Towards a European Area of Skills and Qualifications

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1 Towards a European Area of Skills and Qualifications European social dialogue committee Brussels, February 2014

qualifications quickly and easily recognised.

2 When moving to a new job or to further learning, whether within or across borders, learners and workers need to see their skills and qualifications quickly and easily recognised. This is essential to raise skill levels, help combat unemployment and complete the project of the single market.

3 Progress of a decade Various European transparency policies and tools in ET2020 and the Bologna processes aim to support the lifelong learning and mobility of learners and workers through better transparency and easier recognition of what they know, understand and are able to do.

4 Still a long way to go Mobility is hampered (geographical, sectoral and between the different sectors of education and training) High unemployment rate (10.9%), especially among young people (23%), coexists with over 2 million vacancies across Europe In 2025: 44.1% high-skilled, 44.7% medium-skilled and only 11.2% low-skilled jobs PIAAC Survey: 20% of the EU working age population has low literacy and numeracy skills and that 25% of adults lack the digital skills needed to effectively use ICT

5 New developments: opportunities and challenges Open technologies allow individuals to learn, anywhere, anytime, through any device, with the support of anyone Emergence of innovative models for teaching and learning (e.g. MOOCs) International and sectoral qualifications Internationalisation of education & training

6 Towards a European Area of Skills and Qualifications EU policies and instruments should: be centred on the learner, promoting flexible learning pathways, support new phenomena such as the growing use of digital learning and internationalisation of education, provide better services to learners and workers, be simpler, better understandable and more coherent, and support national structural reforms that aim to achieve these objectives.

7 Public consultation ongoing /consultations/skills_en.htm 15 April 2014: deadline for submitting contributions for public consultation addressed to stakeholders and the general public (through on-line questionnaire and/or position papers)

8 Issues under consultation 1. How to place a stronger focus on higher and more relevant skills 2. Further strengthening links between education/training, mobility and the labour market 3. Adapting to internationalisation trends 4. Ensuring overall coherence of tools and policies and further implementing the learning outcomes approach 5. Ensuring clarity of rules and procedures for the recognition of skills and qualifications for further learning 6. Increasing the focus on quality assurance 7. Providing learners and workers with a single access point to obtain information and services supporting a European area of skills and qualifications.

9 1. Higher and more relevant skills European education and training systems fall short in providing the right skills for employability Progress on key competences still disappointing (as well as on other relevant competencies) Differences in skills levels for similar educational qualifications across Europe (PIAAC) How to promote focus on skills and associated learning outcomes? Reference frameworks for key competences?

10 2. Education/training, mobility and the labour market High levels of unemployment /skills bottlenecks and mismatches Exchange of information between the world of education and the labour market could be improved Guidance could be better integrated in lifelong learning and employment strategies and policies Sectoral skills and qualifications passports: coordination with Europass? How can EU transparency and recognition policies promote stronger link between E&T, mobility and the labour market?

11 3. Internationalisation trends Globalisation, technological developments and increased student mobility ECTS and EQF: attract interest of growing number of third countries VET systems less comparable International qualifications (awarded by e.g. international sectoral organisations, multinational companies) How to promote adaptation of European tools and policies to internationalisation trends? What else can be done at EU level?

12 4. Coherence of tools and policies Learning outcomes approach embedded in most EU policies and tools, but putting it into practice is a challenge EQF cross-cutting tool: could be improved (e.g. greater coherence with other tools, more visible to the individuals) EQF QF EHEA: single reference and self-certification process? ECTS ECVET: some convergence and comparability possible? What are the obstacles to the use of learning outcomes approach in curricula design and assessment practices? Suggestions for simplifying and improving coherence?

13 5. Clarity of rules and procedures Flexible combination of VET, HE, NFIL, on-line learning is crucial, but difficult to move between sub-systems Lisbon Recognition Convention: final decision on selection of students is up to HEIs VET and general education: no European rules or guidance on recognition Web-based learning: no clear and commonly accepted procedures What can be done at EU level to improve recognition for further learning and support mobility between sub-systems of education and training and/or between countries?

14 6. Focus on quality assurance To deliver higher and more relevant skills and to support mutual trust between sub-systems and/or countries, E&T must ensure high quality European quality assurance arrangements in different contexts: ESG in HE, EQAVET, EQF QA principles Learners can assemble their learning pathways and they need to be able to trust the quality of the learning offering Is it possible to identify common principles and guidelines of QA valid across sectors and applicable to all qualifications? Should there be a core of common European QA principles and can the EQF be pivotal in this?

15 7. Single access point to information and services Websites: Study in Europe, Ploteus, EURES, Europass, We Mean Business, EQF portal, Your Europe Networks: Europass, Euroguidance, Eurodesk, EQF-NCPs, ENIC-NARICs Possible advantages of integration into a single access point for more user-friendly and visible services on skills and qualifications recognition and transparency What could be the feature of this one-stop shop?

16 Next steps Early 2014: Eurobarometer survey First half of 2014: launch of a study (empirical evidence on remaining obstacles) 17 June 2014: high-level closing conference of the public consultation First half of 2015: possible launch of a political initiative by the Commission 2016: possible initiatives to revise policies and tools

17 THANK YOU!

What is the added value of a Qualifications Framework? The experience of Malta.

Meeting The Latvian Qualifications Framework, Riga 2011 What is the added value of a Qualifications Framework? The experience of Malta. Dr James Calleja Chief Executive Malta Qualifications Council National