public service review:

EUROPEAN UNIONissue 17

An Independent Review

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Building the European dream…Connecting policiesand actors

In 2008, new policy initiatives hitEurope to answer the economic,social and individual challenges.

International mobility, anticipation ofskill needs, lifelong career guidanceand learning outcomes for trans-parency in education and training inEurope. How are they connected?

December 2008 ECVETadopted in EuropeanParliamentA series of European initiatives aimat learning outcomes to recogniselearning experiences across differentcountries and different types of insti-tutions, including the EuropeanCredit Transfer and AccumulationSystem (ECTS) in higher education,the European Credit system forVocational Education and Training(ECVET), Europass, the EuropeanQuality Charter for Mobility (EQCM),the European principles for the iden-tification and validation ofnon-formal and informal learning,and the European QualificationFramework for lifelong learning(EQF). The focus of this exercise isthe easier transition from VET tohigher education, valuing what oneacquires during work and outsideschool, and most of all internationalmobility. But international mobility isbehind schedule. And focusing onlearning outcomes is one thing, butare these outcomes really whatcompanies are waiting for? Does itmeet the future needs? And does atransparent system meet new ways oflearning? Is the established systemtoo limited, focused on initial learningwhen discussing transparency?

July 2008 Report of the HighLevel Expert Forum onMobility In the years up to 2020, theEuropean youth generation – 16-29years of age – decreases from 90 to81 million, a reduction of 9 million or

10%. This will have a profoundimpact on education, the economyand society – now and in the future.In the same period, technologicalchanges will be even more pervasiveand global competition will increase,not least the competition for talentedpeople. Thus, Europe needs to beready for this competition and to giveyoung Europeans opportunities tolearn and to develop their capacities.The new European generation shouldbe fully equipped to cope with thenew global challenges, with a deep-ened sense of European identity,openness and co-operation. That iswhy learning mobility should becomea natural feature of being Europeanand an opportunity provided to allyoung people in Europe.

Two vital policy goals:■ Strengthen Europe’s competitiveness,

building its knowledge-intensivesociety;

■ Deepen the sense of Europeanidentity and citizenship within itsyouth generation.

Make cross-border mobility forlearning the rule, rather than anexception that it is today. For allyoung Europeans, in all forms ofeducation and non-formal activitiessuch as voluntary and communitywork as well. It allows people to pickup new knowledge, learn fromdifferent educators and test them-selves, their assumptions andcompetences in new situations.Mobility has often formed part of theeducation of great innovators and ofthose with the highest skills.

Mobility also breaks down barriersbetween people and groups, buildinga sense of EU citizenship. Successivesurveys show that those who haveundertaken mobility are more enthu-siastic about European integration.There should be opportunities for

cross-border mobility in 2020 for atleast 50% of the youth generation.This will mean an expansion of theexisting mobility programmes by 10times to offer mobility opportunitiesto about 2,900,000 people a year in2020. Virtual forms of mobility –networking and twinning betweenschools, institutions, groups – shouldreinforce and complement cross-border physical mobility in all areas.

December 2008Communication from theCommission on New Skills forNew Jobs: anticipating andmatching labour market andskills needs New Skills for New Jobs proposes aseries of actions to match skills withvacancies, to organise skills assess-ments on a permanent basis, to poolthe efforts of member states andother international organisations, andto develop better information onfuture needs.

Assessing labour markets up to 2020 –Europe will see the creation of newjobs in the service sector; by the year2020, almost three-quarters of jobs inthe EU-25 will be in services. Further,there will be many jobs created in highskilled occupations, but also some jobcreation in ‘elementary jobs’. More andmore jobs will require high andmedium education levels from theworking population. Across sectors,transversal and generic skills will beincreasingly valued on the labourmarket: problem-solving and analyticalskills, self-management and communi-cation skills, the ability to work in ateam, linguistic skills and digitalcompetences.

There is a tendency that the estab-lished system may not respond quicklyenough to become transparent andact responsive to future skills needs.The area of private training providers

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and educational colleges are startingto grow fast where the traditionalsystem is not open to change. DuringEuroskills, Toyota Europe proposed aco-makership between businessesand education in the automotivesector. ‘Why? This already exists incertain country,’ one asks. The co-makership yes, but not the training.Individuals graduating from schoolsimply lack the skills that these busi-nesses need. Is this the future: thatstaff need to be trained by privatetraining providers and educationalcolleges because the public system isstill focusing on how things were donein the past and try to keep up withthe rapid changes of modern societytoday, too busy with transparency?

The call for more higher educatedstaff may suppress the need for life-long learning for everyone. Some say:not everyone can become a Master,so please focus on those who can.Look at the potential of everyone nothigher educated and see whathappens if they all reach one levelup in their own pace and their ownway. It would be disappointing for thevast majority if new investments onlygo to higher education.

November 2008 CouncilResolution on LifelongGuidancePoints made in the 2004 Resolutionare affirmed and four key priorityareas for all member states are iden-tified in this resolution: ■ Encourage the lifelong acquisition

of career management skills;

■ Facilitate access by all citizens toguidance services;

■ Develop the quality assurance ofguidance provision;

■ Encourage co-ordination and co-operation among the variousnational, regional and local stakeholders.

The first key issue, lifelong acquisitionof career management skills is themost important to be connected toanticipation of skills needs, interna-tional learning mobility and transparencyby learning outcomes.

Career management skills play a deci-sive role in empowering people tobecome involved in shaping theirlearning, training and integration pathways and their careers. Careermanagement skills include thefollowing, particularly during periods of transition:■ Learning about the economic

environment, businesses andoccupations;

■ Being able to evaluate oneself,knowing oneself and being able todescribe the competences one hasacquired in formal, informal andnon-formal education settings;

■ Understanding education, trainingand qualifications systems.

■ To make progress in this priorityarea, member states should,depending on their specific situa-tions, consider:

■ Including teaching and learningactivities that foster the develop-ment of career management skillsin general, vocational and highereducation programmes;

■ Preparing teachers and trainers toconduct such activities andsupport them in this task;

■ Encouraging parents to becomeinvolved in guidance issues;

■ Involving civil society organisationsand the social partners moreclosely in this area;

■ Facilitating access to informationabout training opportunities andtheir links to the professions, andabout the skills needs anticipatedin a given locality;

■ Developing career managementskills in adult training programmes;

■ Making guidance one of the objec-tives of schools, VET providers andhigher education establishments.Integration into working life andthe operation of the local, nationaland European labour markets areaspects, in particular, that shouldbe taken into account.

Many teachers are not aware that theyprepare pupils and students for jobsthat may not exist yet but will be

created in the future! Jobs in anothercountry. And students from othercountries will come in. Are we readyfor this? If one can learn with careermanagement skills to identify themissing parts of the way schoolsteach and the courses they offer, onecan choose to do something else.Think outside the box. Go to a privatecompany that provides better trainingwith quality assured. Go abroad. Getyour competences validated byworking and learning at the same timein a company. Invest in your ownfuture. To survive, all successful busi-nesses invest in staff by offeringlifelong learning. In the fast changingworld with financial crises, scarcenatural resources, food safety, security,it all comes down to empowering thestaff for tomorrow, connecting profit,people and planet. Where money isjust as important as using talents in abroad range of professional, commu-nicative, teamwork, caring and creativeareas, businesses already know thatworkers go shopping for training andjobs that they want throughoutEurope. If Europe cannot offer suitablestudy and work, the best places in theworld are to be discovered.

The European lifelong learningprogramme offers possibilities forinternational mobility, partnershipsand innovation projects to help tobuild the European dream. Bridgingpolicy to practice.

Dr Siegfried WillemsNA LLP National Agency LifelongLearning Programme, Head-Leonardoda Vinci programme, Head ofEuroguidance, The Netherlands

CINOPPO Box 15855200 BPs-HertogenboschThe Netherlands

Tel: +31 736 800 762Fax: +31 736 123 425

willems@leonardodavinci.nlwww.leonardodavinci.nl