Quality within the EU VET package'

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• Quality within the EU VET package.

Contribution Tina Bertzeletou VET expert,
project manager.
PLV European Social partners on Quality
Development in VET
7-9 October, 2008 Berlin, Germany
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Who is Cedefop?
Since 1975, Cedefop has been the European Unions
agency to promote the development of vocational
education and training. Cedefop works closely
with the European Commission, Governments,
Employers and Trade Union associations, all of
which are represented on its Governing Board.
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Cedefops strategic objective
To contribute to implementing the Lisbon strategy
and the 2010 work programme in education and
training, the Copenhagen process, the Maastricht
communiqué and the Helsinki conclusions.
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Cedefop contributes through
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The European Union

• by 2013
• 14 million more older people
• 9 million fewer young people
• 2 million fewer VET-learners
• actually more than 70 million low-skilled or
  unqualified people
• cuts in the national budgets.
• Weakening of the European Social Model and
  endangering social cohesion.

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A lot still to be done to meet the 5
education/VET-related benchmarks

• An EU average rate of no more than 10 of early
  school-leavers
• At least 85 of 22 year-olds in the EU should
  have completed upper secondary education by 2010
• The EU average level of participation in lifelong
  learning should be at least 12.5 of the adult
  working age population (25 to 64 age group)
• The total number of graduates in maths, science
  and technology should increase by at least 15
• The EU percentage of low achieving 15 year-olds
  in reading literacy, should have decreased by 20
  by 2010, compared to 2000.

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The EU strategy for Quality in VET Quality
in vocational education and training has been on
the agenda for many years in all the Member
States.

• Copenhagen Declaration (30 Nov 2002) promoting
  quality assurance as a priority to enhance
  cooperation in VET
• Copenhagen Process Technical Working Group on
  Quality in VET
• The Maastricht Communiqué (14 Dec 2004)
  emphasis on the implementation of the European
  tools developed so far
• The Helsinki Communiqué (5 Dec 2006) emphasis on
  the attractiveness and quality of VET further
  development, testing, implementation of common
  tools and mutual learning
• This focus on quality is in line with
  the target set by the Barcelona European Council
  in 2002 of making Europes education and training
  systems a world quality reference by 2010.

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(No Transcript)
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The Copenhagen Declaration In November 2002 the
European Ministers of Vocational Education and
Training meeting in Copenhagen agreed to increase
voluntary cooperation in vocational education and
training focusing on quality in VET Promoting
cooperation in quality assurance with particular
focus on exchange of models and methods, as well
as common criteria and principles for quality in
vocational education and training was one of the
priorities.
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What is VET?
Education and training which aims to equip
people with skills and competences that can be
used on the labour market (CEDEFOP 2004).
What is quality? Quality is a construction and
not a clearly and well defined concept. In
general terms a service or a product is
considered of high quality, if it fulfils or even
surpasses our expectations. Different
stakeholders with different interests and
expectations perceive quality in a different way
since they have different requirements. Promotin
g cooperation in quality assurance with
particular focus on exchange of models and
methods, as well as common criteria and
principles for quality in vocational education
and training. (Copenhagen Declaration)
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The EU VET Package
Quality assurance in VET should play a
pivotal role in responding to the demand for high
level qualifications. Workers, learners and
trainers should be able to accumulate their
formal, non-formal and informal learning outcomes
and benefit from their recognition in whatever
country and system they acquired them on the
basis of the EU tools EQARF ,EQF, Europass,
ECVET, EU common principles for the validation of
non-formal and informal learning, the Mobility
Quality Charter and human resources development
issues. The implementation of those tools
entails the use of QA mechanisms.
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What is EQARF? It is a Framework to serve as a
reference instrument to help Member States to
support and monitor continuous improvement of
their VET systems. It is to be used as a
translation device for facilitating the
transparency of VET systems and provision
throughout Europe. Its use is voluntary. Is
based on a quality cycle that includes
planning, implementation, evaluation/assessment,
feedback, review of VET and provides for common
quality references. It provides a systemic
approach to quality, covering and interrelating
all VET levels and actors. It gives strong
emphasis to monitoring, combining internal and
external evaluation, review and processes for
improvement, supported by measurement/indicators.
It is a basis for further developments to be made
through cooperation at European, national,
regional and local levels.
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• EQARF Why a Framework?
• The diversity of developments across countries
  entails a growing need for common European
  references aimed at increasing transparency and
  consistency between Member States policy
  initiatives, while fully respecting their
  responsibility for the governance of systems.
• The European Commission presented in 2008 a
  proposal for a Recommendation of the European
  Parliament and of the Council on the
  establishment of a European Quality Assurance
  Reference Framework for Vocational Education and
  Training (EQARF).

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The EQARF a systematic framework for QA
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EQARF 4 Quality criteria

• Planning reflects a strategic vision shared by
  the relevant stakeholders and includes explicit
  goals/objectives, actions and indicators
• Implementation plans are devised in consultation
  with stakeholders and include explicit
  principles
• Evaluation of outcomes and processes is regularly
  carried out and supported by measurement
• Review.
• 43 Indicative descriptors at system and VET
  provider levels facilitate the implementation of
  the Framework.

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EQARF the indicators

• Relevance of quality assurance systems for VET
  providers ( with internal QA systems and of
  accredited VET providers)
• Investment in training of teachers and trainers
  ( participating in further training and amount
  of funds invested)
• Participation rate in VET programme (no according
  to type of programme and individual criteria)
• Completion rate in VET programmes (no of
  successfully completed/abandoned according to
  type of programme and individual criteria)
• Placement rate in VET programmes (destination of
  VET learners and share of employed learners in
  6,12,36 months after completion of training)
• Utilisation of acquired skills at the workplace
  (including satisfaction rate of
  individuals/employers with acquired
  skills/competences)
• Unemployment rate (ILO and OECD individuals
  15/74 without work actively seeking employment
  and ready to start work)
• Prevalence of vulnerable groups ( of
  participation and success rate according to age
  and gender)
• Mechanisms to identify training needs in labour
  market
• Schemes used to promote better access to VET.

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EQARF the decision process

• Co-decision (EP Council)
• Adoption expected mid 2009
• Submitted to COREPER in October 2008, expected
  common approach at November Council
• Amendments
• voluntary character
• 4 years reporting period possible revision after
  this period
• participation of government representatives in
  future European network
• aggregation of indicators at national level to be
  used as a tool box, descriptors and indicators
  for self-evaluation of VET providers and not for
  comparison between Member States.
• ENQA-VET a voluntary network of 23 countries

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CEDEFOPs role in Quality in VET

• Technical and scientific assistance to the
  Commission and setting-up of the group of experts
  to elaborate the European framework for quality
  assurance between 2001-2007 included.
• Studies
• Glossary EN/FR
• Peer learning visits
• Virtual community on Quality assurance in VET,
  http//communities.trainingvillage.gr/quality
• First conference on the role and the
  prerequisites of the Quality Assurance National
  Reference Points to fulfil their mission (June
  2008)
• Scientific advice to the ENQA-VET Board.

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What is EQF?

• It is a meta-framework for increasing
  transparency and mutual trust, enabling existing
  qualifications frameworks and systems at
  national/sectoral level to be related to each
  other, thereby facilitating the transfer and
  recognition of the qualifications of individual
  citizens
• It encourages the geographical and occupational
  mobility of workers and learners and reduces
  barriers to the functioning of the European
  labour market. The implementation of the EQF by
  the Member States is voluntary
• Structure of 8 levels, descriptors
• Recommendation officially adopted on 23 April
  2008 (2008/C 111/01).

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Quality in EQF
Quality assurance (QA) is a crucial dimension of
EQF to make comparison and transfer of
qualifications easier. Common quality principles
are a precondition to build trust between
national systems rendering co-operation effective.
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• Annex 3 states the following general principles
  to underpin all levels of EQF
• QA should include regular evaluation of
  institutions, their programmes or their QA
  systems by external monitoring bodies or
  agencies.
• External monitoring bodies or agencies carrying
  out QA should be subject to regular review.
• QA should include context, input, process and
  output dimensions, while giving emphasis to
  outputs and learning outcomes.
• QA systems should include the following elements
  
• clear and measurable objectives and standards
• guidelines for implementation, including
  stakeholder involvement
• appropriate resources
• consistent evaluation methods, associating self
  assessment and external review
• feedback mechanisms and procedures for
  improvement
• widely accessible evaluation results.
• QA initiatives at international, national and
  regional level should be coordinated in order to
  ensure overview, coherence, synergy and system
  wide analysis.
• QA should be a cooperative process across
  education and training levels and systems,
  involving all relevant stakeholders, within
  Member States and across the Community.
• QA orientation at Community level may provide
  reference points for evaluations and peer
  learning.

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Focus on Learning Outcomes
EQF
Informal Learning
Learning Outcomes
Non-Formal Learning
Formal Learning
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What is ECVET?
The European credit system for VET helps devise
a credit transfer scheme in vocational education
and training to enable part of a course carried
out in another Member State to count towards the
final qualification in the home country.
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Complementarities between ECVET and EQF
ECVET
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ECVET for transfer and accumulation of learning
outcomes
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Learning agreement
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5
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The ECVET learning outcomes transfer process
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KSC capital
Formal
Formal
Informal
On the job
1knowledge, skills, competence
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Requirements

• Commitment of competent bodies and all relevant
  stakeholders
• Transparency of processes and procedures
• Quality assurance
• Mutual trust.

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What is Europass?

• A tool to increase mobility
• Five instruments
• Europass CV
• Europass language passport
• Europass Mobility
• Certificate supplement
• Diploma supplement

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Europass in figures

• Europass to help people move in Europe for
  work, education or training. Cedefops Europass
  website in 26 languages. Implemented in 32
  countries. Addresses half a billion citizens. 12
  million visits.
• A tangible example of Cedefop helping citizens.

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Cedefop Europe 123, GR-570 01 Thessaloniki
(Pylea) Postal address PO Box 22427, GR-551 02
Thessaloniki Tel. [phone] Fax (30) 23
10 49 01 17 More information can be found
on http//www.cedefop.europa.eu/ http//www.tra
iningvillage.gr/etv/default.asp Email
tina.bertzeletou_at_cedefop.europa.eu