Background paper. WORKSHOP Session 1. National strategies towards ECVET implementation 1

Background paper WORKSHOP Session 1 National strategies towards ECVET implementation 1 EUROPEAN POLICY DEVELOPMENTS The European strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training ( ET 2020 2 ) defines four main strategic objectives: 1. making lifelong learning and learner mobility a reality; 2. improving the quality and efficiency of provision and outcomes; 3. promoting equity and active citizenship; 4. enhancing innovation and creativity, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training. All of these contain elements for cooperation in VET and links to the development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), the European Quality Assurance Framework (EQAVET) and the European Credit system for VET (ECVET). ET 2020 further stresses the need to develop transitions between the various education and training sectors, greater openness towards non-formal and informal learning, and increased transparency and recognition of learning outcomes. The European ECVET Recommendation (18/6/2009) sets the frame for ECVET implementation. Until 2012, experimentations will be carried out; national strategies will be set up. In 2012 Member States are expected to have created the necessary conditions and adopted appropriate measures for the gradual implementation of ECVET. Some tests and strategies already achieved or implemented should help all actors to set themselves in the ECVET context at European, national, regional or sectoral level. THE FORUM AND THE WORKSHOP 1 The forum of the European ECVET network is the major annual European event for cooperation, discussion and reflection on ECVET. The second forum (Madrid; 9-10/6/2011) focuses on the major issues and challenges that VET systems will have to tackle to create, by 2012, the necessary conditions for ECVET implementation. Examples of projects (pilot, national and mobility), of strategies in progress throughout Europe, of networks in development will feed into solutions and proposals for necessary conditions. Workshop 1 is focusing on national strategies towards ECVET implementation. ECVET has been taken forward in different ways in Europe: some countries have already set up mechanisms, some others started experimentations and some are involved in both activities. The workshop aims at exchanging and sharing experiences as well as elaborating innovative solutions and consolidating ideas on the necessary conditions for ECVET gradual implementation. The discussions in the parallel sessions will be initiated by 5 key contributions. The parallel sessions will deal with the issues for debate presented in this background paper. This paper also contains summaries of the key contributions. 1 Written by Didier Gelibert (ECVET Team) and Isabelle Le Mouillour (Cedefop) 2 Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training ( ET 2020 ). Official Journal of the European Union 28.5.2009 ECVET Forum 2011 Page 1/13

The key contributions Isabelle Le Mouillour (Cedefop) presents selected results from the 2010 ECVET monitoring and stresses on diversity and common elements of strategy approaches to ECVET; Stefanie Schiller (University of Jena, DE) and Anita Milolaza (University Magdeburg, DE) present how ECVET is taken forward within the German pilot initiative DECVET. Both are members of the scientific support and evaluation team set up by the German Ministry for Education and Research; 3 Reinhard Nöbauer (Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, AT) presents the Austrian approach to ECVET ECVET for Transnational Mobility and reflects whether this could be a model for European countries; 4 Hanna Autere (Finnish Board of Education, FI) explains the Finnish strategies towards ecvet implementation (FINECVET initiative) and the lessons learnt. Alain Bultot (French Community of Belgium, Ministère de l Enseignement obligatoire et de Promotion sociale, BE) presents ECVET and the French Community of Belgium reform of vocational education and training... ISSUES FOR DEBATE 1- What are the main issues to be tackled when implementing ECVET in national VET systems? Could these be the necessary conditions for implementation? 2- How much does ECVET implementation impact qualifications systems and the fundamentals of VET systems? Do those elements define the scope for ECVET implementation? 3- Which elements currently in the education and training systems or qualifications systems would enable a straightforward implementation of ECVET? How much do those already in place relate to your context? 3 ECVET Magazine, N 2 October 2010 4 ECVET Magazine, N 5 June 2011 ECVET Forum 2011 Page 2/13

1: TAKING ECVET FORWARD: EUROPEAN OVERVIEW5 The diversity of approaches for ECVET implementation corresponds to the diversity of VET approaches and systems in Europe. In most countries, the stakeholders in charge of VET align to the main objective set in the ECVET European Recommendation and introduce ECVET to facilitate learning mobility in VET. Preparing for ECVET implementation encompasses activities ranging from legal and regulatory updates to broad range testing initiatives. Yet some of the characteristics of ECVET link to VET reforms at national, regional or local levels towards more permeability within and between systems and to the development of qualifications frameworks. This explains partly the difficulties in preparing for implementation and the need, at the start of the process, to ensure cooperation between stakeholders. All 30 countries covered by the Cedefop 2010 monitoring have engaged in implementing ECVET even if few follow a more timid approach. Eight main strategies for taking ECVET forward emerge from the analysis (Table 1); in most cases those strategies are combined (Table 2). Twelve countries are engaged in broad range testing initiatives; among which Germany, Finland, Austria or Belgium (Wallonia). They are considering ECVET either for enabling learning and qualifying mobility or for supporting permeability within the VET system. Those initiatives contain in their first phase feasibility or impact studies for grounding political decision-making processes. Further initiatives take advantage of on-going ECVET testing and use developments and results of European ECVET projects thus benefitting from economies of scale (Belgium-Wallonia). Of the eight strategies the learning by working in projects which denotes the strong involvement of stakeholders in the field of ECVET (and relates to European programmes) is the most widespread, followed by updating and adapting legislations, regulations and qualifications systems. A key role appears to be given to projects and project partnerships and consequently the expectations are high to gain insights, and best-practices for ECVET implementation and possible regulatory amendments. The different strategies, the setting-up of governance structures at European and national level, the multiplicity of ECVET tests running demonstrate endorsement for ECVET in Europe. Possible factors ECVET initiatives and projects allow for identifying factors supportive of ECVET implementation in terms of strategy: 1. A policy decision (agenda setting, initiative, etc.) fed by evidence: Evidence is gathered within research and development activities and on the basis of European ECVET projects. There is a strong element of European comparative analysis of characteristics of VET systems and qualifications systems and incremental work on shared understanding; 2. Involving a wide range of stakeholders operating in the VET and qualifications systems, such as competent authorities, awarding bodies, assessment board, training providers, labour market representatives, providers, regional and national authorities, etc.; 3. Embedding ECVET development in policies and initiatives in related issues such as validation mechanisms for non-formal and informal learning, qualifications frameworks, Europeanisation of learning paths etc.; 4. Establishing a legal basis for ECVET introduction and management (regulations, legislations, gentlemen agreements); 5. Carrying-out evaluation and feed-back loop. The broad range initiatives include a phase of evaluation and feed-back to policy-makers. Table 1: Overview on ECVET strategies 6 5 Isabelle Le Mouillour (Cedefop) based on Cedefop (2010). The development of ECVET in Europe. Working paper No 10. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/files/6110_en.pdf ECVET Forum 2011 Page 3/13

Strategy 1: setting up broad range testing initiatives Testing is carried out within national initiatives such as the FINECVET initiative in Finland or the DECVET initiative in Germany and also in view of elaborating specific qualifications such as in Bulgaria or in the Czech Republic or Belgium (French Community) starting 2011. In most cases those initiatives follow a policy-making decision by main stakeholders (Ministries, or qualifications authorities). The initiatives receive a specific budget line and are co-financed by national and European budgets. Strategy 2: measuring impact (theoretical and methodological approaches) In Austria a feasibility study analysed the legal and organisational status-quo of various Austrian VET options regarding their VET readiness; it delivered evidence to policy which underpinned the decision to develop ECVET for European mobility. This strategy is common with the Czech Republic, Germany and Finland. Strategy 3: updating VET legislations and regulations Legislations and regulations are updated taking on board some (or all) technical features of ECVET. This is the case in Luxembourg, Belgium French Speaking Community, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Slovenia, and Italy or at regional level (Catalonia). Strategy 4: adapting qualifications systems ECVET or elements of ECVET are being introduced within activities for adapting qualifications systems, such as: 1. renewing curricula: in Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia (ESF programme Modernising the content of VET in 2007-2013); 2. conceiving partial qualifications such as in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain; 3. developing validation mechanisms such as in Germany or the Czech Republic; 4. reviewing educational standards such as in Austria. Strategy 5: a wait and see strategy ECVET developments at national and European levels are observed and discussed, as in Cyprus or Norway. For the time being no concrete action plan is defined. Both countries are represented in the ECVET Users Group. Strategy 6: combining ECVET with NQF development The development of NQF includes introducing ECVET. This happens among others in Poland within the Human Capital Operational Programm (2007-13), in the Czech Republic (Národní Soustava Kvalifikací) or in Greece (within a new institutional set-up). For the two countries already having a qualifications framework, these have been revised to consider credit transfer (England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI-UK/QCF) and Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)). Strategy 7: learning by working in ECVET European projects This strategy consists in leading or participating in European, national, regional or sector-related ECVET projects and bundling the experiences. This happens in a large number of countries as illustrated in table 4. Strategy 8: marketing ECVET to stakeholders Different Member States are working on developing information materials. In Austria a working group is writing guidelines for the implementation of ECVET for the purpose of mobility exchange addressing VET practitioners who are involved in transnational mobility projects (e.g. teachers, people responsible for mobility, project sponsors from VET schools and colleges, part-time vocational schools for apprentices, training enterprises, sectoral organisations). In Poland stakeholders are preparing guidelines, typical procedures and model documents. Within the third phase of FINECVET, a handbook will be developed tackling the implementation of ECVET before, during and after the mobility. 6 Cedefop (2010) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/files/6110_en.pdf ECVET Forum 2011 Page 4/13

Table 2: Strategy-mix Broad range initiative Impact analysis Updating regulations Adapting qualifications system Wait And see Combine with NQF ECVET European projects Informing stakeholders Countries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Austria X X X X Belgium Fr X X X Belgium NL X Bulgaria X X Cyprus X Czech Republic X X X X X X Denmark X X X Estonia X X X X Finland X X X X France X X Germany X X X Greece X X Hungary X X X Iceland X X Ireland X X Italy X X X Latvia X X X Lichtenstein Lithuania X X X X Luxembourg X X Malta X Netherlands X Norway X X Poland X X X X Portugal X X X Rumania X Slovak Repub. X X X X Slovenia X X X Spain X X Sweden X X UK X X X Total 12 4 9 10 4 8 27 6 Source: Cedefop (2010) http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/files/6110_en.pdf ECVET Forum 2011 Page 5/13

2: ECVET FOR TRANSNATIONAL MOBILITY THE AUSTRIAN APPROACH. COULD IT BE A MODEL FOR EUROPE? 7 According to the ECVET Recommendation Member States should start implementing ECVET in 2012. At present we can see many interesting approaches towards ECVET in different Member States, many of those aiming at national reforms such as making education and training more permeable vertically or at modularizing the systems. These different systems are not necessarily compatible with each other and the majority of these national ECVET applications will still take a long time to be completed. Therefore we need a really European approach to ECVET which works across the very diverse training landscape in Europe and also bridges the different national ECVET strategies. Austria is currently developing a concept for the application of ECVET in transnational mobility projects which fits the structure of the Austrian VET system and could also become a model for the implementation of ECVET mobility throughout Europe. The main pillars of this concept are the following: The main focus is on transnational mobility and on the formal training system. Informal and nonformal learning could be included at a later stage; The agreement between the home and the host organisation plays a central role and gives the partners flexibility; The support of central authorities: information and advice for (potential) ECVET users, promotion of pilot projects, and development of tools (templates for memoranda of understanding, learner s agreement and transcript of records) In order to promote this strategy the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture commissioned two research and consulting institutions (3S and IBW) with the elaboration of guidelines for using ECVET in transnational mobility and the development of templates. These guidelines consist of a brief description of ECVET, a practical guide for the planning of mobility projects and the implementation of ECVET as well as templates (for the description of qualifications, the memoranda of understanding, the learning agreement and the transcript of record). This model leaves a lot of freedom to the VET schools, companies and other training providers allowing them to organize mobility and apply ECVET for the recognition process according to their needs. The partners are then able to compare more easily their different education and training offers and to begin a structured dialogue on the learning outcomes to be achieved in the host organization in order to improve the quality of the mobility period. At the same time the learning agreement will give students the guarantee that the achieved learning outcomes will be recognised by the home organisation. These documents -which at present are in a discussion and testing phase in Austriacould become the basis for the discussion of a Europe-wide implementation strategy and after some adaptations be translated into all official languages of the European Union to serve as a basis for a common understanding of ECVET. 7 Reinhard Nöbauer (source: ECVET Magazine Nb 5, June 2011) ECVET Forum 2011 Page 6/13

This proposal has many advantages: It is realistic and its implementation could begin in 2012 as foreseen in the ECVET Recommendation. It gives potential users a lot of freedom in the application of ECVET and can therefore lead to tailormade solutions. It works in different environments and between very diverse training systems and is also adaptable to different national ECVET strategies. The fact that the potential end users will have the documents in their language will lead to a common understanding of ECVET and to a more structured dialogue on ECVET. The documents also allow for a more systematic comparison of the training offered by the partner institutions and for a better definition of the learning outcomes and thus will lead to a better quality of mobility projects. The learning agreement will give the mobile student a guarantee that the achieved learning outcomes will be recognized by the home institution The project is a first start and is open for further development. ECVET Forum 2011 Page 7/13

3- FINNISH STRATEGIES TOWARDS ECVET IMPLEMENTATION 8 1. Triggering factors for ECVET implantation in Finland Finland has adopted a positive attitude towards the ECVET system. According to the Finnish Development Plan for Education and Research 2007 2012, Finland will make preparations for the introduction of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). Since the technical framework for the transfer, recognition and accumulation of individuals learning outcomes with a view to achieving a qualification is already in place in the Finnish VET system, the Finnish interest on ECVET lies on further development of mobility. Mobility of learners is among the priorities of Finnish education and training policy and ECVET is considered as means to improve the recognition of learning outcomes both in Finland and abroad. ECVET can serve as a tool for internationalising of individual learning pathways, since ECVET makes comparison of learning outcomes acquire at home and in other countries more transparent. 2. Steps towards ECVET implementation in Finland Finland was actively involved in preparation of the Recommendation at a European level. The effectiveness of the system has been tested in Finland since 2004 through international co-operation within the FINECVET 1 and 2 projects. The FINECVET 3 project, running from 2009 to 2012, extends the experimentations to competence-based qualifications and focuses on process, documentation and quality assurance. The project supports implementation by producing a handbook for Finnish VET providers and qualification committees. The National Framework for Qualifications and Other Learning (NQF) and referencing qualifications to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) create a good starting point for introduction of the ECVET system. Introduction requires national solutions. As part of preparation of implementation, it is imperative to assess the necessary amendments to legislation and national requirements for vocational qualifications and to decide on the principles and criteria for defining ECVET points. The Ministry of Education and Culture will make the requisite proposals for and decisions on legislative amendments in 2011 and 2012. The Finnish National Board of Education is expected to make the necessary changes to the National Qualification Requirements, certificate forms and regulations as well as international certificate supplements in 2011 2013. These decisions concern 368 qualifications, consisting of 52 upper secondary vocational qualifications, 187 further qualifications and 129 specialist qualifications, as well as 4 pre-vocational programmes. The qualifications encompass approximately 4000 units of qualifications. The Finnish National Board of Education is also responsible for provision of training and support materials relating to implementation of the ECVET system and for dissemination of information in printed and electronic format. The implementation of ECVET in Finland is foreseen in August 2013. 3. Lessons learnt 8 Hanna Autere, Senior Adviser in the development of vocational education and training at the Finnish National Board of Education ECVET Forum 2011 Page 8/13

The Finnish VET is facing also challenges regarding the implementation of ECVET. The challenges are allocation of ECVET credit points to competence-based qualifications, increasing of mutual trust (horizontal and vertical), ensuring quality and making ECVET understandable to teachers and learners. What is important in ECVET is to keep in mind that the learning outcomes form the core not only of the mobility projects, but also the core of the cooperation between the different stakeholders including the employers. The targeted learning outcomes provide important and already existence reference points to ensure confidence and trust in the assessing and recognising credits. The implementation of ECVET requires strong political commitment and cooperation with all stakeholders at all levels. The added value of ECVET needs to be clear for both decision makers and practitioners. It is important that the impact of ECVET is well understood and enough resources and time is allocated to the training of those playing a role in the ECVET process. ECVET Forum 2011 Page 9/13

4- ECVET & the French Community of Belgium reform of vocational education and training 9 As from 1st of September 2011, the secondary vocational education and training in the French Community of Belgium will launch a large experimentation of ECVET. At the origin of this initiative is the government of the French Community of Belgium who has competence in education matters. The general design of the experimentation is developed directly in cooperation with the administration, inspection and the training providers, who have important levels of autonomy. To begin, we have chosen to test ECVET in the context of all qualifications in three sectors (automobile, hospitality-catering and aesthetics) ata level which corresponds to the level four of the EQF. These qualifications are prepared through a school-based pathway (with traineeships in enterprises) or in the dual system. The training providers who do not fall under the authority of our government but that of regional governments, are invited, if they wish to do so, to participate in this experimentation. Given the objectives of the experimentation and the importance of the structural changes that are necessary, the stakeholder representatives have expressed a desire for all training providers concerned by these qualifications to participate in this testing project. The underlying idea is that it would be difficult to have two systems co-exist and that working only with schools who participate voluntarily would not grant the validity of the ECVET experimentation. Why starting ECVET implementation as from 2011? This is indeed one year before the date foreseen by the ECVET Recommendation and the Recommendation does not expect us to go this quickly and to impact our system this much. In reality, the European challenge meets perfectly the national objectives indentified in the French Community of Belgium. In general, for the whole education system, we have the desire to increase the number of young people with an upper-secondary qualification. In line with this, we wish to review the relationships among our different sub-systems of education and training in order to foster lifelong learning. This implies offering our citizens mechanisms that ensure transfer and accumulation of their competences. In addition, our Government wants to reform our system of initial vocational education and training: By offering an organization that is based on the culture of valorization of achievements rather than on the culture of sanction of failures and hence combat early school leaving and make repetition of courses due to failure useless; By giving young people education and training which is more concrete, more motivating, where they can better perceive the short and long term objectives, where they can better invest themselves and develop ownership of their learning pathway; By making available an education and training structure that is at the same time more demanding when it comes to the final objectives but also more flexible in its organization, namely, in order to be able to adapt more rapidly to the evolution of techniques and competences. 9 Alain Bultot, Advisor, Cabinet of the Minister Marie-Dominique Simonet, Ministry of Compulsory Education and of Social Promotion ECVET Forum 2011 Page 10/13

We are hence building our project to implement ECVET on the vision according to which the implementation of a unit-based qualifications system should help us to meet three objectives: a) Enhance the permeability of our sub-systems of vocational education and training, b) Increase the level of qualifications of our citizens by fighting early schooling leaving and offering clearer, more accessible, motivating and concrete learning pathways, c) Strengthen the quality assurance mechanisms. Implement ECVET an impossible challenge? More precisely, as from 1st September 2011, all young people in initial vocational education and training, in the three sectors concerned, will enrol in training pathways leading to qualifications organized in terms of units. We have consequently only one school year to re-write our qualifications, reorganize the programmes, inform teachers and adopt the legislation. The enterprise we are launching is hence enormous while we only have little time available as well as little additional resources since, as everywhere else in Europe, we are facing the consequences of the economic crisis. Thus, we cannot afford to carry out preliminary studies to progressively define the fundamental principles for ECVET implementation. We will work in a pragmatic approach that will build on the experience accumulated at European level and will use as the basis of our work the tools being currently produced in the framework of the ECVET pilot projects. In the first place we will use the outcomes of projects OPIR, RECOMFOR and VALOGREG in which Belgium is a partner but we also plan to integrate in our documentation tools developed by other projects such as SME MASTER Plus and ASSET. In this context, we will be in particular interested by all the analytical documents and synthesis produced as a result of pilot project s common meetings. Having been inspired by the outcomes of pilot projects work, we have already, together with the inspection and representatives of training centres, taken key decisions on fundamental principles of our future qualifications system based on units of learning outcomes. For example, the units in the future system will be all related to the key activities of the occupation for which the qualification is expected to prepare and they should all be meaningful for the learners as well as for employers. ECVET Forum 2011 Page 11/13

Additional information THE DECVET PILOT INITIATIVE 10 Vocational education and training (VET) in Germany comprises different tracks. Traditionally learners apply for the dual system and after a few years of professional experience some of them proceed with continuing training. Due to several reasons (e.g. unfavorable economic situations) further sub-systems such as preparatory courses in the transition system and school-based VET have expanded in the past few years. So far there are only little interactions and connections between these tracks leading to a lack of crossover mobility and mechanisms for transition. Individuals who try to pass from one system to another hardly receive formal recognition for prior learning achievements. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research finances ten national pilot projects and a scientific support and evaluation team in the frame of its DECVET pilot initiative11. DECVET aims to explore if a unit-based credit system could increase transparency and encourage vertical and horizontal permeability within and between the different German VET systems12. From 2008 to 2011 they work on sector-specific transition and credit transfer models for prior learning on one of the following interfaces of the German VET system: Passing from vocational preparation into dual-system initial vocational training 13, Transfer at the interface between joint cross-cutting VET qualifications of a single occupational field within dual-system initial vocational training, Passing from full-time school-based to dual-system initial vocational education and training, Legally regulated advanced vocational training with recognition of learning outcomes from the dual-system, additional qualifications and/or professional experience 14. The DECVET projects follow a common agreed work program that aims at developing and testing suitable credit transfer models for Germany on the basis of the core elements of the ECVET model. During the testing phase the projects are given space to allow for experimentation, this should lead to a variety of solutions for implementation. Based on the statutory training regulations and framework curricula the DECVET projects started to identify core activities of the particular qualifications. To facilitate comparison of the qualifications learning outcomes were described focusing on the working process. The projects were free to choose an appropriate matrix or specification: some used the EQF categories knowledge, skills and competence, others decided to apply the grid of the German Qualifications Framework draft15 with the categories professional competence (knowledge, skills) and personal competence (social competence, self-competence). They allocated single learning outcomes into 6 to 13 units on average representing a full qualification. In spring 2010 the projects completed the translation of inputs into learning outcomes a step which goes along with the broader German reform agenda. Having descriptions of learning outcomes the project teams were to develop and test suitable assessment standards and instruments that allow verification and evaluation of competencies. The 10 Stefanie Schiller, University of Jena (FSU) and Anita Milolaza, University Magdeburg (OVGU) based on ECVET Magazine, N 2 October 2010 11 The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) supports and coordinates the initiative. 12 http://www.decvet.net/en 13 Many young people gain competences during training programs of the vocational transition system but struggle for transfer into an appropriate apprenticeship and recognition of prior learning outcomes. 14 Also considering competencies acquired through non-formal/informal learning. 15 http://www.deutscherqualifikationsrahmen.de ECVET Forum 2011 Page 12/13

testing procedures had to meet certain requirements such as quality criteria, performanceorientation, procedural economy and examiner competence. The work has shown that the transparency, comprehensibility and validity of the new assessment approaches are essential to ensure that recognition procedures will gain acceptance among the stakeholders. As part of the validation process the DECVET projects investigate overlaps and equivalencies in learning outcomes of the respective qualifications and units at the interfaces mentioned above. They finally document the minimum and/or maximum potential for credit transfer/crediting for the learner when passing between or within VET tracks. One intention of DECVET is to find reasonable criteria for the allocation of credit points to learning outcomes according to the relative weight of units in relation to the qualifications. Based on the above-mentioned work steps the DECVET projects are currently concerned with the detailed design and piloting of credit transfer procedures which are capable of gaining acceptance. On the one hand the methods and models are tested with pilot groups of trainees in different training institutions, schools and companies. On the other hand several open issues have to be discussed and resolved with all relevant actors from VET practice, e.g. the question of initiation of recognition processes or competent institutions for each step. Future work in 2010-2011 will focus on the challenges: So far the certification process in Germany is based on final examinations and not on accumulation of a set of assessments. It has to be discussed if a unit-based system can increase the desirable vertical and horizontal permeability at the interfaces and which agreements can be reached. Assessment of competences sets new demands on examination staff. Thus training concepts have to be developed and accomplished. The projects and stakeholders discuss if and to what extent a quantitative credit system could yield added value for the VET system in Germany. Certainly this is a very complex question because so far credit points are not an element of vocational education and training in Germany. Concerning the models for crediting/ recognition the active involvement of VET actors in the steering groups of the initiative and its individual projects is essential. Pilot results on the feasibility, efficiency and functionality of the developed credit transfer models will be available in 2011. Thereafter it will be necessary to review whether and to what extent the different credit transfer models tailored to particular interfaces and sectors can be generalized and standardised for the VET system as a whole. ECVET Forum 2011 Page 13/13