFs, a subgroup


(46) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/9091

(47) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publica-tions/23886.aspx

(48) Cedefop (2014). The hidden potential of level 5 qualifications.http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/24057.aspx

was set up in March. Cedefop was invited to pro-vide analytical support for its work. The agencyproposed a common definition of ISQ illustratedwith concrete examples and analysed how Euro-pean welding certificates are linked to EQF levels.

Cedefop continued to support development ofa standard European classification of skills, compe-tences, occupations and qualifications (ESCO).Work in 2014 focused on conceptual developmentof the skills and competence pillar. This entailedcontinued work on terminology for transversal skillsand competences and preparatory work to developa methodology for using learning outcomes in theskills and competence pillar. Cedefop’s analysisinformed discussions of two workshops organisedin February by the Commission. The learning out-comes approach is now being applied by ESCOsectoral reference groups. Drawing on conclusionsof the workshops, Cedefop drafted a series ofnotes for the ESCO board as a basis for worktowards a fully operational ESCO in 2017.

The European inventory on validation of non-for-mal and informal learning 2014 update waspublished (49) on Cedefop’s website in November andincludes 36 reports for 33 countries, eight thematicreports and two case studies (50). It shows that coun-tries are progressing towards a goal of establishingvalidation arrangements by 2018 as stipulated in the2012 Council recommendation (51), although at aslow pace. More countries are developing or review-ing their national strategies for validation butawareness of its benefits still remains weak amongcitizens and other stakeholders in most Europeancountries. This is also linked to lack of consistentdata on use of validation. Validation arrangementsseem more common in VET and for qualificationsclosely related to specific occupations, like those pro-vided by public employment services. Increasingly,however, higher education institutions are waivingformal requirements. Voluntary and third sectororganisations are also increasingly involved in vali-dating non-formal and informal learning. Outcomesof the inventory were summarised in the briefing noteThe validation challenge: how close is Europe torecognising all learning?, released in November.

The inventory is complemented by and corrob-orates findings from a reference publication Use ofValidation by enterprises for human resource andcareer development purposes (52), published inMay. Based on interviews in 10 selected Europeancountries (53), 20 case studies and a survey of morethan 400 European enterprises, the publication pro-vides one of the first reviews of validation activitiesoutside the public sector. It reveals that correctlyassessing skills and competence is important inEuropean companies’ recruitment and humanresource management. Outcomes are mostly firm-specific and employees will normally not be able touse them outside the company in question. Thisleads to a multiplicity of firm-specific standardswithin the business community. The study alsoreveals that enterprises’ efforts in competenceassessment are not really linked to public validationarrangements.

The European credit system for vocational edu-cation and training (ECVET) entered its fifth year ofimplementation in 2014. Using information providedby social partners, national and regional authoritiesand experts on credit transfer systems, Cedefop’sreport Monitoring ECVET implementation strate-gies in Europe in 2013 (54) was published inFebruary. It looked into how far 38 countries/regions have come in testing, using, and commit-ting to applying ECVET in qualifications. Cedefop’s

RESULTS ACHIEVED 27

(49) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/validation-non-formal-and-informal-learning/european-inventory

(50) Thematic reports: Awareness raising; Competence assessmentin the private sector; Current approaches to skills audits in thepublic sector; Multilevel governance; Guidance and counselling;Research themes on validation; Validation and early school-leavers; Validation methods. Case studies: Kompetenz mitSystem Austria; validation of self-acquired learning and creditstransfer in web design and computer animation (Create).

(51) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news-and-press/news/counc-il-recommendation-validation-non-formal-and-informal-learning


(53) Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, theNetherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain.

(54) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/publications/22409.aspx

European inventory on validation of non-formal and informallearning (left) and Use of validation by enterprises (right).

analysis shows mixed support for ECVET in rela-tion to national VET reforms. Only a few countriesare committed to its implementation and not all ofthese have actually started implementation. In mostcases, transfer of learning outcomes was reportedto be difficult, thus ECVET’s potential and addedvalue was easily acknowledged. ECVET seems notto reach those countries that already have credittransfer systems for VET in place and those withpredominantly apprenticeship-based IVET. Out-comes of Cedefop’s analysis informed theEuropean Commission’s external evaluation ofECVET implementation.

In May, Cedefop held a workshop ‘Role ofcredit transfer systems in opening access, admis-sion and exemption between vocational educationand training (VET) and higher education’ (55). Par-ticipants discussed to what extent it is necessaryand possible to make the two credit transfer sys-tems compatible, comparable and complementary,and how they interact with validation of non-formaland informal learning. Key messages from theworkshop show the following: while keeping theirdistinctive features in terms of learning types, VETand higher education are becoming increasinglyintertwined and complementary. Higher educationtends to include more work-based/practical learn-ing while VET is increasingly catering for analytical,critical thinking, active citizenship and valuesessential for today’s society.

In 2014, the Europass website registered 22million visits (20 million visits in 2013), and 13 mil-lion CVs were generated online (10 million in 2013).Following revamping of the site and online editor in2013, Cedefop focused on continuous improve-ment of Europass web resources to meet users’needs better. Content of the ICT self-assessmentgrid was finalised and the tool will be integrated intothe Europass CV in early 2015 to help citizens self-assess their ICT skills and competences based ona common set of standard levels and descriptors. Acover letter online editor was launched in April anda more intuitive, optimised, online editor withresponsive layout compatible with tablets waslaunched in October. A prototype of a CV templatefor blind and visually impaired users was developedin cooperation with the Thessaloniki school for theblind. Cooperation with DG EMPL on implementa-tion of common ESCO taxonomies is ongoing andinteroperability of Europass with other employmentinitiatives (56) is improving (CV export in Europassformat from Eures, import LinkedIn profile to theonline editor, import/export of Europass CV fromand to cloud storage services, etc.).

In 2014, Cedefop continued to support theEuropean Commission in implementing theEQAVET recommendation and generated furtherknowledge on quality assurance in VET throughresearch. Cedefop contributed to work of theEQAVET steering committee, annual forum and itstwo working groups on: (a) helping with develop-ment of a quality approach for VET providers in linewith EQAVET; and (b) supporting VET systems toaddress the interrelation between the EQAVETframework and existing quality management sys-tems/instruments.

Although learning in small firms usually takesplace informally and on the job, the trainingprocess is not necessarily less structured than inbigger enterprises. This is one conclusion of Cede-fop’s study Quality approaches in learning patternsin EU small firms. While public policies, campaignsand incentives encourage acquisition of skills insmall enterprises, potential of such programmes isunderestimated as small firms lack informationabout these campaigns. Informal learning, whichdominates the scene in small enterprises, is diffi-cult to address with current quality assuranceapproaches. As a result, quality assessment crite-ria and descriptors adapted to specific needs andcharacteristics of small firms need to be devel-oped.


(55) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/events/22602.aspx

(56) EURES CV database, job portals.

Nevena Vuksanovic, European Students Union, at Cedefop’sexpert workshop ‘Role of credit transfer systems in openingaccess, admission and exemption between vocational educa-tion and training (VET) and higher education’.

The workshop on quality requirements of newforms and contexts of teaching and learning (23and 24 October) brought together higher educationand VET teachers with longstanding experience ine-learning, policy-makers and EU stakeholders.Participants reflected on the advantages and chal-lenges that media-driven learning presents forstudents, teachers and educational institutions. Theworkshop confirmed that quality plays a key role inthis type of education. Quality matters alsobecause there is an increased need to reassurestudents and society of the real value and currencyof qualifications. Discussions also concluded thatqualitative e-learning costs more than generallythought.

A series of complementary studies that pro-vided evidence on how the shift to learningoutcomes is taking place across European educa-tion and training systems and practices reinforcedCedefop’s research and analytical work in this field.First, preliminary results of the study on the use oflearning outcomes in 33 European countriesdemonstrate that this approach is increasingly gain-ing ground. How it is used, however, variesbetween countries, education and training sectorsand institutions. Second, a study on writing learningoutcomes analysed cases from VET and highereducation in 10 countries. It demonstrates a lack ofconsistency across countries and institutions. Thisis also mirrored in guidance material produced indifferent countries and points to a need for moresystematic cooperation and sharing of experiencesin this field. Third, the study on teaching and learn-ing methods in initial VET analyses the rolelearning outcomes approaches play in pedagogicalchange and presents evidence of good practice invocational pedagogy in 15 EU Member States. Itexamines benefits of learner-centred pedagogiesand identifies obstacles to using it as well as other

innovative pedagogies more widely in initial VET.Based on evidence from the above studies – to bepublished in 2015 and 2016 – Cedefop providedanalytical papers, syntheses, and guidance andinformation material to support implementation ofthe EQF advisory group’s work programme onlearning outcomes, thus contributing to increasedcoordination and consistency in this field of work.

In addition to help implement the tools, Cede-fop examined the ‘bridging function’ the tools needto have to assist progression in learning and work.

To show which technical and conceptual condi-tions would be necessary to simplify and betterfocus the European tools and principles, Cedefopexamined the EU tools from the following perspec-tives: (a) learning outcomes; (b) individual learningexperiences; (c) credit transfer; (d) quality assur-ance; and (e) the labour market. Cedefop’soutcomes were debated at a high-level conference‘Stepping up the pace: the European tools: relevantto citizens and the labour market’ (28 and 29November) and fed directly into the Commission’swork on the next stage of EU tools and principles.

RESULTS ACHIEVED 29

Stepping up the pace conference.

2.1.3. ACTIVITy: STUDY VISITS

Cedefop’s coordinating role of the transversalkey action 1: study visits for education and

vocational training specialists of the lifelong learn-ing programme 2007-13 ended in June 2014. Thelast study visits took place from 16 to 20 June inPortugal on encouraging cooperation between theworlds of education, training and work, and inSpain and France on promoting acquisition of keycompetences throughout the education and train-ing system. During 2014, a total of 143 study visitstook place.

In the academic year 2013/14, 245 study visitstook place in 32 countries with 2 709 education andvocational training specialists from 34 countries.Among the four study visits specifically for policy-and decision-makers, one focused on the socialpartners’ role in developing NQFs.

Assessment of the programme’s impact on par-ticipants shows that it consistently met itsobjectives of promoting the quality and trans-parency of education and training systems ofparticipating countries, and providing opportunitiesto establish professional contacts potentially usefulfor developing new projects and creating networks.Analysis of the participants’ questionnaires of the2012/13 study visits shows that:■ 95% of respondents became more aware of

education and training systems in Europeancountries;

■ 32% made suggestions concerning educationand training policy in their country;

■ 26% developed and submitted proposals for acooperation project as a result of their studyvisit.

These findings are based on data collectedfrom 2012/13 participants: 2 512 questionnaireswere sent out (42% response rate), demonstratingparticipants’ willingness to share their experiencesand confirming results of previous years. Data werealso collected from 2012/13 organisers of study vis-its: 204 questionnaires were sent out (40.2%response rate). Results confirmed a very high levelof satisfaction (97.6%) and a positive impact onhost organisations.

Study visits publications continued to be popu-lar on Cedefop’s web portal, accounting for 16% ofall Cedefop publications. The study visits catalogue2013/14 scored highest in terms of downloads,although displaying a significant decrease com-pared to previous years due to discontinuation ofthe programme.


SATISFIED

IN

95%MET EXPECTATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS

CONTENT OF THE VISITS

FROM EMPLOYERS AND TRADE UNIONS ORGANISATIONSA MINIMUM OF 15%

2452700

WITH THEIR STUDY VISIT

OF PARTICIPANTS

STUDY VISITSIN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/14

PERFORMANCE

PARTICIPANTS



13

PARTICIPATIONSIN EU SENIOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT SUPPORT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

41


REFERENCES

■ Guiding principles on professional developmentof trainers in VET’ (drafted for the Commission’sthematic working group on professionaldevelopment of trainers in VET) – one objectiveof the Bruges communiqué

■ The policy handbook on access to andparticipation in CVET (57) – an EU-level deliverableof the Bruges communiqué

■ ET 2020 working groups on VET, adult learningand thematic working group on trainers in VET

■ Direct contribution to the European alliance forapprenticeships – Focus on development andimplementation in countries undergoing reform(Lithuania and Malta)

Cedefop’s work on apprenticeship cited for example in: ■ Commission’s report Return on investment of

apprenticeship systems for enterprises: evidencefrom cost-benefit analyses

■ ETUC resolution on improving quality ofapprenticeship and work-based learning


■ Keeping young people in (vocational)education: what works?

■ Developing apprenticeships

■ Macroeconomic benefits of vocationaleducation and training

00036

2.2. CAREER AND TRANSITIONS – CVET, ADULT AND WORK-BASED LEARNING

2.2.1. ACTIVITy: EMPOWERING ADULTS AND YOUNGPEOPLE

Cedefop in 2014 directly contributed to theEuropean alliance for apprenticeships by:

(a) stimulating policy discussion and policy learn-ing; (b) supporting cooperation at European leveland among Member States; (c) investigating theconditions for developing and expanding appren-ticeship in different countries.

The alliance promotes partnerships and coop-eration between Member States, social partnersand other labour market actors, as apprenticeships’

RESULTS ACHIEVED 31

(57) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/6125

PERFORMANCE


PUBLICATIONS

potential is still underused in many countries.Within this framework Cedefop carried out severalactivities.

First, it organised with the European Commis-sion a European conference ’Steering partnershipsfor growth’ (58) (Thessaloniki, 7 and 8 May) to helpcountries find potential partners willing to cooperatein developing apprenticeship schemes.

On the eve of the above conference, Cedefoppublished a briefing note Developing apprentice-ships (59). It underlines that despite theiradvantages as a way of aligning VET to labourmarket needs, apprenticeships are still overallunderused. Employers often remark that schoolgraduates entering the labour market lack jobreadiness. Apprenticeships, by combining school-based learning with learning in an enterprise, canhelp overcome this problem. They provide workexperience and so improve young people’s jobprospects, as well as paying them a wage duringtheir training. yet, apprenticeships, like VET gener-ally, seem to have an image problem in somecountries. The briefing note confirms that develop-ment of apprenticeships heavily depends onemployers’ commitment to provide training placesand in-company training, and design curricula incooperation with schools and training centres.

In May 2014, Cedefop launched thematic coun-try reviews looking into apprenticeship systems of

Lithuania and Malta on a pilot basis. The reviewswere officially launched by Cedefop’s Director,competent ministers and relevant VET stakehold-ers in both countries. To support the review,Cedefop prepared country background papersfocusing on quality apprenticeships’ role to: combatyouth unemployment and attract more people towork-based learning (Lithuania); and integrateapprenticeship programmes better into formal edu-cation and training, and certified throughqualifications referenced to the qualifications frame-work (Malta). Country background papers andquality frameworks for apprenticeships were dis-cussed during the first policy learning event whichgathered stakeholders from both countries in Thes-saloniki on 8 and 9 September 2014.

Cedefop, in close coordination with the Com-mission, also continued to provide strategic andexpert input to the ET 2020 working group on VET,focusing on apprenticeship until 2015. For a coun-try workshop organised in Paris on 26 and 27 June,as well as working group meetings held in Brusselsin March and November, Cedefop contributed topreparing the agendas and drafted backgrounddocumentation on attractiveness, guidance andsupport to SMEs based on findings of severalCedefop activities and projects.

To increase take-up of training and apprentice-ships by companies, especially SMEs, Cedefopbegan to evaluate the possibility of making a busi-ness case for training. A workshop ‘Costs andbenefits of apprenticeship’ (60), organised on 24


(58) Cedefop (2014).http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/events/22591.aspx


(60) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/events/costs-and-benefits-apprenticeship-company-perspective

Steering partnerships for growth – Thessaloniki, 7 and 8 May.

and 25 November aimed to debate different meth-ods and tools for measuring costs and benefits ofapprenticeship at company level and test theirapplicability in different European contexts (coun-tries or sectors). The workshop reviewedapproaches for studying costs and benefits ofapprenticeship for companies, discussed exam-ples of tools developed to calculate costs andbenefits of (apprenticeship) training including thetools designed for individual use by employers,and finally discussed relevance and feasibility ofdevising a cost-benefit tool that could be appliedon a wider scale and put at the service of Euro-pean companies as an incentive to take onapprentices.

With worryingly high numbers of jobless youth,Cedefop reinforced its work on VET’s role in help-ing reduce early leaving from education andtraining. A workshop (Thessaloniki, 3 and 4 June)brought together national policy-makers, experts incharge of national statistics, practitioners and inter-national experts to discuss early findings ofCedefop’s study on VET’s effect on the dropoutrate. Early findings reveal that in countries wherevocational pathways account for a large share ofeducation and training, rates of early school leavingare below the EU target for 2020 (10%). The studyhighlighted that over 97% of early leavers aredropouts, with the remainder being young peoplewho never start post-compulsory education andtraining. It also found that one in five dropoutseventually achieve upper secondary qualifications,with 77% doing so within three years. Building onCedefop’s research, a joint Eurydice-Cedefopreport Tackling early leaving from education andtraining in Europe: strategies, policies and meas-ures was published in November (61).

EMPOWERING ADULTS

To address challenges adults are facing in thelabour market, Cedefop also provides evidenceand comparative analysis on work-based learningin CVET. Outcomes of the study Work-based learn-ing approaches in CVET in Europe: policies andpractices were discussed at a workshop in Thessa-loniki on 21 and 22 October). Draft findings indicatethat work-based learning appears to be framed bypolicies and governance systems. Policies areinfluenced by governments’ strategies, national leg-islation, EU funding and sector organisations andsocial partners. The study highlights areas forimprovement in functioning of work-based learningin CVET, including: trainers’ qualifications, strength-ening roles of training providers (such as throughcloser cooperation with employers), and simplifyingfunding mechanisms (especially for SMEs).

Taking stock of a selection of Cedefop’s pastwork and latest outcomes of its monitoring of VETpolicy report, as well as Commission studies, pre-liminary results of Cedefop’s ‘stocktaking in CVET’informed discussions at the DGVT’s meeting underthe Italian Presidency in October. Results revealthat CVET benefits for individuals, companies andsociety need to be better promoted to stimulateconcerted action. Areas for further action include:

RESULTS ACHIEVED 33

(61) European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Cedefop (2014).http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/the-matic_reports/175EN.pdf

‘Designing, implementing and supporting effective work-based learning’ workshop – Thessaloniki, 21 and 22 October.

stimulating interest and motivation of individuals,companies and VET providers to embark on andparticipate systematically in CVET; widening andeasing access to CVET, in particular for smallenterprises; ensuring continuous competencedevelopment for in-company trainers, VET teach-ers and guidance counsellors.

The policy handbook on access to and partici-pation in CVET (62) was finalised and widelydisseminated. An EU-level deliverable of the Brugescommuniqué, the handbook provides policy guid-ance illustrated by examples of effective practices.It is addressed to Member States, social partners,enterprises and other VET stakeholders to helpthem extend access to and increase participation inCVET, and to reinforce high-quality provision.

During the first semester, Cedefop alsolaunched a new database on financing adult learn-ing (63). The database provides information ondesign and performance of cost-sharing schemesimplemented in 27 EU countries (64). These meas-ures are put in place to help individuals and firmsto overcome financial barriers to participation inadult education to increase participation and privateinvestment in adult learning. The database coverstraining funds, tax incentives, grants, vouchers/indi-

vidual learning accounts, loans, training leave andpayback clauses.

Cedefop continued to coordinate jointly with theCommission the thematic working group (TWG) onprofessional development of trainers in VET untilend of its mandate in February. Resulting from con-tributions of the European Commission, Cedefopand the thematic working group (65) to the objectiveset in the Bruges communiqué, Guiding principleson professional development of trainers in VET (66)was published in May followed by a promotionalflyer EU, be proud of your trainers (67), released inOctober.

The guiding principles point to in-companytrainers’ key role and summarise legislative provi-sions, national and local approaches, programmesand initiatives. Outcomes of the thematic workinggroup were discussed at a Greek Presidency con-ference ‘Addressing skills mismatches throughwork-based learning in VET’ (March) and at anACVT meeting (June).

The research paper Macroeconomic benefits ofvocational education and training (68), published inJanuary, builds on and expands a body of researchon the relationship between education and produc-tivity growth. The analysis carried out in six EU


(62) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/6125

(63) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/FinancingAdultLearning/ (deliver-able from 2013).

(64) Croatia not covered.

(65) Thematic working group aiming at collecting good practice anddeveloping guiding principles on the changing roles, compe-tences and professional development of VET teachers andtrainers.

(66) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/news/24007.aspx


(68) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/11982(deliverable from 2013)

Employee participation in CVET by size of enterprise and form of learning (% of all employees in all training and non-training enterprises), EU 2005 and 2010.

50

40

30

20

10

0

Source: Cedefop. Policy handbook on access to and participation in CVET in Europe.

2005 all sizes 2010 all sizes 2010 small

Courses Guidedon-the-job

training

Attendance at conferencesworkshops, lectures

and seminars

Self-directedlearning

Job rotation, exchanges,secondments,

study visits

Learning/qualitycircles

2010 medium 2010 large

3338

1620

7 85

82 2 3 3

Member States representing different types of VETsystems (69) suggests that general and vocationalskills complement each other although skills’ impacton productivity is more pronounced in countrieswhere VET is based on apprenticeship training. Theanalysis further suggests that developing a mix ofvocational and general qualifications at various lev-els will ultimately increase productivity performance.

The research paper Navigating difficult waters:learning for career and labour market transitions (70)presents 125 individual biographies in five EUcountries (71). They show there is ample room forpolicy intervention to help adults in successfullymanaging career changes. Career guidance andcounselling, in particular, can be very effective. Thestudy identifies four critical dimensions to success-ful management of career changes and transitions:development of occupational identity as individualsmove through the labour market; lifelong learning;roles of educational institutions to support mid-career development or changes; and careerdevelopment and management skills.

Although labour demand will continue to beweak in the coming years, Cedefop skill forecastspoint to another challenge already visible in somecountries: falling labour supply and shortages as the

population ages. Tackling lack of labour andaddressing skill shortages may require not onlybringing more inactive people and women into thelabour force, but also encouraging economic migra-tion. The working paper Valuing diversity: guidancefor labour market integration of migrants (72), pub-lished in September, raises awareness of the criticalcontribution that guidance services can make tomigrants’ integration, analysing all aspects whichaffect quality of their provision. The study identifieschallenges and actions in: target group identificationand stakeholders’ engagement; evidence andaccountability of guidance provision; sustainabilityand innovation as well as quality of services.

Outcomes of Cedefop’s activities on empower-ing adults fed directly into work of the EuropeanCommission’s ET 2020 working group on adultlearning to which the Centre provided continuousadvice and expertise.

2.3. ANALYSING SKILLSAND COMPETENCE NEEDSTO INFORM VET PROVISION2.3.1. ACTIVITy: SKILLS ANALYSIS

L ess than three months after formally taking overresponsibility for the EU skills panorama project

and prototype website, Cedefop launched both animproved panorama website (73) and an open callfor tender to redesign the web portal prototype inthe medium term. The ambition is to transform thepanorama into a new dynamic, interactive web plat-form to serve as a reference portal for informationon skills, job prospects and labour market intelli-gence in Europe and support informed decision-making by policy-makers and career advisors. Theultimate goal is to help increase transparency inEuropean labour markets, and thus contribute toreducing skills mismatch. To improve accessibilityto data and intelligence on skill needs for non-expertusers and provide concise factual and relevant in-formation on trends in occupations, sectors and

RESULTS ACHIEVED 35

(69) Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and theUnited Kingdom.

(70) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12024(71) Denmark, Germany, Spain, France and Italy.

(72) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12036(73) http://euskillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/

EU, be proud of your trainers.

skills, the improved panorama prototype websiteprovides ‘analytical highlights’. In 2014, more than40 highlights were published on various topics, suchas occupations, sectors or skills and learning issues.Another 28 country analytical highlights will be pub-lished early in 2015.

Cedefop also carried out a feasibility study toassess availability and fit-for-purpose of labourmarket information (LMI) on skills and relatedissues at pan-European level for supportingcareer advisors and employment services in theirdaily work at national level. The study providesrecommendations on how such support throughLMI can be achieved. Based on outcomes of thefeasibility study, a new tool for career advisors andemployment services will be developed andlaunched in 2016 to extend and improve thepanorama.




24

PARTICIPATIONSIN EU SENIOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT SUPPORT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

13


REFERENCES

Numerous contributions to analytical highlights on the EUskills panorama website providing information on occupa-tions, sectors and skills to non-expert readers

■ European skills panorama steering group■ DG CNECT – DG JRC meeting on ICT, skills and

employment issues■ a conference ‘Sustainable economy and sustainable

employment‘ of the European network on regionallabour market monitoring

■ ETUI-ETUC conference ‘Europe at a crossroads’

CEDEFOP’S WORK ON SKILLS ANALYSIS cited most, for example in:■ Council conclusions on improving social inclusion of

young people not in employment, education or training;■ European Commission staff working documents on

macroeconomic imbalances;■ joint report of ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP and

UEAPME on skills needs in greening economies.


■ Skill mismatch: more than meets the eye –most popular publication in 2014;

■ Future skills supply and demand in Europe;

■ Roads to recovery: three skill and labourmarket scenarios for 2025.

00036

PERFORMANCE

LEFT: Analytical highlight on construction sector.

RIGHT: Analytical highlight on skills and learning: foreign languages.


PUBLICATIONS

Cedefop’s latest skill supply and demand fore-casts (74) highlight Europe’s employment challengefor the period 2013 to 2025. As the mid-point ofEurope’s 2020 strategy approaches, forecast dataindicate that employment in the EU is projected togrow by about 2% over the period 2013 to 2020 butthe EU’s target of 75% of people aged 20 to 64being in a job by 2020 looks beyond reach. Mem-ber States are expected to exceed the Europeanaverage employment growth of around 0.35% perannum during 2013-20. Unemployment will fall by2020, but not only because people will find jobs.The labour force will also shrink. Discouraged

unemployed people may also become inactive andprogressively socially marginalised. On the brightside, everything indicates that the EU is on courseto surpass educational attainment of 40% of 30 to34 year-olds having a tertiary level qualification andthe benchmark on early school leaving is also likelyto be met. However, a slowdown of job creation inhigh-skilled jobs and a strong and continuous risein educational attainment, increase incidences ofoverqualification, especially as, at times of weakemployment demand, people are more willing toaccept jobs below their qualification level. Most jobopportunities will continue to be in services.

Although the trend towards a high skill-inten-sive labour market is slowed down by lowereconomic growth, the forecast indicates that sharesof jobs employing higher-qualified labour will con-tinue to increase between now and 2020 (and

RESULTS ACHIEVED 37

(74) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/forecasting-skill-demand-and-supply/skills-forecasts-main-results

50

40

30

20

10

0

Source: Cedefop – Data published in 2014.

Managers

604020

0-20

Skills forecast: employment trends by occupation (in millions), EU-28+

Skills forecast: job opportunities by qualification (in millions), EU-28+ (2013-25)

Professionals Techniciansand associateprofessionals

Clerical supportworkers

Serviceand

sales workers

Skilled agriciltural, forestry and

fishery workers

Craft and related

trades workers

Plant and machine operators and

assemblers

Elementaryoccupations

A

2020 202520132008

Total job opportunitiesReplacement demandExpansion demand

Mediumqualification

Lowqualification

Highqualification

beyond). Despite this clear trend, when expansion(new jobs created) and replacement (job openingsbecause people leave the labour market) demandare combined, around half of jobs will continue torequire medium-level qualifications, many of whichare vocational.

The research paper Coping with changes ininternational classifications of sectors and occupa-tions (75) highlights technical difficulties caused bychanges in international classifications of sectors(NACE) and occupations (ISCO) and how thesechanges were managed in Cedefop’s skill fore-casts’ results.

A technical workshop ‘Forecasting skill supplyand demand in Europe: setting the scene for 2016forecasts‘ (76) aimed to involve national experts inthe forecasting process, drawing on their generalknowledge and expertise, as well as obtaining sub-stantial country-specific insights. Key topicscovered: new Eurostat population projections(Europop 2013) and their impact on forecastingresults; economic developments in Member States;improvements in estimation of replacementdemand and indicators of imbalances.

In 2013, Cedefop tested its revised employersurvey instrument in eight countries to measurechanging skill needs in Europe and explore theoptimal survey sampling design. A workshop‘Employer survey on skill needs in Europe: surveyinstrument and sampling design’ (77) aimed to makea final review of the instrument and samplingdesign and discuss recommendations for full-scaleimplementation. The major concern raised byCedefop after pilot testing and assessment of sam-pling design was ensuring value for money in rollingout a complex survey at pan-European level whileensuring sufficient precision of estimates for alloccupations in all countries. Based on Cedefop rec-ommendations, and despite the survey’s potential,the European Commission considered that thecosts and risks associated with the survey wouldlikely outweigh the benefits and so decided not toproceed at this stage. The difficulties encounteredat European level would be considerably reducedat national or sectoral levels so Cedefop will makethe questionnaire and guidelines on how to carryhow the survey available to interested parties.

Employer survey pilot results and the Centre’slatest skill forecast were presented at variousevents, including a conference on matching educa-

tion with needs of public services in the labour mar-ket, coorganised by the European centre ofemployers and enterprises providing public serv-ices (CEEP) and the European Federation ofEducation Employers (EFEE) (78).

Matching skills and jobs has become a high-pri-ority policy concern, as mismatches, occurringwhen workers have either fewer or more skills thanjobs require, may result in underutilisation ofhuman capital and in job vacancies not being filled.Since the global economic crisis, skills mismatchhas become more prominent and many employersreport difficulties in finding suitably skilled workers,even in economies with high levels of employment.In this context, the report produced by the WorldEconomic Forum’s global agenda council onemployment (of which Cedefop was a memberfrom 2012 to 2014), Matching skills and labour mar-ket needs in the world economy – Building socialpartnerships for better skills and better jobs (79),presents a set of policy recommendations toimprove skills matching to labour market needs bybuilding social partnerships.

First, action is needed to reduce the gapbetween knowledge generated within formal edu-cation and training and the skills demanded byemployers. Second, continuing intervention is nec-essary during the employment life cycle, targetingcontinuous skill development and use. Third, tomake education systems more responsive tolabour market needs, and ensure that studentscomplete their schooling with skills needed to findwork, requires collaboration between employersand public authorities.

Employers need to be more involved and havestronger ownership of skills. Social dialogue canpromote high-quality jobs and stable employmentrelationships, as well as help employers and work-ers recognise importance of continuous skillsdevelopment. Governments should provide finan-cial incentives to support employer-providedtraining, particularly for occupations in shortage orfor workers that otherwise would not benefit from it.Activation strategies should not only focus onimmediate benefits of filling a job vacancy. Deci-sions on training and placements should alsoconsider employability and adaptability in a long-term perspective. Finally, a well-designed andwell-managed migration policy is also important intackling skill shortages.


(75) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12034(76) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/10596(77) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/10581

(78) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/8681(79) http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_

Employment_MatchingSkillsLabourMarket_Report_2014.pdf

These recommendations are developed in theabove-mentioned WEF policy paper presented inJanuary in Davos-Klosters, which Cedefop’sexpertise in skill mismatch contributed to shape.From 2014 to 2016, Cedefop will continue its col-laboration with the WEF through participation, withother leading world institutions and experts, in theglobal agenda council on the future of jobs. Thecouncil started its work in the autumn and met atthe summit on the global agenda organised by theWEF in November in Dubai.

A briefing note Skills mismatch: more thanmeets the eye (80), published in March, sheds lighton mismatch rooted in education and training aswell as economic developments and labour marketstructures. To ensure that young people canacquire skills in demand, and adults can refreshand replenish them, it calls for employer commit-ment and reinforced cooperation betweengovernments and social partners.

Such cooperation should develop at all levelsand subsectors of education and training. It shouldaim to develop short-term training to address swiftlyskill deficits, for example in innovative sectors, aswell as tackling longer-term changes in labour mar-ket needs.

To deepen understanding of skills and skill mis-match in Europe, Cedefop undertook in the firstsemester of 2014 the first pan-European skills sur-vey (81). The survey asked some 48 000 adultemployees across all 28 Member States about their

skills, how they use them in their jobs and how theyhave developed over their careers. The aim is tounderstand better how individuals’ qualificationsand skills are matched (or not) with changing skilldemand and complexities of their jobs. The surveyalso looks at the extent to which their skills aredeveloped and used in their workplaces. Surveyresults – to be released in 2015 – will help developEuropean policies on initial and continuing VET andfor employment. They will also provide useful evi-dence on the best human resource developmentpractices in European enterprises.

Experts from international organisations includ-ing ILO, Unesco, Unitar, the World Bank anduniversities, as well as country delegates, met atthe second Cedefop/OECD green skills forum (82)in Paris in February, to discuss how environmentalpolicies can successfully be implemented in com-bination with policies for job creation and socialinclusion. In his opening speech, OECD DeputySecretary-General underlined the need to shareexperience and cooperate in creation of knowledgeas we move from a high-carbon to a low-carbonsociety. Cedefop’s Deputy Director stressed thepivotal role of the EU in sustainable development.He pointed out that combination of greener jobsand more jobs is also about better-quality jobs.Even though progress had been made, environ-mental progress is still driven by policy andregulation rather than market demand. The tippingpoint from which green will be the new mainstream

RESULTS ACHIEVED 39

(80) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/12002(81) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/node/8702

(82) http://www.oecd.org/innovation/greenskillsforum2014.htm

Imbalances in the EU labour market, adult employees (aged 25-64), 2011.

Source: Cedefop based on EU labour force survey micro data.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

High-educated jobs

Medium-educated jobs

Low-educated jobs

High-educated employees

Medium-educated employees

Low-educated employees

has not yet been reached. Only then will we seesubstantial creation of new greener jobs, and pos-session of green skills will be required in manyprofessions and honoured by employers. Through-out the year, Cedefop also contributed to theinteragency working group on greening TVET andskills development (83),DG CNECT – DG JRC meet-ing on ICT, skills and employment issues (84),theEuropean network on regional labour market mon-itoring conference on sustainable economy andsustainable employment, and the ETUI-ETUC con-ference ‘Europe at a crossroads’.

Cedefop contributed to the OECD and Euro-pean Union publication Matching economicmigration with labour market needs (85) with a chap-ter on projected labour market imbalances. Thechapter investigates the extent to which economiesof EU Member States are likely to encounter aggre-gate skill imbalances by the year 2020, andassesses necessity of appropriate policies. Resultshighlight that meeting the respective EU 2020employment targets is dependent on considerableactivation efforts by several EU Member States,which will have to outweigh existing policies.

Throughout the year, Cedefop participated inseveral working and expert groups related to skillneeds in Europe as well as in Latin America, whereCedefop was invited to participate in four interna-tional seminars on skills for productivity (Peru, Chili,Brazil, Mexico) organised jointly by the Inter-Amer-ican Development Bank and the European Union,Latin America and the Caribbean Foundation (EULAC). Cedefop contributions focused on skillsanticipation methods, the link between skills andproductivity, and how to ensure coordination withthe labour market to promote development of sus-tainable and productive skills ecosystems. Invitedby OECD, Cedefop made a written and keynotecontribution to the EU-OECD roundtable on eco-nomic mobility and migration with an analysis offuture labour supply imbalances in the EU. Cedefopwas also invited to attend the ‘European jobs andskills summit’ hosted by the Institute for Public Pol-icy Research (IPPR) and the JP MorganFoundation. The summit launched a major multi-year project on future of employment, and skillspolicy and practice across Europe.


(84) DG CNECT/DG JRC/IPTS digital economy research programmeworkshop on ICT skills, jobs and growth.

(85) http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/matc-hing-economic-migration-with-labour-market-needs/projected-labour-market-imbalances-in-europe-policy-challenges-in-mee-ting-the-europe-2020-employment-targets_9789264216501-12-en

COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION AND DISSEMINATION 41

COMMUNICATION,INFORMATION

AND DISSEMINATION

ARTICLESREFERRING TO CEDEFOPIN EUROPEAN MEDIA

(AN INCREASE OF 52% OVER 2013)

FOLLOWERS ON

FACEBOOK

8005 FOLLOWERS ON

TWITTER

8002

745

ORGANISED BY CEDEFOP69 EVENTS

Continued, systematic and targeted promotion anddissemination of Cedefop publications succeeded inincreasing demand for briefing notes targetingpolicy-makers and published in eight languages

Die Welt, the Times Educational Supplement, El Pais.Most articles refer to Cedefop’s skills forecasting,work-based learning/apprenticeships, careers andtransitions in the labour market

92% of participants rated Cedefop’sevents as GOOD or VERY GOOD

44% are POLICY-MAKERS at EU/national level

16 % RESEARCHERS12 % PRACTITIONERS and

4% SOCIAL PARTNERS

DOWNLOADS OF CEDEFOP BRIEFING NOTES

00072(4% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR)

(INCREASED BY 33% OVER 2013) (INCREASED BY 36% OVER 2013)

3.1. ACTIVITy: EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Communication activities focused on raising VET’s profile and communicat-ing key messages to Cedefop’s stakeholders and the media. Following

revision of Cedefop’s communication strategy, a new integrated communica-tion plan (including briefing notes, press, social media, web news, newsletter,video clips and interviews) was introduced and successfully implemented. It

PERFORMANCE

led to improved alignment and efficiency of Cede-fop’s external communication activities, as well asto increased visibility of the Centre’s work. Mediamonitoring registered a total of 745 press clippingsin 2014, an increase of 52% over 2013. Cedefop’sfollowers on social media (Facebook, Twitter)increased by more than 33% over 2013.

In May, Cedefop’s first issue of a new magazineSkillset and match was published; a second issuefollowed in September. Disseminated to about 1500 Cedefop key stakeholders, both issues werevery well received by the target groups. Efforts con-tinued to bring together different stakeholders andfoster cooperation on joint events and conferences,both at local and European levels. Following Euro-pean elections in May, Cedefop maintained andrenewed its contacts with MEPs and the EMPLCommittee. It paved the way for cooperation in2015 on matching skills and jobs. Contacts with theEESC were also renewed and cooperation for 2015was put in place. Key visiting groups in 2014 com-prised a group of members of the GermanParliament and a high-level group from Argentina.In 2014, Cedefop organised 69 events, attended bymore than 2 000 participants from all over Europeand beyond. Evaluation of conference participants’surveys shows that Cedefop’s expertise and knowl-edge-sharing is of high value and increasinglyuseful to key policy-makers and social partners,both at European, national and local levels.

3.2. ACTIVITy:DOCUMENTATION AND INFORMATION

To streamline activities and pursue further effi-ciency gains, in 2014 the library service underwenta major reorganisation, following a Director’s deci-sion to discontinue the physical library. Definingitself as a ‘research support centre’ the new servicefocuses on a limited number of support activities toCedefop experts: a discovery tool, enabling staff tosearch concurrently all electronic sources sub-scribed to and other open access databases;subscription, acquisition and articles delivered onrequest; impact analysis of Cedefop publications inscientific literature; a limited reference collection,including the most recent and important publica-tions in the library. The reorganisation also led totermination of several services (European trainingthesaurus, online bibliographies, VET alert newslet-ter, etc.). As a result of reassessment ofdocumentation activity, Aleph, a resource-intensivelibrary software, was replaced by a lighter solution,called KnowAll, using a framework contract from

DGIT. The new cloud-based solution providesimproved search capabilities and also requires lessfinancial and human resources. The biggest chal-lenge was converting 87 000 records of Cedefop’sbibliographical database VET-Bib, which was mas-tered successfully. Records management andarchives activities continued to provide in 2014 aunified incoming and outgoing mail registration sys-tem and ensured access to authentic and reliablerecords, preserving the Centre’s ‘memory’.

3.3. ACTIVITy: PUBLICATIONS AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Publishing activities continued to focus on elec-tronic publication formats while only the Annualwork programme, Annual report, information book-lets and flyers were printed. Addressing specificallyneeds of e-readers and other mobile devices,Cedefop produced 32 e-books, complementing thestandard pdf-format of its electronic publications(research and working papers). Despite a strategicshift to electronic publishing and dissemination,hard-copy dissemination still remained a majorcommunication tool to supplement online formats.In 2014, more than 7 300 printed publications and8 000 flyers were distributed at events and confer-ences or disseminated to stakeholders throughmailing lists.

Cedefop’s web portal underwent a majormakeover and the new platform was launched asplanned in November 2014. The new web portalprovides several new interactive features (inte-grated twitter feed, interactive maps, etc.), newcontent types (photo galleries, videos clips, data-bases, country data, etc.), easier navigation andalso allows interlinking of content (such as videolinked to presentation files, photo galleries linked toevents) to improve content discovery. The new plat-form allows faster web development, which willenable the Centre to achieve a steady delivery flowof new functionalities and improvements. In 2014,the web portal counted a traffic decrease of about20%, largely due to closure of the study visits pro-gramme. However, engagement of Cedefop’sonline users in terms of page views and visit dura-tion improved.


COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION AND DISSEMINATION 43

4.1. COOPERATION WITH ETFSince 1997, Cedefop and ETF have developed aformal cooperation within the framework of theirown specific missions and responsibilities. Thissystematic collaboration leads to more efficiency,economies of scale and increased service levels.According to the framework of cooperation coveringthe period 2014-17 the two agencies aim tostrengthen their synergy further through morestructured and medium-term cooperation in proj-ects and joint activities of common concern to theCommission and to each of the agencies’ stake-holders and regulatory functions. This ensurescomplementarity of activities of the two agencies inVET policy reporting, EU tools and qualifications,work-based and workplace learning, skills matchingand anticipation.

Cedefop and ETF experts were involved inevents and projects of mutual interest organised byboth agencies. Two joint thematic meetings wereconvened in 2014 to ensure knowledge-sharingand complementarity in activities. The first wasorganised in Turin in January and the issues dis-cussed were: EQF/NQF developments focusing onqualifications EQF level 5; learning outcomesapproach; and skills matching and anticipation. Thesecond was organised in Thessaloniki and dis-cussed capacity-building and communicationstrategies.

Cedefop, ETF and ILO have been engagedsince 2013 in a joint endeavour to promote learningabout skills anticipation and matching. Part of thiseffort is preparation of six guides on various meth-ods and approaches that will be used to anticipateskill needs. The guides take a very practical stanceand are aimed at national/regional authorities, sec-tor organisations and/or public employmentservices. The joint Cedefop/ETF/ILO workshop onmethods for anticipating skill needs (86) held inPrague in March 2014 aimed to present and vali-date final drafts of three guides of thecompendium (87). The full compendium (six vol-umes) will be released in 2015.

Cedefop, ETF and ILO teamed up with theInternational Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO)to organise a training course on skills needs antic-ipation and matching. The course aimed to shareknowledge on methods and practices for skillsanticipation and matching that the three institutionsjointly possess. The course was designed to helpparticipants obtain a good understanding of driversof change which impact skills demand and the rea-sons why imbalances occur in the labour marketand their consequences. It offered an opportunityto understand critical questions, objectives andcomponents of LMI, institutional roles and respon-sibilities, various quantitative and qualitativemethods used as well as tools for skill needs antic-ipation and matching of skills supply and demandin the labour market.

Joining an OECD initiative, Cedefop, ILO andETF contributed to finalising a questionnaire forcountries on activities carried out to anticipate andanalyse skill needs in the labour market and howthe results are used to shape education, employ-ment and migration policies. Based on theinformation collected, Cedefop will prepare an EU-wide analysis, which will be published in 2015.

4.2. COOPERATION WITH EUROFOUNDAs agreed in their action plan for 2014, the twoagencies shared information and experience onCedefop’s skill mismatch survey and Eurofound’sEuropean company and working conditions sur-veys. Following a confidentiality agreement,Cedefop received access to company survey datafor its work on skills mismatch. As in previousyears, Cedefop and Eurofound exchanged theirdraft work programmes and discussed areas forsynergy and cooperation in the following year. Out-comes of discussions fed into the joint action planfor 2015 which was included in both agencies’ workprogrammes. As part of this action plan Cedefopand Eurofound agreed to organise a joint event tomark the 40th anniversary of both agencies


RELATIONSWITH EU AGENCIES

(86) Cedefop (2014). http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/events/22430.aspx

(87) Guide on tracer studies, guide on use of labour market informa-tion (LMI) and guide on employers’ skills surveys.

founded in 1975 following a proposal by the Euro-pean Economic and Social Committee.

Planning for the joint event ’Workplace learningand innovative work organisation: a benefit for bothemployers and employees’, which will be held incooperation with the EESC at its premises in Brus-sels in November 2015, commenced at the end ofthe year.

Looking for economies of scale and increasedservice levels through coordinated strategies, thelibrary and information services of both agenciesexchanged practice and experience and discusseda possibility of applying common approaches whencooperating with information vendors. They alsoexplored whether using a common platform wouldbe feasible and useful. In a context of Cedefop’swork to revise its performance measurement sys-tem, the agencies also exchanged information andexperience on the EU agencies’ network on per-formance development.

4.3. COOPERATION WITH THE EU AGENCIES’ PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENTNETWORKIn 2014, Cedefop contributed to work of the EUagencies’ performance development network(PDN). The network’s work feeds directly into thecommon approach on EU decentralised agenciesendorsed by the Commission, the Council and theParliament in 2012 to set the tone for streamlininggovernance of the agencies and improving effi-ciency and coherence. The network developstemplates, guidelines, and toolkits as follow-up tothe European Commission’s roadmap. Cedefopcontributed to the network’s work on performancedevelopment and measurement cooperating withanother 15 EU agencies to produce a handbook onperformance indicators and a repository of perform-ance indicators used in EU agencies. It alsocontributed and continues to follow up work relatedto collecting examples of good practice and devel-oping a toolkit for activity-based management in EUagencies. Exchange of ideas and practices withother EU agencies on the above topics is very ben-eficial to streamlining activities and increased

efficiency. It informed directly an internal review ofCedefop’s performance measurement systemwhich took place in 2014.

4.4. JOINT PRESENTATION OFCEDEFOP, ETF, EUROFOUNDAND EU-OSHA TO THE NEWEUROPEAN PARLIAMENTOn 4 November in Brussels (88), Cedefop DirectorJames Calleja presented the agency’s work to theEuropean Parliament Committee on Employmentand Social Affairs. Mr Calleja stressed that ‘employ-ability of European citizens’ is at the core ofCedefop’s work, adding: ‘We want to help with ourexpertise, on the ground, by reaching out to policy-makers in Member States. For this we need you,members of the European Parliament’. This pres-entation was made to inform the new Committee onEmployment and Social Affairs about work of thefour European agencies of direct interest to thecommittee.

Cedefop Director James Calleja and Directors of three otherEU agencies (ETF, Eurofound, EU-OSHA) presenting theiragencies’ work to the European Parliament Committee onEmployment and Social Affairs, Brussels 4 November

RELATIONS WITH EU AGENCIES 45

(88) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/news/24680.aspx

© Juha Roininen, EUP&images.

Male Female

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0 AD AD AD AD AD AD AD AD AD AD AST AST AST AST AST AST AST AST AST 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

C edefop’s administration and internal servicessupport operations effectively and efficiently.

The Centre conducts its operations in compliancewith applicable rules and regulations, workingopenly and transparently and meeting expectedhigh levels of professional and ethical standards.

Improvements in efficiency of internal servicesare evident in 2014. Average time to pay invoicesreached 12.5 days in 2014, well below the 28 daystarget. Budget execution of the EC financial sub-sidy was 99%. Occupation rate of the establish -ment plan (97%) and duration of selection proce-dures (104 days) consistently outperform targets asin previous years. Availability of Cedefop’s core ICTsystems and services was 99%.

Selection of a new Deputy Director was suc-cessfully finalised in June and the successfulcandidate took up duties on 1 September 2014.

Implementation of the Staff Regulations reformprogressed through adoption of several new rules,including increasing working hours to 40 per week.In the work-life balance perspective, special part-time arrangements in form of time credits were

introduced. In parallel, Cedefop started applyingfrom 1 January revised Financial Rules and theirImplementing Rules. The revised regulatory frame-work required increased efforts and severaladaptations.

In 2014, Cedefop remained committed to equalopportunities in recruitment and employment. On31 December 2014, the overall gender balance atCedefop was 59% female to 41% male. Womenare well represented in all grades, including at mid-dle and senior management levels.

Cedefop also aims to ensure a geographicalbalance.

Cedefop’s learning and development policywas refocused to free additional resources for staffprofessional development. Emphasis was placedon experts’ communication and transversal skills ina perspective of increased support for MemberStates. Internal peer learning activities complementthese efforts. Project management training wasorganised to promote efficiency and effectivenessacross staff categories. Learning and developmentstrategy was updated to reflect these new priorities.


MANAGEMENT, RESOURCES

AND INTERNAL CONTROL

Gender distribution among officials and temporary agents, Cedefop 2014

35 %

30 %

25 %

20 %

15 %

10 %

5 %

0 %

AR BE BG CZ DE DK EL ES FI FR IT LU LV MT NL NO PL PT RO SL SK UK

Efficiency of ICT infrastructure was furtherincreased. The Centre has developed a new ICTstrategy to ensure ICT infrastructure provides qual-ity services. User-friendliness approaches weredeveloped to support experts better. Proactive andcost-efficient solutions were proposed to supportimplementation of Cedefop’s activities.

In 2014, Cedefop focused on ‘Egnatia Odos’repair works and providing automated operation,management and energy measurement ofbuilding systems.

Cedefop is also strongly com-mitted to green issues. A projectgroup on green initiatives wasappointed in December 2013. Itswork resulted in a Cedefop envi-ronmental policy and an actionplan for 2014-15. Environmentalperformance targets were estab-lished in energy efficiency, water use,waste management, material effi-ciency, nuisances and greenprocurement. Cedefop further improvedthe staff working environment and devel-oped green initiatives for energy-saving. Italso ensured cost-effective maintenanceand security of the building.

Health and safety is a high priority for theCentre. A project team on health and safetywas appointed in November. A methodology forhealth and safety risk assessment was developed.The risk assessment will provide the basis for anaction plan and for development of a health andsafety policy in 2015.

Progress was also made in implementing anaction plan to follow up recommendations madeafter a 2012 evaluation of Cedefop carried out byexternal auditors on behalf of the European Com-mission, as required by the Financial Regulation.Seven of the 23 recommendations and relatedactions have already been fully implemented andtherefore ‘closed’.

Cedefop is audited by the European Court ofAuditors (ECA) and the Centre’s internal

auditor is the Internal Audit Service(IAS) of the European Commission.The Centre informs the EuropeanParliament annually on results ofthe audits through a note on audits.

The European Court of Auditors’(ECA) opinion on the annualaccounts 2013 (89) confirms that the

Centre’s accounts are reliable and theunderlying actions were, taken as a

whole, legal and regular without reserva-tion or qualification. The ECA’s report

reflects that Cedefop’s internal control sys-tem and administration are working well.

The auditors carried out their first visit onthe 2014 accounts in December. This mis-sion did not lead to any preliminary findings

and the draft report is pending.The IAS performed an audit on external

MANAGEMENT, RESOURCES AND INTERNAL CONTROL 47

Geographical distribution among officials and temporary agents, Cedefop 2014

(89) The final report contains no specific comments and acknowl-edges that the Centre has implemented all comments ofprevious years.

communication and stakeholder management inCedefop. As a result, an action plan was agreedand all the recommendations should be imple-mented by end of 2015.

Following a recommendation of the ECA, 2013ReferNet ex-post controls on a sample of threepartners were undertaken following a methodologydeveloped by an external consultant. The finalreport was provided early 2014. The 2014 ReferNetsampling and ex-post controls will follow the samemethodology and be implemented during the firstquarter 2015. Feedback from all audits confirmsthat Cedefop’s internal control system and admin-istration are working well.

Cedefop also introduced a system of ex-postcontrols and applied it to five high-value paymentsselected by the internal control coordinator. Cede-fop’s accountant designed a comprehensivechecklist to validate every aspect of the transactionfrom contract to payment. Five payments selectedat random were reviewed by Cedefop’s accountantand found compliant.

An internal working group (WG) reviewedCedefop’s performance measurement system,focusing on cost-efficiency of indicators, the rela-tionship between indicators and intended use, theirvalidity and reliability as well as their possible inter-pretations and use by different target groups.Preliminary findings were validated with manage-ment. The WG drafted recommendations to review

the performance measurement framework, toreduce and focus indicators better, review the datacollection process, improve communication to staffand inform management and external stakeholdersbetter. Recommendations are expected to beadopted by the Directorate in the first quarter of2015 and proposed changes to the system will beimplemented in 2015.


Cedefop staff – Thessaloniki, 12 June 2014.

ANNEXES 49

ANNEXES

I. ORGANISATION CHARTSITUATION ON 31 DECEMBER 2014

Barbara DomChair

Joachim James CallejaDirector

Mara BrugiaDeputy Director

Steve BainbridgeStaff committee

Miriam FuchsLegal Service

Director's Office

Governing Board/Bureau

AREA AREA AREA

Communication,information anddissemination

AREA

Resources

Thierry Bernard-GuêleHead of Area

Human resources

Ginette Manderscheid

Finance andprocurement

George Paraskevaïdis

Gerd-Oskar BauseweinHead of Area

Research andpolicy analysis

Pascaline DescyHead of Area

Enhancedcooperation in VET

and lifelong learning

Loukas ZahilasActing Head of Area


II. SELECTED PERFORMANCE INDICATORS – 1 JANUARy TO 31 DECEMBER 2014

OUTCOME INDICATORS

Policy advice providedto stakeholders

New knowledge and insights generated

Raised awarenessamong stakeholdersand the education andtraining or wider VETcommunity

Raised awarenessamong citizens

Efficient and effectivesupport services

2014

97

31

127

7

164

802 000

600 000

413

331 000

929 000

78

92%

95%

21.75 m

15.98 m

13.63 m

745

97%

99.10%

12.5

2013

173

43

55

4

166

857 000

636 000

491

413 000

1 119 000

88

94%

97%

20.85 m

13.45 m

10.16 m

492

98%

99.77%

11

2012

169

68

26

2

158

764 000

569 000

479

410 000

1 201 000

91

94%

93%

14.81 m

10.54 m

8.31 m

525

97%

99.76%

14.10

Policy documents citing Cedefop work

by EU institutions

by international organisations

Policy documents to which Cedefop has contributed

of EU institutions

of international organisations

Participation in Presidency events and meetings of senior stakeholders or which support policy

Downloads of publications/working papers/other

Total downloads

Publication downloads

Citations of Cedefop publications/studies in the literature

Website traffic

Visits

Page views

Participation in conferences and events

Quality of events organised by Cedefop(participants thought event was very good or good)

Study visit outcomes among stakeholders and the education and training community (satisfaction rate)

Europass outcomes among citizens

Visits to Europass website

Downloads of Europass documents

Creation of Europass documents online (including CV, skills passport, language passport)

Media coverage, take-up of articles and press releases

Internal support services – Resources

Percentage of establishment plan filled

% of budget executed

Timeliness of payments (number of days to make payments)

R eferNet, Cedefop’s reference network on voca-tional education and training, was set up in

2002 to meet growing demand for comparativeinformation on national vocational education andtraining (VET) systems and policies in EU MemberStates, Iceland and Norway.

Each ReferNet member is a key national insti-tution involved in VET-related issues, well placed tocollect first-hand information from different stake -holders on VET’s role, governance and structure.

ReferNet’s work informs Cedefop activities and,in particular, provides a large part of necessaryinput to Cedefop’s monitoring and reporting oncountries’ progress in implementing common prior-ities for VET agreed under the Copenhagenprocess.

ReferNet’s annual work plan includes:■ reporting on national policy measures and

actions which countries have agreed to carryout. This input informs detailed country fichesand cross-country overviews of developmentsand helps build the evidence base for Cedefop’sreview of progress in implementing the Brugescommuniqué;

■ ‘VET in Europe country reports’ which describekey features of countries’ VET systems in theirsocioeconomic contexts. They are validated atnational level and peer-reviewed before being

published online on Cedefop’s website and inhard copy for Presidency countries;

■ ‘Spotlight on VET’ flyers, which summarise keyfeatures, challenges and developments ofnational VET systems and are meant for read-ers who need a concise introduction. They arepublished online for all countries and in hardcopy in several languages for Presidency coun-tries;

■ thematic information on issues featuring high onVET agendas of EU Presidencies (early leavingfrom VET, apprenticeships, innovation, etc.).This information complements the general con-text provided in country reports and spotlightsfor policy analysis;

■ maintaining and updating national ReferNetwebsites, which help raise Cedefop’s visibility,its products and more generally VET issues inMember States, Norway and Iceland. In thisway, ReferNet partners act as multipliers anddissemination channels in their countries.

ReferNet activities are cofinanced by Cedefopand Member States on an annual basis under a four-year framework partnership agreement (2012-15). In2015, a new call for proposals will be launched toselect partners for the period 2016-19.

ANNEXES 51

III. REFERNET

AUSTRIAABF Austria – ArbeitsgemeinschaftBerufsbildungsforschung Austria www.refernet.at

BELGIUMIBFFP – Institut Bruxellois Francophone pour laFormation Professionnelle (Bruxelles formation) www.refernet.be

BULGARIANAVET – Национална агенция запрофесионално образование и обучениеwww.refernet.bg

CROATIAAVETAE – Agencija za strukovno obrazovanje iobrazovanje odraslih www.refernet.hr

CYPRUSΑνΑΔ – Αρχή Ανάπτυξης ΑνθρώπινουΔυναμικού της Κύπρουwww.refernet.org.cy

CZECH REPUBLICNÚV – Národní ústav pro vzděláváníNVF – Národní vzdělávací fondwww.refernet.cz

DENMARK Professionshøjskolen Metropolwww.phmetropol.dk/refernet


ReferNet partners attending the network’s annual plenarymeeting – Thessaloniki, 18 and 19 November.

M E M B E R S

ESTONIAINNOVE – Sihtasutus INNOVEwww.innove.ee/refernet

FINLANDOPH – Opetushallitus/Utbildningsstyrelsenwww.oph.fi/tietopalvelut/kansainvalinen_koulutustieto/cedefop/refernet

FRANCE Centre Inffo – Centre pour le développement del’information sur la formation permanente www.centre-inffo.fr/refernet

GERMANYBIBB – Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildungwww.refernet.de

GREECE (no partner in 2014)

HUNGARYOktatásfejlesztési Observatory Központ –Budapesti Corvinus Egyetemwww.refernet.hu

IRELANDSOLAS – An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaighagus Scileannawww.fas.ie/en/Refernet/Default.htm

ICELANDRannís – Rannsóknamiðstöð Íslands www.refernet.is

ITALYISFOL – Istituto per lo sviluppo della formazioneprofessionale dei lavoratoriwww.isfol.it/isfol-europa/reti/refernet

LATVIAAIC – Akadēmiskās informācijas centrswww.aic.lv/refernet

LITHUANIAKPMPC – Kvalifikacijų ir profesinio mokymoplėtros centraswww.kpmpc.lt/refernet

LUXEMBOURGINFPC – Institut national pour le développementde la formation professionnelle continuewww.refernet.lu

MALTANCFHE – Kummissjoni Nazzjonali għalEdukazzjoni Avvanzata u Ogħlawww.refernet.org.mt

NETHERLANDSECBO – Expertisecentrum Beroepsonderwijs www.refernet.nl

NORWAYUtdanningsdirektoratet www.udir.no/Spesielt-for/Fag-og-yrkesopplaring/NRP/ReferNet1

POLANDFFW – Fundacja Fundusz Współpracywww.refernet.pl

PORTUGALDGERT – Direcção-Geral do Emprego e dasRelações de Trabalho www.dgert.mtss.gov.pt/refernet

ROMANIA(no partner in 2014)

SLOVAKIASNO – Slovenské národné observatóriumodborného vzdelávania a prípravy – Štátny inštitút odborného vzdelávaniawww.refernet.sk

SLOVENIACPI – Center RS za poklicno izobraževanjewww.refernet.si

SPAINSEPE – Servicio Público de Empleo Estatalwww.sepe.es/refernet

SWEDENSKOLVERKET – Statens skolverk www.skolverket.se/refernet

UNITED KINGDOMECCTIS Ltdwww.refernet.org.uk

ANNEXES 53

1957 1963 1964 Late 1960s 1968 1970 1973 1975 1985 1990 1993

1957 1963 1964 Late 1960s 1968 1970 1973 1975 1985 1990 1993

CONTEMPORARY VET MILESTONES

Vocational training institutes are created in various European countries (1968-73)

C

European Economic Community is established Article 128 of Treaty of Rome sets ‘general principles for implementing a common vocational training policy’

OECD sets up its Centre for Educational Research and Innovation

European Economic and Social Committee

study group calls for setting up of a

European institute for vocational training

L

Launch of European social dialogue

Launch of studyvisits programme

for VET experts

Council decision on comparability of

vocational qualifications

between Member States

European Commission drafts action programme on common vocational training policy

European Council approves statutes of advisory committee

on vocational training (ACVT)

Student unrest in Europe /

Education systems in a state of crisis

Regulation establishes

the European Training Foundation

Council decisionto move Cedefop

from Berlin to Thessaloniki

Regulation establishes the European Centre for the Developmentof Vocational Training (Cedefop) in West Berlin

CE

DE

FO

P

1995 2001 2002 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015

1995 2001 2002 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015

Cedefop startswork in Thessaloniki

European qualifications framework (EQF)

Bruges communiqué on enhanced European cooperation in VET for 2011-20

Launch of Leonardoda Vinci programmein support οf vocational training

ReferNet is set up

Copenhagen declarationon enhanced European cooperationin VET

Council resolutionon better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies

European alliance for apprenticeships

Launch of Europass

Concrete future objectives of

European education and

training systems

Lifelong learningprogramme

(2007-13)

Recommendation on the validation

of non-formal and informal learning

European credit system for VET

European quality assurance reference

framework for VET

Maastricht communiqué on enhanced

European cooperation

in VET (followed by Helsinki in 2006,

Bordeaux in 2008)

Cedefop’s parent DG changes

from Education and Culture

to Employment, Social Affairs &

Inclusion

ENEN

Europe 123, 570 01 Thessaloniki (Pylea), GREECE

PO Box 22427, 551 02 Thessaloniki, GREECE

Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020, E-mail: [email protected]

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

ENEN

ENEN

ANNUAL REPORT

ANNUAL REPORT

ISBN 978-92-896-1870-0

4136 EN – TI-AB-15-001-EN-N – doi:10.2801/69484

ISSN: 2443-6410

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