Educationand Training

European BusinessForum on Vocational TrainingBrussels, 7-8 June 2012

2

Conclusions from the first European Business Forum on Vocational Training

1 Introduction

On 7 – 8 June 2012, more than 350 participants from the worlds of business, policy, and education and training met in Brussels to take part in the first Business Forum on Vocational Training. The Forum saw a lively exchange of perspectives and experiences in a debate, which focused on how vocational education and training (VET) can learn from companies’ approaches to competence development, and how businesses can contribute and motivate VET to support a smarter and more sustainable European economy.

Speakers at the Forum

Opening speeches:

- Jan Truszczyński, European Commission, Director General for Education and Culture

- Christine Antorini, Danish Minister for Education Keynote presentations:

- Professor Phillip Brown of Cardiff University, UK Christian Sanchez of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, France Patrizio Bianchi, Regional Minister of Education, Vocational Education, University, and Research, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Concluding speeches:

- Brendan Burns, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee Maxime Cerutti, Business Europe Józef Niemiec, Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation Christian Lettmayr, Cedefop Antonio Silva Mendes, European Commission, Director, DG Education and Culture

In addition to plenary sessions with speeches by renowned experts and stakeholders (see the above box), the Forum included targeted workshop sessions and a panel debate. Hence, the participants had rich opportunities for learning about policies, trends, and practices as well as contributing perspectives and viewpoints as well as discussing common challenges.

This final report intends to capture and present the main results of the discussions, exchanges, and presentations made at the Forum.

3

2 Vocational training in European companies

Ensuring high-level, well-targeted and efficient competence development in European enterprises is essential for ensuring that they are able to compete in the global market in the future. On the first day of the Forum, the keynote speakers discussed how continuing education plays a particularly important role in promoting transversal skills, innovation and a professional identity in the European workforce.

The end of the opportunity bargain

Professor Phillip Brown outlined that given the increase in highly qualified workers and that companies in emerging economies are now competing on quality as well as price, educational investments in tertiary level qualifications are a declining source of competitive advantage in Europe.

In today’s global economy, in part due to the global expansion in high qualifications - enrolment rates in tertiary education doubled from 1996 to 2007 – a higher education qualification is no longer a reliable source of competitive advantage for those in the labour market nor for companies. Emerging economies such as China and India are moving rapidly up the value chain and engaging heavily in research and development, which were previously assumed to be ‘high-quality’ activities that would remain in Europe and other developed economies during globalisation. The ‘opportunity bargain’ where investment in a high-level qualification would automatically equal high wages no longer holds true in these circumstances.

Furthermore, whilst there is a surplus of tertiary graduates with the necessary technical or ‘hard’ skills, companies are currently concerned that newly recruited employees often lack the necessary transversal skills (adjustability, communication, organisation skills, business understanding, etc.)..

The importance of innovation and excellence

In this situation, policy makers and academics alike propose that innovation will increasingly be the key to competitive advantage. Innovation depends on the promotion of skills, knowledge and mind-set at all levels – not just university level and not just scientific skills – as well as the ability of companies to make the most out of their skill base. Innovation also relies on mutual collaboration and employees having a sense of common purpose in the company. Therefore, the focus of policies and human resource development strategies alike should be on investing in education and training, i.e. an investment that is life-long and supports innovation, entrepreneurship and professional career development.

Vocational education and training play a key role in developing innovation and are at the core of building smart, sustainable economies. Continuing vocational training contributes to developing the competences of employees beyond the level of their initial qualifications. Where the higher qualification ‘rat race’ can stifle individual inventiveness, effective continuing vocational training is an addition to the learning that takes place in the workplace, and this can give rise to more curious and inventive thinking. This is vital in order to create and maintain a competitive economy in which there is freedom and encouragement for individuals to think.

The efficiency of vocational training in large companies not only affects the competence levels of their own employees, it also can have an impact on the competence levels of other

4

companies in the value chain. These companies, such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) who presented at the Forum, set their quality standards high, and this in turn affects the standards expected from small suppliers and hence the skill requirements in these companies.

The risks of ‘Digital Taylorism’ – and the dual role of VET in avoiding them

The organisation of work in large enterprises can increasingly be characterised as ‘Digital Taylorism’ – a term describing how knowledge work is broken down into routine tasks.1 Service sector occupations increasingly resemble those found at factory production lines. Call centre work is a well-known example where the work is broken down into a series of answers or options that are available to the employee in the computerised system with little or no possibility of customising or ‘reading off-script’. Whilst this enables the transferability of knowledge work to any location, it reduces the employees’ ownership of tasks and limits their personal satisfaction. In other words, creativity, innovation, and productivity are threatened.

Participants in the Forum expressed concern that this tendency will make young people less motivated to work. Continuing education, they stated, therefore needs to take on a dual objective. Thus, vocational education and training of employees should not just be about developing the skills of workers, they should also contribute to giving employees a clear professional identity and career path within the company.

1 Named in reference to ‘Taylorism’ which are the principles of scientific management developed to maximise

productivity.

5

3 How companies identify skill needs

Companies identify skill needs with a view to meeting the targets of business units and addressing strategic business needs and evolutions in the external environment. According to the Forum participants, however, identifying skill needs is as much about career development as it is about business strategy. From a company perspective, one of the main rationales for identifying skill needs is the need to manage the career progression of individuals in the company. The Forum discussion also focused on how the vocational education and training system could learn from businesses in connection with this issue.

Identifying skill needs and competence development

The data that companies use to inform skill and career development plans arise from a combination of bottom-up and top-down processes, i.e. appraisal processes; use of competence matrices per business unit; and identification of the strategic competences necessary to meet new objectives.

Forum participants emphasised that skill needs identification:

▪ Is a process embedded in personal appraisals as well as business strategy. ▪ The individual appraisal process can distinguish between performance and personal

development progression. It is important that employees demonstrate that they are learning and growing their skills and expertise; not just meeting performance targets.

▪ With a better understanding of how skills support not just the production process but also growth and innovation, training providers could better target their programmes to ensure that these skills are embedded in the curricula.

The potential of networks

According to the Forum participants, networks of companies and training providers ease the identification of skill needs because they enable companies to identify those needs that are critical for the sector. They also enable companies to better articulate their needs towards education and training providers.

Companies said that they understand that people cannot come out of education completely ‘ready-made’ for work and said that part of the discussions within networks should be to negotiate which skills and competences that should be promoted through initial education and training and which should be promoted by the businesses.

Who is responsible for identifying competence gaps?

The participants considered identification of skill needs in a company a shared responsibility between the individual, the business unit, the HR-department and the top-level management. ▪ Often, the main responsibility for learning and development lies with the individual staff

member. This assumes that each employee is able to view his or her personal development in a positive manner and is willing to learn as well as be self-critical and capable of understanding his or her own needs.

▪ However, managers also need to be able to identify where staff needs to improve and be able to convey these messages to them in a constructive manner.

6

Key competences - beyond technical skills

Many of the participating companies regard technical skills as the basis – they are the ‘must haves’ – but having staff with suitable technical skills alone does not make a company stand out among its competitors. What makes the difference, according to the companies, is the level of transversal skills and mind-sets of the employees. The most frequently mentioned specific skills and attitudes were:

▪ customer orientation; ▪ multicultural (organisational, management and ethnical culture); ▪ ability to handle different negative reactions and rejections; ▪ creativity; ▪ language; ▪ communication; ▪ business understanding; ▪ adaptability; ▪ flexibility; and ▪ entrepreneurship

The participants stressed that it is the transversal skills that enable skilled employees, be they skilled workers or higher education graduates, to fully utilise their technical expertise, put it into practice and contribute to company growth, learning and innovation.

7

4 Company strategies and methodologies in competence development

Among the topics explored by the Forum were companies’ approaches to competence development. A distinction was made between companies’ use of formal training activities (‘classroom training’), and their use of work-based learning.

Although most companies use some extent of formal learning, either as in-company classroom training or external training courses, the participants expressed some concerns in relation to formal learning such as how to get (and measure) return on the investment and how to create a ‘learning company’. The general opinion was that formal learning – in order to be effective – needs to be supplemented with informal learning activities.

In-company formal training in Enics, Estonia (Electronics Manufacturing Services for Industrial

Electronics)

▪ Eleven different courses for production employees, seven for specialists and managers ▪ 38 people (5% of staff) are engaged only with training and coaching ▪ Special training classroom for 20 trainees ▪ 1900 training hours per year

Ensuring return on investment in formal training

The Forum participants highlighted the advantage of developing continuing training strategies that are strongly oriented towards the organisation’s specific requirements and the transfer of skills and knowledge in the organisation

Common pitfalls when ensuring formal learning is transformed into a return on investment

▪ Focusing on the level of satisfaction of participants rather than examining whether their training activities have resulted in actual value creation once they have returned to their daily lives.

▪ Organising formal training activities without ensuring that they are linked to the strategy of the organisation.

▪ An absence of an organisational environment that supports employees in implementing acquired learning when returning from training activities. In many instances employees are told to return to conducting business as usual or are given little time to reflect on how the learning outcome can be put to use.

The learning company

The term “the learning company” was used at the Forum as a term to describe companies, which, instead of seeing training as a separate, have deeply integrated learning as part of their everyday culture.

Towards the learning company (Phillips, the Netherlands)

From (current situation):

Predominantly classroom training by external trainers; limited e-learning; manager and employee select courses from catalogue; courses that deliver fundamental concepts and

8

foundations

To (currently being implemented):

A variety of solutions with unlimited access: feedback mechanisms, wiki, blogs,’ Connectus’; instructor-led virtual learning; coaching & mentoring simulations; podcasts & videos job aids; subject matter forums; ask an expert; books & articles; job rotation; performance support; social networks; coffee corner chats.

Making continuing education of employees a distinct part of a company’s overall strategy was suggested as an efficient way to ensure that continuing education is prioritised and that there is synergy between the different learning activities. However, the drawback highlighted by participants is that this often requires an investment in time and resources, which can be hard to make, particularly under the current financial circumstances.

The participants identified a number of prerequisites for creating the ‘Learning Company’:

▪ leave room for learning; ▪ promote knowledge sharing among employees; ▪ make room for experiments and implementation of new knowledge; ▪ involve senior employees in the training of other employees (courses, coaching,

mentoring);and ▪ take on apprentices, not only to pass on knowledge to, but also as a means to promote

reflection and awareness.

ICT based learning

Participants argued that digital technologies hold substantial potential in relation to continuing training in the workplace. This type of formal learning can be applied on mobile devices, used on demand and is not dependent on a trainer being present. As a result, ICT-based learning, it is often a more flexible gateway to acquiring new skills compared to traditional training courses.

However, there are limitations to ICT based learning, Forum participants emphasised. Most importantly, ICT based learning currently appears as less relevant in learning organisational and cultural skills, lacking as it does, the human element.

In addition, companies as well as vocational schools called for improved access to open, not copyrighted, education resources.

Work based or informal learning

Whilst participants highlighted the role of formal learning can play, they mentioned that formal learning is merely the tip of the iceberg, with the largest and most fundamental part of learning taking place in the daily activities of a company. In contrast to formal learning, work based learning links directly to functions, operations and processes in the workplace. This means that employees have the opportunity to learn and improve by doing, mentoring and peer learning. Participants felt there were messages that vocational education and training could learn from the informal learning experiences of companies.

Key success factors for work-based learning in Banco Espirito Santo, Portugal

▪ Interacting with customers in a real-life setting – theory and practice;

9

▪ Promoting a culture of example – technical, commercial and behavioural skills; ▪ On-going assessment of employees; ▪ Role plays and daily feedback – outcome orientation; ▪ Motivating the teams involved in the learning goals; ▪ On-going involvement and direct commitment of senior management

More than just passing on knowledge- the role of mentoring

Work based learning frequently involves a mentoring approach. Stakeholders at the forum described a mentor as an experienced and trusted advisor, and mentorship as the creation of a relationship that strives for personal development of a mentee – fostering emotional relationships and self-consciousness; communication skills. Whereas mentoring is a highly flexible concept, adopting it into the organisation requires that it is used in an organised way. Learning from experiences can lead to enhanced competences when the mentor helps the mentee to reflect and to realise the potential in the situation. Participants felt that a distinctive advantage of taking a mentoring approach is that it can be used for employees on all qualification levels. Mentoring can be also used outside of the workforce, for example unemployed or other vulnerable groups. A number of prerequisites for successful mentoring was identified by participants:

▪ Outcomes should be monitored and – if possible - measured. This can be difficult, but making the outcomes explicit can aid workers in their development and provide management with tools to assess and shape HR policies;

▪ A roadmap for mentorships can help to make the mentorship successful; ▪ Processes of work based learning approaches need to be evaluated in order for the

mentor to be able to give feedback to the mentee (e.g. by a development matrix); ▪ Psychological aspects are important within mentorship: a mentor must be able to use

and interpret body language as a dimension for personal development.

Peer learning - reinventing the wheel?

Besides mentoring and coaching, peer learning where employees learn by doing under supervision of another employee with similar tasks can be a successful approach for work based learning. Participants identified benefits as well as challenges associated with strategic reliance on peer learning:

▪ Peer learning is well suited to initiate behavioural change and as such is often a fitting approach for developing e.g. problem solving abilities or desirable attitudes

▪ Relying too heavily on peer learning may produce ‘clones’, and hence contribute to lowering the innovation potential of the organisation.

Therefore, peer learning cannot stand alone, but needs to be supplemented with learning practices which enable the employees to reflect on their daily practice and contribute to innovation.

Using methods from work based learning in vocational education and training

While peer learning and tutoring are strong learning models in companies, their potential is not fully utilised in VET. Using such approaches in mainstream provision of vocational education and training can improve the skills and competences of young people as well as their motivation. It will also prepare them for playing this role in companies.

10

▪ vocational education and training should systematically integrate learning in practice on a job (see the section on apprenticeship, where this approach is explored in more depth).

▪ Cooperation between schools and companies around work-based learning of students in initial vocational education and training is beneficial for all the three actors: the learner, the company and the training centre.

▪ Contact with companies centred on students will allow teachers upgrade their knowledge, skills and competence and become more closely involved.

▪ Some suggested that teacher training should involve work-based learning.

Collaboration and networking as means to improve competence development

One role of competence development in companies is to address skills mismatches. Therefore, participants felt that companies, and in particular HR-departments, need to be more aware of the particular situation in relation to skills in their sector or geographical area.

It was suggested that participation in regional competence platforms could aid companies significantly in developing strategies and methods for competence development. Participants identified that enterprises are not always in a position to cover their competence needs through continuing education alone, and that partnerships with other organisations could help. Through this cooperation, ‘learning outcomes’ can be a common language to manage competence development among the various stakeholders.

Given that European companies face a number of shared challenges, knowledge sharing and stronger connections is increasingly relevant. Improved collaboration in ‘the learning triangle’ (businesses, education providers and policy makers) can

▪ contribute to improving companies’ methods in competence development ▪ ensure that curricula are better aligned with business needs. ▪ enable schools and companies to appreciate each other’s needs and perspectives.

5 The role of companies in promoting youth employment

“Businesses expect that the people they recruit hit the ground running – so they tend not to want to recruit young inexperienced people” (Philip Brown, in Q and A session)

Due to the current high and rising unemployment rates among young people, many discussions during the Forum touched upon the issue of how to prevent the loss of an entire generation to unemployment. One of the solutions offered was for all stakeholders to work together to promote the use of apprenticeship in vocational education and training at all levels. In particular, interest was directed at the requirements of ‘dual systems’ where learning is taking place partly in schools, partly in companies. Such systems currently exist in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark, but other countries, like Italy, the Netherlands and Spain do have apprenticeship as part of their vocational education and training systems.

Apprenticeship-based education has advantages – for students as well as companies

The participants identified the following advantages of apprenticeship for young people about to enter the labour market

11

▪ They get introduced to culture and organisation in an enterprise in the sector they want to work in

▪ They get the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences with experienced employees and managers

▪ They get the opportunity to develop a network of potential employers and /or partners

It was also underlined that companies learn from apprentices, and that this learning can be even more valuable if underpinned by a systematic approach to the use of the ‘fresh eyes’ and theoretical insights of apprentices.

Attracting students to apprenticeship-based training is a challenge

In many countries, parents and young people alike tend not to regard qualifications that focus on skills as highly as qualifications that focus on theoretical knowledge. As a result, they tend to prefer general education over vocational education.

According to participants from the countries where vocational training is organised as a dual system, the public in their countries does not see the dual system as having a lower status than theoretical education. Why? Because in these countries:

▪ it is possible to advance to higher qualification levels in the dual vocational education system and e.g. become an engineer or a nurse through a combination of company-based learning and school-based learning

▪ the access to general higher education for persons with a qualification from the dual system is easy.

▪ There are role models: Many executives in companies were educated in the dual system, so they support it and also serve as role models for parents and potential students.

Ensuring the supply of apprenticeship places is a shared responsibility

It is a general observation that in times of crisis, companies become less willing to take on apprentices. The forum discussed this, and different viewpoints were:

▪ Companies must assume responsibility for contributing to the development of the future workforce

▪ Very strict requirements for companies to be approved as training companies may counteract the need to secure a sufficient supply of apprenticeship places – flexibility is required

▪ Increased specialisation calls for flexibility – shared or split apprenticeships in small companies can contribute to increasing the supply of apprenticeship places

▪ On the other hand, such solutions may prove a challenge to quality

Should apprenticeship models be contemplated in all types and levels of education?

The participants raised the issue of whether it would be relevant to apply work experience in the form of apprenticeships also to higher education, in view of the increasing unemployment among university graduates.

▪ It was expressed, that an increasing use of apprenticeships in all parts of the education system would indeed be of benefit to the economy,

▪ But would require that employers become more willing to offer apprenticeship places.

12

6 The role of the EU in supporting vocational training within companies

“As companies, we are all struggling with the same issues and we all try to tackle them individually. The EU could be the facilitator of a common effort to address these issues together in the best possible way”.

This was the clear statement made by a representative of a large European enterprise at the Forum. Although the EU does not have legislative capability in the area of education, it plays a crucial role in providing the right framework conditions and support for successful vocational training in the European companies. Over the course of the two days, participants provided much constructive input on how the EU could improve its role in relation to supporting continuing education.

Alignment and improvement of existing programmes

Participants generally found that the EU, through its many initiatives, plays an important role in improving the conditions for vocational training in Europe. EQF, EQAVET, ECVET, and the Erasmus programmes were frequently mentioned in that context. At the same, however, many also found that the EU-programmes could be more efficient, better aligned and more on point in terms of meeting the actual needs of businesses. Specific suggestions in this context were:

▪ opening of educational resources ▪ pushing for rapid member-state implementation of EQF ▪ improved mobility in vocational training ▪ less bureaucracy in programmes

Facilitating business-VET and business-business collaboration

“Let us share our knowledge instead of constantly trying to re-invent the wheel”, was the clear message from one of the company representatives at the Forum. The EU plays an important role in promoting exchange of knowledge and practices in the learning triangle between companies, education institutions and government. This role was by many participants seen as the most important for the EU headed into the future.

Promoting collaboration between business and the education system was mentioned as pivotal in order to ensure proper alignment between what the businesses need and what the institutions teach their future employees. But perhaps surprisingly, a main discussion was about another type of collaboration - on how the EU could promote collaboration among the companies themselves. The companies present at the Forum expressed a clear willingness to engage and invest resources in such collaboration, but found they often lacked a platform or a third-party actor that could bring them together. The EU, they stated, could play that role.

Sector skills alliances

This initiative recently launched by the European Commission invites vocational training providers, company representatives, social partners and policy-makers to join forces to deliver joint curricula and methods which provide learners with the skills required by the

13

The European Forum on Vocational Training was seen as a positive step in that direction, but many expressed a clear need for more and better targeted platforms for collaboration – for instance at member-state, sector or cluster level.

Facilitating sharing of knowledge and practices

Although deep and on-going collaboration on vocational training might be the most efficient way to ensure a broad exchange of knowledge and practices, it often requires allocation of substantial human and financial resources from the parties involved. For companies not willing or able to commit to such activities – not least SMEs – it was proposed that the EU launch initiatives to provide easier access to knowledge and inspiration about successful and innovative vocational training practices in companies. Specific suggestions mentioned were the creation of an online database of in-depth case studies of innovative VET-practices in European companies, inspiration catalogues and easy access to local or national conferences and workshops.

labour market. Read more: http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/20120425_en.htm

14

7 Conclusions and calls for action

Conclusions

The Forum clearly demonstrated to all the participants that they are part of a ‘learning triangle’ involving companies, policy makers, and vocational education and training institutions in an continuous improvement of the workforce. The two days made it clear that all three types of stakeholders stand to gain from increasing the collaboration between them at all levels.

In addition, it became evident that increased collaboration is also to the advantage of the European economies and societies, because it can support more intelligent uses of the skills, ingenuity and inventiveness of citizens.

Increased collaboration can enhance:

▪ increasing use of apprenticeship, which can contribute significantly to improving the employment situation of young people;

▪ enhanced quality in initial vocational education and training: ▪ companies’ insight into and ability to manage and orchestrate learning processes; and

consequently ▪ innovation and entrepreneurship in companies.

The Forum also pointed to several ways forward to increase the interaction and improve the mutual learning between companies and providers of education and training. The section below describes some of the specific calls for action that came out of the first Business Forum on Vocational Training.

Calls for action

The following specific calls for action were the ones most often mentioned by the Forum participants. All corners of the learning triangle, the businesses, the vocational education and training system and the policy-makers, are calling for action

Businesses should:

▪ Prioritise vocational education and training – also in times of crisis; ▪ ensure that training initiatives are aligned with company strategies and sector needs; ▪ take active measures to implement apprenticeships as part of their learning strategies -

bearing in mind that apprenticeships not only benefit apprentices, but also has positive learning impacts on the company; and

▪ constitute learning environments that allow room for experimentation, innovation and applying new knowledge in practice. This could involve incorporating senior citizens in the training of younger employees.

The vocational education and training system should;

▪ take initiatives to collaborate more closely with businesses on designing curricula; ▪ ensure that vocational training initiatives are directed towards promoting technical as

well as transversal competences and mind-sets; and

15

▪ focus on vocational education and training as a lifelong learning activity – not just initial training.

Policy makers should:

▪ support and facilitate cooperation between businesses and the vocational training system, including showcasing to companies the benefits of cooperation in connection with vocational training;

▪ support and facilitate cooperation on vocational training between companies; ▪ facilitate exchange of knowledge and practices through online platforms, inspiration

catalogues, events, etc.; ▪ ensure that EU initiatives on vocational education and training meet the needs of

companies and SMEs – including closer a involvement of companies in the design of programmes and policy;

▪ ensure more efficient use of funding in programmes directed at improvement of vocational education and training;

▪ opening of educational resources; ▪ continue to push to ensure EQF implementation and learning outcome approaches at

national level; and ▪ promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the teaching of VET.