Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2020)275 - Vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience

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dossier COM(2020)275 - Vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience.
source COM(2020)275 EN
date 01-07-2020


1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The proposal for a Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) 1 for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience was announced in the Communication " A Strong Social Europe for Just Transitions " of 14 January 2020 2 . It is an important part of the ongoing implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights strengthening principle 1 “education, training and lifelong learning”.

The “Common vocational training policy” as defined in the Treaty of Rome, has been taken forward by the launch of the Copenhagen process in 2002 bringing together Member States, social partners, the Commission and was supported also by associations of VET providers. VET accounts for about half of the upper secondary graduates in the European Union. It is catering for the preparation of young people to successfully enter working life and for the upskilling and reskilling needs of people of working age for multiple purposes: for people in employment to help them to continuously upgrade their skills, adjust them to the changing work requirements or negotiate job changes, and for the unemployed to help them acquire the skills needed to re-enter the labour market; and more generally to empower the learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to thrive in their professional, social and personal development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted standard education and training activities, including VET across Europe. Despite the fact that Member States have quickly moved towards digital learning solutions, the containment measures and ensuing crisis have put the resilience of the system to the test. The situation in VET was further aggravated by the fact that practical training – in form of work-based learning and apprenticeships – has been suspended in most sectors. 3

The economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to accelerate reforms in VET and strengthen its resilience, notably by digitising learning offers and methods and agile adaptation to changing labour market needs. This includes paying attention to the need to ensure access to digital tools and technologies for every learner, teacher and trainer, as well as appropriate guidance measures. Digital tools such as simulators, virtual and augmented reality have the potential to increase the accessibility and efficiency of training, notably for small and medium-sized companies providing apprenticeship places. Inter-company training centres and Centres of Vocational Excellence can also play an important role here.

The pandemic is expected to lead to the deepest recession in the EU’s history and young people entering the workforce at this time will find it harder to secure their first job 4 . Earlier crises have shown that young people are indeed likely to be hit hardest. Further strengthening of VET systems is therefore crucial for the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as VET has proven to be an essential part of the efforts to support youth employment in the previous economic and financial crisis. Notably apprenticeships, work-based learning, but also short-term VET programmes targeting unemployed people, proved to be a pathway to increased employability and easier access or return to the labour market 5 . The present proposal will contribute to high quality offers, in particular, of apprenticeships and other vocational programmes under the Youth Guarantee by ensuring their labour market relevance, digitalisation and environmental sustainability of VET. It will also call for reinforced support for apprenticeships and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to renew and boost commitment to quality and affective apprenticeships opportunities.

Modernisation of VET systems is also warranted as the world of work and skills is changing. On-going developments such as automation and digitalisation of production and services continue to reshape the labour markets. In addition, the broader twin transitions towards a more digital and greener economy will require VET to adapt so that vocational learners acquire the skills needed for the green and digital transitions, while also reconfirming and strengthening the central role of VET in the lifelong learning continuum. Here especially also cross-cutting learning, bridging the gap between formally separated or parallel areas of learning e.g. the health and the environmental sector 6 , is essential.

With the policy framework for European cooperation in education and training and specific priorities for VET ending in 2020, there is an opportunity to define a new and more ambitious Union policy on VET that responds to the challenges described above. The overall objective should be to modernise the EU’s VET policy to meet the large upskilling and reskilling needs driven by the common ambition to be fit for the challenges of the 21st century, in particular to support the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute to building a more sustainable, fair and resilient European Union.

The proposal is firmly embedded in other upcoming Commission policy initiatives, notably the Commission Communication on the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience 7 , on the Communication on Youth Employment Support - A Bridge to Jobs for the next generation 8 , the Digital Education Action Plan, the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020), and the European Education Area, which cover all levels and types of education and training.

• Scope of the proposal

The Commission Proposal for a Council Recommendation on VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience aims at renewing the EU’s VET policy by:

(a)modernising the Union policy on VET by supporting the transitions to a green and digital economy in times of demographic change, as well as upward convergence of national VET systems. Given the crucial role VET and, in particular, apprenticeships play in improving employability, the proposed modernisation will equally support youth employability and adults in need of continuous up- and reskilling. It will also include the increased use of digital tools and continued digitisation of VET systems, which will contribute to increasing their resilience;

(b)confirming the central role of VET in the lifelong learning continuum and its strong links to all education and training sectors, which calls for permeability and transparency;

(c)streamlining the European cooperation process in the field of VET by integrating and adapting the instruments for VET quality assurance (EQAVET) and flexibility and tailored provision (ECVET);

(d)simplifying VET governance at Union level (related to integrating the current ECVET and EQAVET Recommendations into the present proposal and repealing them as a consequence) and defining the working methods, types of support activities at Union level and a monitoring framework to assess progress towards the implementation of this Recommendation, in full coherence with the broader governance framework for education and training.

Concretely, for actions to be taken at national level, the new elements are the following:

·Underlining the crucial role VET systems play for the young people entering the labour market and adding that VET systems should play an equally important role for the adults in need of continous up- and reskilling;

·Granting VET providers a level of autonomy to allow them to react quickly to skills challenges, offer fast reskilling programmes and work in close partnerships with employers from both public and private sectors;

·Modularising VET programmes and expanding them to higher levels of qualifications and microcredentials;

·Linking VET to forward-looking economic strategies and innovation systems;

·Promoting Centres of Vocational Excellence 9 (mainly through Erasmus+) linked to smart specialisation strategies and offering innovative services that include clusters 10 , business incubators, support to start ups and technology diffusion in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to make VET resilient and fit for increased digitalisation, digital readiness and to foster transition from sectors that are in decline to new growing sectors;

·Embedding environmental and social sustainability into VET curricula and organisational management including linking the environmental aspect to other fields;

·Ensuring better permeability between the systems of education and training;

·Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the digital readiness of VET institutions, by promoting new learning environments, tools and pedagogies in particular linked to digitalisation, catering for both VET specific and transversal curricula and content, and by including the digitalisation aspect in the EQAVET framework;

·Increasing attractiveness of VET for learners and companies, including micro, small and medium-sized, e.g. through internationalisation and increased opportunities for mobility of learners and staff offered by the Erasmus+ programme and other funding opportunities;

·Addressing gender bias and gender stereotypical choices and supporting diversity and inclusiveness;

·Defining a set of indicators and objectives to enable both quantitative and qualitative monitoring of performance of vocational education and training systems.

In addition to reconfirming the role of the tripartite Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT), the proposal also puts forward the following new elements at EU level:

·Providing support service that caters for the various dimensions of VET systems (e.g. apprenticeships, Centres of Vocational Excellence, continuing vocational education and training, quality assurance), bringing together the management of several separate support structures (EQAVET and ECVET secretariats, apprenticeship support services, expert working groups);

·Supporting the digital readiness of VET institutions through the reinforced deployment of the SELFIE tool and its gradual extension to cater for work based learning 11 ;

·Promoting European VET as a global reference point in skills development and boosting mobility and recognition of vocational qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad, including through development of the concept of the European Vocational Core Profiles as part of Europass platform and complemented, where possible, by vocational digital content;

·Introducing a peer review process on quality assurance in VET to support upward convergence in quality, transparency and mutual trust.

The political context

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Commission has proposed a bold and comprehensive plan to repair and prepare for the next generation. The plan presents a roadmap on how to kick-start the European economy, protect and create jobs, boost the green and digital transitions, and make it fairer, more resilient and more sustainable for future generations. It underlines that improving and adapting skills, knowledge and competences has become all the more important.

The Next Generation EU 12 will raise new financing on the financial markets for 2021-2024 for the newly proposed Recovery and Resilience Facility 13 and REACT-EU 14 .Both programmes will include investments in skills, education and training to lay the basis for a green, digital and resilient recovery. The Commission has also adjusted its proposals for the future European Social Fund Plus to give even stronger support to youth employment measures and education and skills.

As part of the Recovery Strategy, the Commission has also proposed to provide substantial additional funding of EUR 30 billion for the Just Transition Fund, bringing the total to EUR 40 billion. This funding will be used to alleviate the socio-economic impacts of the transition towards climate neutrality in the regions most affected, for example, by supporting the re-skilling of workers helping SMEs to create new economic opportunities, and investing in the clean energy transition and in the circular economy. 15

This links in with the European Green Deal, which is the EU’s new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. Investing in a more circular economy 16 has the potential to help the EU to reduce its dependency on external suppliers and increase its resilience to global supply issues. The upcoming Renovation Wave will focus on creating jobs in construction, renovation and other labour-intensive industries. 17 The transitions in these areas lead to an increased need in re- and upskilling. VET programmes can play a key role in delivering on these skills and are likely to play an important role also when delivering on other European Green Deal initiatives 18 .

The Commission also adopted a New Industrial Strategy for Europe 19 to address the twin green and digital transitions. It calls for decisive action to make lifelong learning a reality for all and ensure that education and training keep pace with the twin transitions. It also calls on higher education and VET to provide more scientists, engineers and technicians for the labour market. Equally, the SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe highlights how an increasing number of SMEs is confronted with the challenge of finding the necessary skills and the fact that availability of skilled staff or experienced managers remains the most important problem for a quarter of SMEs in the European Union 20 . VET is particularly relevant for SMEs to make sure that their workforce has the skills needed on the labour market.

The opportunities and challenges of the ongoing digital transformation and Europe’s policy response have been outlined in the strategy Shaping Europe’s Digital Future, which highlights the need to invest in education and training and digital skills of all Europeans taking into account the adopted Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 21 .

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

According to Article 166(1) TFEU, the Union shall implement a vocational training policy, which shall support and supplement the action of the Member States, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organisation of vocational training. The aim of Union action under the Article 166(2) TFEU shall be to:

–facilitate adaptation to industrial changes, in particular through vocational training and retraining,

–improve initial and continuing vocational training in a lifelong learning perspective, to facilitate vocational integration and reintegration into the labour market,

–facilitate access to vocational training and encourage mobility of instructors and those undertaking training, particularly young people,

–stimulate cooperation between educational or training establishments and firms,

–develop exchange of information and experience on issues common to the training systems of the Member States.

According to Article 165(1) TFEU, the Union shall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems. The aim of Union action under the Article 165(2) TFEU, second and fourth indents, shall be to:

–encourage mobility of students and teachers, by encouraging inter alia, the academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study,

–develop exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the education systems of the Member States.

• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

In its work towards the development of quality education and training and the implementation of a vocational training policy, the EU is responsible for encouraging co-operation between Member States, supporting and supplementing their action where necessary.

The quality and convergence of VET systems underpins the free movement of people, goods and services, the resilience of the EU workforce, and ultimately a successful sustainable internal market and can, therefore, only be addressed at the European level.

Article 166(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines that the Union shall implement a vocational training policy which shall support and supplement the action of the Member States, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organisation of vocational training.

Article 165(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines that the Union shall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems.

In line with the principle of subsidiarity, the proposal outlines the new Union VET policy and makes recommendations to this end.

This Recommendation is without prejudice to the Directive 2005/36/EC 22 as amended by Directive 2013/55/EC 23 on the recognition of professional qualifications and the regime of automatic recognition provided therein.

• Proportionality

The actions proposed under the Recommendation are proportional to the pursued objectives. The proposal for a Council Recommendation supports the reform processes launched by individual countries and complements Member States' efforts in the area of vocational education and training. The proposed action respects Member States’ practices and the diversity of systems. It accommodates a differentiated approach reflecting Member States' different economic, financial and social situations and the diverse labour market conditions.

• Choice of the instrument

The proposed instrument is a Council Recommendation, which respects the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. It builds on the existing body of European Union law and is in line with the type of instruments available for European Union action in the areas of education and training and employment. As a legal instrument, it signals the commitment of Member States to the measures laid down in this Recommendation and provides a strong political basis for cooperation at European Union level in this area, while fully respecting Member States competence in the field of education and training and social and employment policies.

3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation

Not applicable.

Stakeholder consultations

A thorough and targeted consultation has taken place since 2017 with a view to define the cornerstones of the future-fit vocational education and training in the context of emerging trends and challenges (digitalisation, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, green and sustainable economy, including climate change, globalisation, new business models, new forms of work organisation, demographic developments, ageing, migration).

These consultations involved all relevant stakeholders:

·Member States and social partners grouped in the Directors-General for Vocational Education and Training and the tripartite ACVT which adopted an Opinion on the future of Vocational Education and Training post 2020,

·European Social Partners (with their position papers: www.etuc.org/en/document">ETUC , SME United and www.businesseurope.eu/publications">BusinessEurope ) and in a dedicated hearing in January 2020, and;

· European VET providers associations .

A survey on the challenges and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vocational education and training undertaken by the Commission in March-May 2020 with the following findings:

·Several tools are available for creating material for distance learning. However, in general VET online material is less developed, as far as the practical parts of training and work-based learning are concerned;

·VET learners might be at disadvantage compared to learners from other educational tracks, as more efforts are put into general school subjects, and less into typical vocational content;

·There is substantial disruption to the apprenticeship ‘supply chain’. Apprentices have largely discontinued their company attendance in the sectors whose activities have been shut down (e.g. restauration, well-being, tourism, and manufacturing). In some cases, discontinuation and termination of financial compensation, where applicable, increases the rate of drop-outs;

·Little capacity for employers to focus on training either for youngsters or for their employees over concerns for ensuring business continuity. However, some employers and training providers made best use of the confinement period to support the training of their employees and to accelerate deployment of digital learning systems and content;

·While it is a significant challenge for teachers and trainers as well as learners to adapt swiftly to this dramatic change, many stakeholders have mobilised themselves to help (VET providers, local governments, publishers, NGOs, companies, etc.);

·There is a strong call for a European online platform (which is safe, quality assured, multilingual, etc.) that would offer opportunities for networking and exchanging good practices and would provide digital solutions, also for work-based learning.

A similar analysis carried out by CEDEFOP also points to some challenges for the VET sector: distance learning is piecemeal and its use very much depends on the schools’ and teachers’ e-skills and availability, and on the sectors concerned. Its use ranges from mere communication/keeping in touch with students, to access to resources (videos etc.), to actual teaching. The analysis also brought to light that apprentices continue their training and work, particularly in companies providing essential services such as healthcare and food, as long as health and safety measures are observed. By contrast, apprentices discontinued their company attendance in sectors whose activities have been shut down by regulation, such as, in most countries, hospitality, wellbeing, tourism. 24 Given the high prevalence of women in these sectors, it is estimated that they have been in particular affected.

More broadly, the following evidence and fora were used to define the future VET policy:

·CEDEFOP project on www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects">“Changing nature and role of VET in Europe” (2016-2018),

·CEDEFOP Opinion Survey on VET (2017) based on responses of a total of 35,646 citizens of the Member States,

·A Commission Study on VET mobility in Europe (2019),

·Discussions taking place during events of the European Vocational Skills Week (2018, 2019),

·Further evidence from the OECD and the ILO.

The proposal to amend and integrate elements of the two EU VET specific instruments ECVET and EQAVET, while also repealing the original instruments, is based on:

·A dedicated Study on EU VET instruments (EQAVET and ECVET) (2019, taking into account previous evaluation studies),

·Results of a Working Group of the ACVT which was set up to agree on the future development of European VET instruments (1st semester 2019).

Impact of the proposal on the Council Recommendations on the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) and the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education (EQAVET) and proposed way forward

Two specific VET instruments have been developed and implemented since 2009 to support Member States in making VET more flexible (the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training - ECVET) and in improving the quality of their VET systems (the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training - EQAVET). In line with the results of their recent evaluations, both instruments need to be modernised and streamlined.

The objective of the ECVET Recommendation 25 was to improve the recognition, accumulation and transfer of learning outcomes, supporting mobility and lifelong learning as well as the establishment of an EU credit system in VET. This initiative was further developed following the 2002 Copenhagen Declaration 26 on the future priorities for enhancing European cooperation in VET, which stated a need for a system supporting ’the transparency, comparability, transferability and recognition of competence and/or qualifications, between different countries and at different levels’.

According to the abovementioned evaluations on EU VET instruments, ECVET has widely contributed to the development of a better-quality mobility experience through the use and documentation of units of learning outcomes, with almost all Member States using now ECVET in international mobility. However, the concept of ECVET points was generally not applied and ECVET did not lead to the development of an European credit system in VET.

Based on the feedback received during the stakeholder consultation and the experience gained with the ECVET implementation over the last 10 years, the present proposal incorporates and reinforces some elements of the 2009 ECVET Recommendation and abandons others that do not bring an added value or respond to a real need in the VET systems. In particular,

·The principle that qualifications are made of units of learning outcomes is integrated and reinforced in the proposal (modularisation). This is seen as a pre-requisite to increase flexibility of the VET programmes and facilitate validation as means to boost the take-up of up- and reskilling. It is also instrumental in facilitating mobility of VET learners and the recognition of learning outcomes achieved during such mobility periods. Furthermore, it can also support the automatic mutual recognition of VET qualifications and cooperation at sectoral level, including support through the Blueprints 27 for sectoral cooperation on skills. To this end, a concept of European Vocational Core Profiles will be explored with the aim to define a certain share of a common training content at European level. The profiles have the potential to significantly facilitate mobility of learners and workers, automatic recognition of vocational qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad, and the development of joint VET qualifications and curricula;

·The mobility tools developed under the 2009 Recommendation (e.g. learning agreement and memorandum of understanding) related to supporting geographical mobility of VET learners will be further developed in the framework of other EU instruments such as those supported by the Erasmus+ programme and linked to the further development of Europass;

·The credit points introduced by the 2009 Recommendation will be discontinued, due to the very low take-up and no evidence of added value. In practice, ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) applied widely in higher education is used also for post secondary and tertiary VET.

The 2009 ECVET Recommendation will be repealed and the ECVET provisions and principles as oulined above will be taken forward on the basis of the present proposal and mainstreamed into other EU policy instruments.

The EQAVET Recommendation 28 was adopted to improve the quality of VET. The importance of improving quality in VET was already included in the 2000 Lisbon strategy stating that the transition to a knowledge-based economy requires modern and adaptable VET. The 2002 Copenhagen Declaration subsequently proposed EU cooperation in quality assurance in VET with a view to support mutual trust and the recognition of qualifications.

The abovementioned evaluations on EU VET instruments showed that EQAVET has stimulated Member States to review and refine their national quality assurance systems: twelve Member States have improved them specifically as a response to this Recommendation while in most other countries EQAVET has been used to review and adjust their systems. Moreover, several countries have new quality assurance legislation explicitly referring to EQAVET. However, the Recommendation did not contribute significantly to the improvement of transparency of quality assurance arrangements between countries and did generally not foster mutual trust. Furthermore, there is also a perception by some stakeholders that the tool is mostly applied in school-based initial VET.

Over the last ten years, many activities such as peer learning activites and working groups on dedicated quality assurance topics have been developed in the framework of the EQAVET Network at EU level. One of these activities, called the EQAVET+ initiative, consisted of developing specific indicative descriptors on several quality assurance topics not addressed in the 2009 Recommendation. This exercise was developed in response to the 2013 external evaluation of the Recommendation indicating areas for improvement.

Taking into account the results of the different evaluation studies as outlined above, this proposal will therefore:

·Repeal the 2009 EQAVET Recommendation and integrate the work on quality assurance in VET in the EU into the present proposal;

·Integrate the EQAVET+ initiative adding elements about learning outcomes, certification and assessment, stakeholders’ consultation, the role of teachers and trainers;

·Add an additional indicative descriptor on flexibility of VET learning pathways given the increased need to develop flexible VET provision and on the need to contribute to environmental sustainability;

·Include the aspect of the digital readiness of VET systems and institutions;

·Define new working method through peer reviews of quality assurance at VET system level in order to improve mutual learning, enhance transparency of quality assurance arrangements of VET provision and reinforce mutual trust between Member States;

·Maintain the mission and functions of EQAVET national reference points (NRPs).

Impact assessment

The proposal was developed on the basis of evidence collected in studies and through broad consultations of stakeholders. Given the complementary approach of the proposed activities to Member States’ initiatives, the voluntary nature of the proposed activities and the scope of the impacts expected, an impact assessment is not necessary.

Regulatory fitness and simplification

Not applicable.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

No additional budget or staff resources will be required from the EU budget. Moreover, this initiative shall not prejudge the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework and future programmes.

5. OTHER ELEMENTS

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

At the national level, the present proposal invites the Member States to modernise their VET systems in line with national priorities and education and training practices.

The Commission will report to the Council on the implementation of the Recommendation every five years, building on the Cedefop annual monitoring and in close cooperation with the ACVT.

Explanatory documents (for directives)

Not applicable.

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

Recommendations to Member States

The proposal invites Member States to work towards implementing the Union policy on VET. This policy is inspired by the ACVT Opinion on the future of VET post-2020 29 .

The COVID-19 crisis has underlined the urgency for the main avenues of reform actions in making VET more resilient and fit for the future challenges. It has emphasised the need for increased agility of VET in response to rapid changes, acceleration of digitalisation of VET, modern and innovation learning approaches and more investments in skills and competences of teachers and trainers.

One of the key messages of the ACVT Opinion is to foster the establishment of European VET culture, which is result-oriented, supports Member States in setting goals and develops methods to assess their attainment. Building on earlier consultations on possible benchmarks in the area of vocational education and training and, the proposal also foresees a number of quantitative objectives to be achieved by 2025 as listed below: 30

·the share of employed graduates should be at least 82% 31 ;

·60% of recent graduates from VET benefit from exposure to work-based learning during their vocational education and training 32 . This objective refers to all forms of work based learning, and will thereby contribute to increased apprenticeship opportunities which can be supported with the Youth Guarantee;

·8% of learners in VET benefit from a learning mobility abroad. 33

The first and third objectives build on existing ET 2020 benchmarks on Graduate employability and mobility in VET, while the second one builds on the Council Recommendation on a European Framework for Quality and Effective apprenticeships. The Staff Working Document explains in detail the rationale and methodology for these indicators and objectives.

The proposal further defines a number of principles to be followed at national level to implement the abovementioned Union policy. These principles are structured around the following thematic objectives:

Contents

1.

1. Vocational education and training is agile in adapting to dynamic labour market changes


The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU’s economy, rapid technological developments, digitalisation, the transition to a resource-efficient, circular and climate-neutral economy, new business models and new forms of work organisation accelerate changes in the skills required by the labour market. Member States need to put in place appropriate frameworks and measures to ensure that VET is resilient and can respond swiftly to changing labour market demands. Better skills anticipation and graduate tracking mechanisms are needed to respond to the changes in economic sectors and occupations and to adapt accordingly the content of vocational education and training. A decisive element is the speed at which this adaptation is taking place. Levels of autonomy and funding which facilitate fast VET providers’ responses to evolving skills needs are needed. VET prepares people for specific occupations. At the same time, learning content for both young and adults needs to strike a balance between key competences, including life skills, 34 and more occupation-specific skills.

Work-based learning and apprenticeships, in particular, are effective approaches to ensure labour market relevance of VET. In times of recession, small companies might not be able to provide apprenticeship places. A stronger preventive approach and a reinforced focus of the Youth Guarantee on apprenticeships as well as appropriate support measures, in a form of inter-company training centres or expansion of digital training tools, can contribute to a stable supply of apprenticeships also during unfavourable economic conditions.

2.

2. Flexibility and progression opportunities are at the core of vocational education and training


Flexibility and opportunities to progress within education and training sectors and between them are key elements of future-fit VET systems. Furthermore, ensuring that VET programmes are personalised and learner centred, is essential for ensuring a strong engagement of the learners and attractiveness of VET pathways leading to increased employability.

Modularisation – breaking vocational qualifications into smaller parts of learning outcomes – is the way to flexibly update the content and to customise it to the needs of individuals. Validation of learning outcomes acquired in non-formal and informal learning will facilitate up- and reskilling, leading not only to full qualifications, but to micro-credentials or partial qualifications. It also helps to bridge between different fields, which is necessary for the developing area of green and sustainable economy.

3.

3. Vocational education and training is a driver for innovation and growth and prepares for the digital and green transitions and occupations in high demand


Responsiveness of VET to structural changes can be enhanced by a more proactive approach of linking VET more strategically to forward-looking economic strategies, entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems. It is a way of not only reacting to changes which are already happening but co-creating economic and societal transitions – notably in the current context of recovery, focus on strategic industrial ecosystems (health, pharmaceuticals and others), and a resource-efficient, toxic-free, circular, climate-neutral and digital economy. This has potential to reduce the response time of adaptation of VET curricula.

Member States should continue to implement VET excellence approaches that foster integration of VET in skills ecosystems, in smart specialisation strategies, National Skills Strategies, innovation systems, circular economy strategies, renovation initiatives or National Energy and Climate Plans. Development of VET at higher qualification levels and supporting entrepreneurship and start-ups are important elements of the required response. This should be coupled with complementary structural policy measures that can help make business environments more attractive, foster investment and diffusion of innovation. Centres of Vocational Excellence connected via a transnational European framework can be an effective tool to drive skills development to foster transition from sectors that are in decline to new growing sectors and to embed green and digital skills (e.g. building on the EU Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, and the European e-Competence Framework for ICT professionals) in a vocational context.

Greening the VET sector requires first and foremost a greening of the VET programmes, curricula and content, but also managing the VET institutions with due attention paid to environmental footprint. This requires support for VET institutions in adapting their programmes and making sure that they match the needs of businesses that are in the frontline of delivering on environmental goals but also ensuring that infrastructure and technology are in line with sustainability requirements, thus contributing also to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, for example by helping to provide the skills needed for the Renovation Wave and the green and sustainable transition. Furthermore, as also illustrated by the COVID-19 crisis, VET institutions need to embrace digitalisation and to have a clear digital strategy that addresses multiple dimensions: provision of digital learning content, pedagogical approaches in digital learning, but also better use of data for following learners progression, developing tailored approaches and skills forecasting.

4.

4. Vocational education and training is attractive and based on modern and digitalised provision of training/skills


While VET provides very good employment prospects in occupations highly demanded on the labour market, it still faces a challenge of low attractiveness for learners and companies in most Member States. This means that more efforts are needed in increasing attractiveness of VET by innovating and modernising VET, notably in terms of new learning environments, tools and pedagogies, with a special focus on digitalisation. ICT based simulator, virtual and augmented reality tools have the potential to significantly modernise and innovate VET provision, increase its efficiency and accessibility compared to expensive physical equipment. This can be particular beneficial for small companies and apprenticeships organised in small and medium-sized companies.

New types of skills can be acquired through collaborative teaching, inter-disciplinary and project-based learning. Another aspect of attractiveness is permeability: education and training systems should enable vertical and horizontal pathways between VET, general school education, higher education and adult education. Higher VET programmes should be further expanded to support increased needs for advanced vocational skills. High quality guidance services have potential to increase attractiveness of VET as well.

Internationalisation, transnational mobility, including virtual skills competitions 35 , strong links with the other education and training sectors, research and labour market actors are key to innovate how VET is designed and delivered.

Increased quality of VET will only be possible with well-trained and motivated teachers and trainers. Staff in VET needs to be supported in developing skills and providing tools to master new technologies, to work in multicultural environments, and understand changing labour market needs. Motivation, career progression and well-being of teachers and trainers in VET are key to increase attractiveness of their profession. The so called hybrid teachers – a type of personnel who is part-time working in a company and part-time as a teacher in a vocational school - have a potential to contribute to a stronger cooperation arrangements between VET schools and companies in a more structured and frequent manner. Hybrid teachers can bring the necessary innovation to school-based environment and can address the growing shortage and ageing population of vocational teachers. The concept provides interesting career perspectives for individuals and provides benefits to both schools and companies, among others by sharing the salary costs.

5.

5. Vocational education and training promotes equality of opportunities


Good quality VET also contributes to the inclusion of vulnerable groups. This means that broad accessibility needs to be ensured and any remaining barriers to participation, including for people with disabilities, low-skilled adults, ethnic and racial minorities, including Roma, and people with a migrant background be removed. This can also help address the equity concerns in access to digital learning tools, internet connection and necessary IT devices, raised during the COVID-19 crisis. Targeted measures and flexible formats of training can prevent early leaving from VET and provide opportunities for drop-outs to re-enter VET.

There is also a need to address gender bias by promoting balance between traditional ‘male’ and ‘female’ professions, including by encouraging participation of women in vocational training for what are usually traditional ‘male’ professions and of men in ‘female’ professions.

6.

6. Vocational education and training is underpinned by a culture of quality assurance (explained above)


7.

7. Implementation at national level


Sustainable partnerships between all relevant stakeholders and including public private partnerships, is key to achieve effective governance in VET. Member States are invited to make best use of existing European tools, such as Europass, the European Qualification Framework (EQF) or ESCO (the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations) and maximise synergies among them also with a view to promote automatic mutual recognition of vocational education and training qualifications/ diplomas and the outcomes of learning periods abroad. European Union funds and instruments continue to focus on skills and provide opportunities to finance reforms of vocational education training. For more effective and efficient implementation of the Recommendation, it is proposed that responsible national authorities define measures to be taken for the implementation of this Recommendation at national level within one year of its adoption by building on relevant existing national arrangements and existing financial frameworks and follow through their implementation.

EU level support

The proposal aims to reconfirm the key role of the tripartite Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT) in the EU governance on VET policy, while also calling for more structured working method on the basis of a rolling work programme. It also calls for greater cooperation with other key stakeholders such as learners’ representatives and providers of vocational education and training.

The proposal does not bring any change to the broader governance structures in the area of skills, education and training.

The support of the European Commission to Member States with a view to the implementation of this Recommendation could be gradually deployed through reinforcing support for structural reforms on apprenticeships through the apprenticeship support service 36 and a new boost to European Alliance for Apprenticeships in synergy with the Youth Guarantee as well as expanding support services for vocational education and training together with CEDEFOP. The activities could cover a range of services, including mutual learning, expert advice, bench-learning, analytical work and capacity building for implementing this Recommendation.

Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) aim at fostering “upward convergence" of excellence in VET, operating at two levels:

1. National: in a given local context, embedding Centres of Vocational Excellence closely in the local entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems and clusters and acting as technology diffusion centres for SMEs including digital learning tools (ICT based simulators, virtual and augmented reality), and connecting them at European level.

2. International 37 : through Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence to establish world-class reference points for vocational training by bringing together CoVEs that share a common interest in specific sectors/trades (e.g. aeronautics, e-mobility, green and circular technologies, ICT, healthcare, etc.) or innovative approaches (e.g. digital solutions, artificial intelligence) to tackle societal challenges (e.g. climate change, resource depletion and scarcity, pollution, delivery of Sustainable Development Goals, integration of migrants, upskilling people with low qualification levels, etc.).

The platforms will be open for countries with well-developed vocational excellence systems, as well as those in the process of developing similar approaches, aimed at exploring the full potential of VET institutions to play a proactive role in support of growth, competitiveness and innovation. Platforms of Centres of Vocational Excellence are not intended to build new VET institutions and infrastructure from scratch. Instead they aim to bring together a set of local/regional partners such as initial and continuing VET providers, tertiary education institutions including universities of applied sciences and polytechnics, research institutions, science parks, clusters, companies, in particular micro, small and medium-sized, chambers and business associations, social partners, sectoral skills councils,professional/sector associations, clusters, national and regional authorities and development agencies, public employment services, etc.

The SELFIE self-reflection tool which supports education and training institutions in using effectively digital technologies for teaching and learning, can play an important role. The tool will be further developed and expanded to cover cooperation with employers in work-based learning schemes. The EQAVET framework is adapted to also include quality criteria/descriptors related to digitalisation of teaching and learning including through use of the SELFIE tool. The tool will be further developed and expanded to cover cooperation with employers in work-based learning schemes. The EQAVET framework is adapted to also include quality criteria/descriptors related to digitalisation of teaching and learning including through use of the SELFIE tool.

European VET systems have the potential to establish themselves as a global reference point for skills development. There are a number of actions to be taken at European level which can promote European leadership in a global training market, such as support to internationalisation of vocational education and training systems, promotion of skills competitions or organisation of communication campaigns to raise the attractiveness and image of VET.

An innovative element supporting excellence and internationalisation of VET is the concept of European Vocational Core Profiles which would define a certain share of a common training content at European level. As part of Europass platform and complemented, where possible, by vocational digital content, the Profiles have a potential to significantly facilitate mobility of learners and workers, automatic recognition of VET qualifications and the outcomes of learning period abroad and the development of joint vocational education and training curricula, qualifications and micro-credentials.

With the view to strengthening the European dimension of increased transparency and ‘trust-building’ the proposal proposes to introduce peer reviews on quality assurance arrangements in VET. The focus on the European dimension is a logical extension of successful activities which have taken place since the adoption of the EQAVET Recommendation in 2009 and which have helped the majority of countries to define, review and refine their quality assurance systems. The format and working methods of this reinforced European dimension, aimed at strengthening transparency and trust building, through a peer review exercise needs to be further discussed with all relevant stakeholders.

VET providers and their associations are crucial players in the implementation of the reforms in VET at national level and are directly relevant in the implementation of the EU policies and initiatives. They are multipliers, to disseminate the VET policy agenda and good practices exchanged at the EU level, but they also provide feedback and expertise from a practitioners’ grass root level perspective, to the policy proposals made by the Commission. There is a need to reinforce a structured dialogue with VET providers with a view to strengthen their capacity and role in the EU level VET cooperation.

The use of EU funds and programmes (such as the Next Generation EU (Recovery and Resilience Facility, REACT-EU), European Social Fund Plus, European Regional Development Fund, InvestEU, Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Interreg, Digital Europe, Just Transition Mechanism, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) to support the realisation of the commitments made in this proposal will be encouraged.

In particular, the proposed Recovery and Resilience Facility and REACT-EU have the potential to alleviate the socio-economic impacts of the transition and the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, support for apprenticeships, digitalisation of VET institutions as well as the accelerating VET reforms supporting the smooth deployment of quality reskilling programmes supporting occupational transitions for those working in sectors deeply impacted by the crisis could be reinforced.