Brainstorming session: EQAVET working groups

Brainstorming session: EQAVET working groups This document aims to provide Annual Forum participants with information on the two working groups, established within the work programme 2013-2015: 1. Working Group 1 on facilitating the development of a quality assurance approach for VET providers in line with EQAVET Deliverable: Within the context of quality assurance, to develop support for national reference points by preparing guidance which can be applied in different forms of workplace learning addressing inter alia issues such as resources, relevance, SMEs motivation, shared responsibilities etc. 2. Working Group 2 on supporting VET systems to address the interrelation between the EQAVET Framework and existing quality management systems/instruments in order to guarantee quality, increased transparency, mobility and mutual trust. Deliverable: Building on the approaches developed during the EQAVET Information Seminars in 2012 and the training materials developed to support national reference points and other key stakeholders in the dissemination process, the working group will examine how best to ensure the development of appropriate guidance material for use in national contexts. As a first step in this process the group will develop tools to support comparability between existing approaches to the quality assurance and the EQAVET Framework such as comparability or compatibility mapping tables, which are easy to use and to further develop according to users needs/requirements. This exercise will be focused on providing concrete guidance for use in a diversity of national contexts in order to support the work of national reference points at system and provider levels. The mandates of both working groups have been agreed at their first meetings held in February. The purpose of the brainstorming session is to provide an update on the work and to seek advice from the Annual Forum on three specific questions for each group: Working Group 1: Which aspects of VET should be included within the scope of the guidance? Is workplace learning different to work-based learning? Are there forms of guidance e.g. case studies, building blocks, lessons learnt which would be particularly useful? 1 P a g e

Working Group 2: How to ensure coherence/compatibility between the national QA system, scheme or mechanism and EQAVET? Are there specific forms of guidance which would be particularly useful for this exercise? What core elements should make up a broad guidance approach to EQAVET customization? In order to support your reflection this document comprises the following annexes: Annex I: - Mandate of the Working Group 1 - Background information on the Working Group 1, following its first meeting Annex II: - Mandate of the Working Group 2 - Background information on the Working Group 2, following its first meeting 2 P a g e

Annex I Mandate: EQAVET Working Group 1 EU POLICY CONTEXT AND THE ROLE OF EQAVET High quality education and training are at the forefront of European strategies in meeting the challenges which the economic crisis, with its high levels of youth unemployment, presents for our Member States. Europe 2020, the Education and Training 2020 strategy, as well as the Copenhagen Process and its most recent review, the Bruges Communiqué, provide a basis for tackling these challenges. For those who work in vocational education and training (VET) the challenge is to ensure that VET is of high quality, fit for purpose, responsive to the needs of the labour market and capable of ensuring the individual s on-going personal and professional development. This broader context suggests a number of priorities for consideration as work continues on strengthening the development of a culture of quality assurance of VET. This working group will support national reference points to engage with VET providers within initial VET (IVET) and continuing VET (CVET) including workplace learning. The focus will be to advance the strategic objective 2b of the Bruges Communiqué in relation to: establish(ing) at national level a common quality assurance framework for VET providers, which also applies to associated workplace learning and which is compatible with the EQAVET Framework by 2015. The working group will bring together the national reference points, who play a crucial role in ensuring the effective implementation of the Recommendation at national level, VET providers, social partners and other key stakeholders (at national or regional levels). GOALS AND WORKING METHODS OF THE WORKING GROUP Goals: the main goals which have been identified for the working group are: 1. to focus on the needs of national reference points in relation to their interaction with VET providers at national or regional level (building on the results already achieved, including maximising the use and communication of the EQAVET IT tool and its selfevaluation properties); 2. to advance the strategic objective 2b of the Bruges Communiqué on: establishing at national level a common QA framework for VET providers compatible with the EQAVET framework which also applies to workplace learning by 2015. In this context, it is important to demonstrate the added value or the benefits of EQAVET quality cycle model particularly in the context of workplace learning; 3. to ensure responsiveness to the broader EU policy context, in particular in relation to the ET 2020 and Erasmus for all programmes. Working methods: in order to accomplish both the goals and the specific objectives, the working group will: 1. use the information available from the national progress reports collected through the Secretariat Survey to support the development of approaches which use the EQAVET quality cycle (planning, implementation, evaluation and review); 2. focus on quality assurance of VET in order to support quality of VET; 3 P a g e

3. capitalise on the knowledge and experience of Member States and such organisations as CEDEFOP 1, ETF, the 5 EQAVET projects etc.; 4. use the open method of coordination; 5. find solutions that respond to the different needs and national/regional/sectoral contexts and to the different stages of implementing the EQAVET Recommendation in Member States. The working group will meet on four occasions in the period from January 2013 February 2014. The work undertaken will contribute to strengthening a community of practice for those working within VET systems and who are responsible for supporting VET providers to develop their strategies for implementing the Recommendation in their national contexts in particular for national reference points. Communication and synergy of developments and results between WG1 and WG2 will be ensured at every stage of the working process. PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS This group will be composed of representatives of national reference points, EU VET providers associations and EU social partners. DELIVERABLES The working group agreed that the main deliverable will be: 1. Within the context of quality assurance, develop support for national reference points by preparing guidance which can be applied in different forms of workplace learning addressing inter alia issues such as resources, relevance, SMEs motivation, shared responsibilities etc. 1 In particular the work that CEDEFOP has developed in relation to accreditation and the work to be published on Towards a quality culture of VET institutions. 4 P a g e

Background information: EQAVET Working Group 1 CONTEXT 1. The first meeting of the Working Group took place on 19 February 2013. The main aims of the meeting were to confirm the mandate drawn up by EQAVET s Steering Committee and agree what the group will produce by February 2014. 2. The Group s discussions were set within the context of the Bruges Communiqué, Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes and the associated Staff Working Documents from the European Commission. A particular focus was placed on strategic objective (2b) in the Bruges Communiqué namely to establish at national level a common quality assurance framework for VET providers, which also applies to associated workplace learning and which is compatible with the EQAVET Framework by 2015. The Group noted that the 2011 EQAVET secretarial survey had identified 20 VET systems in Europe with a common quality assurance framework for VET providers which was compatible with the EQAVET Recommendation and applied to workplace learning. This, the Group agreed, provided a strong basis for developing guidance for all National Reference Points (NRPs) 3. The group also considered the ideas of excellent VET as set out in the Staff Working Document - vocational education and training for better skills, growth and jobs associated with Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes. Across all of these contexts, VET was seen as both responding to the needs of the labour market and creating an engine for change which supports growth and innovation. EARLY IDEAS 4. The Group confirmed the importance of building on what had already been achieved by EQAVET and identified the EQAVET web-site as the location for the outcomes of their work. 5. There was some discussion on the use of the phrase workplace learning in the Bruges Communiqué strategic objective. Colleagues noted that this could be different to the more commonly-used term work-based learning. For the purpose of the Group s work, workplace learning was seen to be a broad concept which covered all kind of activities performed by learners as part of their programme, in the workplace The group was also keen to produce practical guidance which was useful for National Reference Points and avoided high-level principles. 6. A key part of the discussion concerned the scope of the strategic objective in the Bruges Communiqué - e.g. should employers be considered as VET providers, does it cover both continuing and initial VET, should any aspects of informal and non-formal learning be included, should it cover the processes which are used to assess portfolios of evidence produced through prior learning which could have been collected through work-based activities, does it only include VET provision which is publicly-funded or leads to publiclyrecognised qualifications etc. The Group noted that the strategic objective in the Bruges Communiqué focused on VET providers, even though quality assurance should include all those in the partnership between VET providers, learners and companies involved in workplace learning in this context it was important to gain agreement on the scope of the task and this will be considered further at the next meeting. 5 P a g e

PLANNED OUTCOMES BY FEBRUARY 2014 7. Following presentations at a plenary session and discussions in small groups, there was agreement that the main deliverable for the four meetings will be: Within the context of quality assurance, to develop support for national reference points by preparing guidance which can be applied in different forms of workplace learning addressing inter alia issues such as resources, relevance, SMEs motivation, shared responsibilities etc. At this stage in the Group s work, the guidance was seen to include a set of building blocks which could be easily understood and used to develop quality assurance processes in workplace learning. This proposed approach is in line with previous activities from EQAVET Working Groups and was therefore thought to be helpful to those who already had some familiarity with the EQAVET website. The guidance may also include a set of key messages, examples of practice, lessons learnt from previous practice etc. 8. To support the Group s work, four papers will be produced for the next meeting. These will support the development of guidance and will cover: a short analysis of existing arrangements to support quality assurance in workplace learning in Europe; an list of the obstacles that need to be considered, the issues facing VET providers involved in workplace learning and an analysis of how these obstacles have been overcome; a first draft of the building blocks which could help VET providers to identify key issues relating to quality assurance of workplace learning; the scope of the work to be considered. 9. The guidance is likely to include case studies, from Member States at both the system and provider level WORKING METHODOLOGY 10. The Group agreed that most of the work will be completed by EQAVET s expert between meetings. Drawing on the advice and support of the secretariat and the Working Group s Chair, the expert will produce papers for discussion and potential agreement at the meeting. For Working Group members, their contributions will be during the meetings though their comments on emerging ideas and draft papers would be welcome. Draft papers will be placed in a designated section of the members area on the EQAVET website. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 11. To help the Working Group s deliberations, it would be useful to take advice from the Annual Forum on three specific questions: Which aspects of VET should be included within the scope of the guidance? Is workplace learning different to work-based learning? Are there forms of guidance e.g. case studies, building blocks, lessons learnt which would be particularly useful? 6 P a g e

Annex II Mandate: EQAVET Working Group 2 EU POLICY CONTEXT AND THE ROLE OF EQAVET High quality education and training are at the forefront of European strategies in meeting the challenges which the economic crisis, with its high levels of youth unemployment, presents for our Member States. Europe 2020, the Education and Training 2020 strategy, as well as the Copenhagen Process and its most recent review, the Bruges Communiqué, provide a basis for tackling these challenges. For those who work in vocational education and training (VET) the challenge is to ensure that VET is of high quality, fit for purpose, responsive to the needs of the labour market and capable of ensuring the individual s on-going personal and professional development. This broader context suggests a number of priorities for consideration as work continues on strengthening the development of a culture of quality assurance of VET. The work to be undertaken in this working group will be important in developing capacities at Member State level in order to strengthen the national approaches to the implementation of the EQAVET Recommendation and the development of a culture of QA in VET particularly with reference to strategic objective 2a of the Bruges Communiqué. Those who represent the system level and national reference points need support to strengthen their networks at national level. They should also be stimulated and supported by creating sustainable platforms where they are able to interact, communicate and learn from each other by exchanging experiences and good practices. EQAVET should ensure a strategy that supports the Member States and the national reference points to accomplish their role as specified in the Recommendation. This working group will support VET systems to address the interrelation between the EQAVET Framework and existing quality management systems/instruments in order to guarantee improved quality, increased transparency, mutual trust, mobility of workers and lifelong learning. GOALS, SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND WORKING METHODOLOGIES OF THE WORKING GROUP Goals: the two main goals which have been identified for the working group are to: 1. Examine approaches and methodologies which will support all of those involved in the implementation of EQAVET at national and/or regional level as appropriate, in order to ensure that VET provider s quality assurance management systems are in line with the EQAVET Framework. This exercise will provide an opportunity to explore inter alia the possibilities, benefits, downsides and challenges inherent in registration and certification approaches and issues related to recognition and mutual trust which could also be implied in the concept of developing an EQAVET label 2. 2. Consider the scope and role of national authorities, national reference points, the network and VET stakeholders; and the question of resources available and sustainability in this context. 2 This is particularly relevant in the context of CVET, which is generally less regulated than IVET. 7 P a g e

Specific Objectives: in view of the above-mentioned goals, the specific objectives are to: 1. Explore the interrelation between the EQAVET Framework and existing quality assurance management systems (notably ISO and EFQM) which are commonly used by VET systems and providers; with a view to indicating ways of moving forward the implementation of the Recommendation and promoting the delivery of strategic objective 2a of the Bruges Communiqué; 2. Link the work of the working group with the on-going developments at EU level in relation to the various initiatives regarding education and training. Working methodologies: in order to accomplish both the goals and the specific objectives, the working group will: 1. consider the experiences gained in higher education in relation to the establishment of its quality assurance register (EQAR) as accreditation and certification of VET providers at EU level need to be considered; 2. use the study commissioned by the European Commission Mapping of quality management instruments in VET and comparing them with the EQAVET Framework (carried out by GHK); 3. build on the work developed within the EQAVET Information Seminars (in particular in relation to the referencing tables presented at the seminars linking ISO/EFQM and EQAVET in an attempt to compare the tools); 4. use the information available from the national progress reports collected through the Secretariat Surveys to support the development of approaches which use the EQAVET quality cycle (planning, implementation, evaluation and review); 5. focus on quality assurance of VET in order to support quality of VET; 6. capitalise on the knowledge and experience of Member States and such organisations as CEDEFOP 3, ETF, etc.; 7. find solutions that respond to the different needs and national contexts and to the different stages of implementing the EQAVET Recommendation in Member States. The working group will meet on four occasions in the period from January 2013 February 2014. The work undertaken will contribute to strengthening a community of practice for those working within VET systems and who are responsible for supporting VET providers to develop their strategies for implementing the Recommendation in their national contexts in particular for national reference points. Communication and synergy of developments and results between WG1 and WG2 will be ensured at every stage of the working process. PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS This group involves EQAVET members working at system level and national policymakers involved in the policy development/making process. EU social partners associations play an important role in the development of the work of the group, in particular in their role of advising on the needs of the industry sectors. 3 In particular the work that CEDEFOP has developed in relation to accreditation. 8 P a g e

CONCRETE DELIVERABLES The group agreed on the following deliverables: 1. Building on the approaches developed during the EQAVET Information Seminars in 2012 and the training materials developed to support national reference points and other key stakeholders in the dissemination process, the working group will examine how best to ensure the development of appropriate guidance material for use in national contexts. As a first step in this process the group will develop tools to support comparability between existing approaches to the quality assurance and the EQAVET Framework such as comparability or compatibility mapping tables, which are easy to use and to further develop according to users needs/requirements. 2. This exercise will be focused on providing concrete guidance for use in a diversity of national contexts in order to support the work of national reference points at system and provider levels. 9 P a g e

Background information: EQAVET Working Group 2 CONTEXT 1. The first meeting of Working Group 2 (WG2) was held in Brussels on 20 February 2013. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: to confirm the mandate drawn up by EQAVET s Steering Committee and agree on what the group will deliver by February 2014. 2. WG2 discussions were framed by the Bruges Communiqué (2010) and the new strategy launched by the Commission Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socioeconomic outcomes (2012). The main focus of the discussion was on strategic objective (2a) in the Bruges Communiqué, i.e. High quality of VET provision is a prerequisite for its attractiveness. In order to guarantee improved quality, increased transparency, mutual trust, the mobility of workers and learners, and lifelong learning, participating countries should establish quality assurance frameworks in accordance with the EQAVET Recommendation. 3. Within this context participants in WG2: a. addressed i) the interrelation between the EQAVET Framework and international quality frameworks (e.g. ISO and EFQM) as well as ii) the referencing of national quality frameworks to EQAVET; b. agreed that the study commissioned by the European Commission Mapping of quality management instruments in CVET and comparing them with the EQAVET Framework (carried out by GHK) as well as work developed within the EQAVET Information Seminars (in particular in relation to the referencing tables presented at the seminars linking ISO/EFQM and EQAVET in an attempt to compare the tools) offered a starting point for the development of guidance for all National Reference Points (NRPs). KEY DISCUSSIONS POINTS 4. In discussing the existing national/regional approaches to ensure that VET provider s quality assurance management systems are in line with the EQAVET Framework, participants of WG2 tackled some of the issues associated, either directly or indirectly, with the building of a culture of quality in VET, including the role of indicators to raise VET quality. 5. The initial debate about the Mandate uncovered relevant issues on accreditation/ certification/labelling such as the relationship between accreditation and funding, providers commitment to adhere to accreditation/certification processes (generally dependent on the providers view on their added value ), the organizational constraints encountered in auditing VET providers at Member State level ( particularly the number of providers that can be audited over the years), the complexity involved in creating an accreditation/certification system (mainly in terms of its cost and potential number of providers involved). The Working Group agreed that steps need to be taken to promote VET excellence by considering such emerging elements of VET quality as teachers/trainers education, assessment of learning outcomes, innovation in VET. Finally, the Working Group focused on the main outputs to be produced by February 2014 and agreed that it would be useful to develop concrete guidance to support the work of national reference points at system and provider levels. 10 P a g e

OUTPUTS TO BE DELIVERED BY FEBRUARY 2014 6. In fine-tuning the discussion on the main outputs, WG2 agreed that it will explore the best ways to ensure the development of appropriate guidance material for use in national contexts. 7. The Group will build a) on the approaches developed during the EQAVET Information Seminars in 2012 and the training materials developed to support national reference points and other key stakeholders in the dissemination process and b) the study Mapping of quality management instruments in VET and comparing them with the EQAVET Framework. 8. As a first step in this process, the Group will develop tools to support comparability between existing approaches to the quality assurance and the EQAVET Framework such as comparability or compatibility mapping tables, which are easy to use and to further develop according to users needs/requirements. The guidance will also include case studies from Member States at both the system and provider level. WORKING METHODOLOGY 9. It was agreed that the EQAVET s expert will complete the work between meetings, namely by drafting discussion papers and /or other type of documents deemed as necessary for the development of the work. In this process, the expert will seek for the support and advice of the Secretariat and the Working Group s Chair. In so far as the Working Group members are concerned, they are expected to give their contributions mostly during the meetings. However, their comments on the draft papers or on any related issues will be welcome. Draft papers will be uploaded in the WG2 section of the Members area on the EQAVET website. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 10. To help WG2 in achieving its objectives, it would be useful to get advice from the Annual Forum on the following questions: How to ensure coherence/compatibility between the national QA system, scheme or mechanism and EQAVET? Are there specific forms of guidance which would be particularly useful for this exercise? What core elements should make up a broad guidance approach to EQAVET customization? 11 P a g e