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/ REX/258
EU-Turkey Joint
Consultative Committee

Brussels, 8 April 2008

24th meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee

Istanbul, Turkey

10 & 11 April 2008

REPORT

LIFELONG LEARNING ASPECTS OF THE LISBON STRATEGY

RAPPORTEUR

Osman YILDIZ,

Member of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee – Group II (Employees Group)

HAK-İŞ Confederation, Assistant to the President and Responsible for International Relations

MYK (Vocational Qualifications Authority ) Member of the Executive Board

ELGPN Member of the Turkish National Committee

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I – INTRODUCTION

In order to explore the link between the Lisbon Strategy and lifelong learning (LLL), it is necessary to look at the reasons for the existence of these two components. The Lisbon Strategy itself and the lifelong learning concept on which it concentrates, constitute a further extension of the tools and frameworks developed for the European Employment Strategy (EES) which came into existence earlier than them in order to put it into practice effectively. The EU has reached an advanced point in establishing and strengthening the European Employment Strategy. Thus the EU, over time, has succeeded in adding new institutions, regulations, benchmarks, funds and targets to the EES as well as producing periodical evaluation reports thereupon.

Although Turkey as a candidate country was urged by the EU to develop a National Employment Strategy, encouraging it to implement a large project through the Turkish Employment Organisation (İŞKUR), it still does not have a National Employment Strategy . The lack of a National Employment Strategy in Turkey does not provide the opportunity to have a good and effective framework to evaluate developments such as the Lisbon Strategy and lifelong learning concepts.

The approach of this report on LLL is to attempt mainly to provide an approach that is informative in all its all aspects, analysing the issues under the subheadings and presenting a more global and integrated LLL approach.

II – CONCEPTIONAL VIEW ON LIFELONG LEARNING AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Participation in education and training can occur in so many different environments and could be possible in so many ways including ICT (Information and Communications Technology). Lifelong learning is defined as all learning activities undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective. In this regard, LLL is a learning process "from cradle to grave".

It is understood that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) creates an indirect link between decent work and lifelong learning despite no direct reference. It defines decent work as summing up the aspirations of people in their working lives as it involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. Concerning lifelong learning, the ILO wants education and training to be tailored directly and in accordance with the economy and employment requirements.

Lifelong learning includes formal learning, informal learning, courses leading to the acquisition of technical training and skills, vocational skills acquired at the workplace, and learning leading to the acquisition of other knowledge, understanding and skills. In Turkish, örgün eğitim is used for formal education and yaygın egitim is used for both non-formal education and informal education.

Lifelong learning, therefore, can be achieved at schools, at universities, at home, at work and in any other place in society. It is unrestricted in terms of age, socio-economic status and education level. In this way, lifelong learning should be viewed as a continuous and planned activity that supports the acquisition of knowledge, understanding and skills, and thus the vocational and broader social success of individuals, their communities and the whole of society.

Lifelong learning, besides general vocational education and training given by formal and common education, includes learning resulting in individuals gaining knowledge and skill outside the education-training institutions. Lifelong learning should be viewed as a continuous and planned activity supporting the accomplishment of knowledge, understanding and competences causing the professional and social successes of individuals, communities and the whole of society. The importance of vocational education and training for individuals, corporations and society is commonly known and considered as the main element of lifelong learning.

Lifelong learning covers learning in the family during the childhood period, pre-school learning, all stages of formal training, common education, learning gained during the working life and knowledge and skills obtained during any stage of life by foreseeing "a learning society". Flexible systems assessing all previous gains of the individual and making the transition from school to working life easier without looking at where and how the gain was accomplished are needed for the development of lifelong learning.

Therefore, vocational consulting and advisory services supporting the main principles of lifelong learning help the individual to plan and conduct self-learning activities; to be aware of the risks and opportunities that they experience by being aware of the individual’s skill and deficiencies. The OECD and the European Commission define vocational education as "services and activities aimed to help individuals, while they are making educational, training and vocational selections and shaping their carriers in every age and every stage of their lifetime".

From this angle, for the achievement of lifelong learning, it is important that the education system should be restructured as "learner-centred" for a "learning society". Lifelong continuation of learning is closely related to enabling horizontal and vertical passages in between types and stages of education on a qualification basis.

Students, teachers, school administrators, families, non-governmental organisations, all public and private institutions are considered as partners of education.

LLL intends to enable all citizens to adapt to the knowledge-based society and to participate actively in all spheres of social and economic life, thereby enabling them to take more control of their own lives.

There exist several substantial changes in the world affecting employment from total social and human development to the attainment of workplace skills. The transformation of the workplace, the short life expectation and disappearance of many kinds of jobs and the creation of others, the uncertainty and labour market instability that this causes, the mobility of both jobs and workers all over the world, above all the endless technological revolution fuelled by new computing technologies: these are imperatives that keep the idea of learning throughout life at the centre of policy, but also give most attention to the economy. Therefore each and every individual needs to be able to adapt to changing life conditions, and practise continuous learning in order to improve his or her personal abilities, job-related skills and competencies. It is proving essential in the modern fast-changing and competitive global society to keep undertaking education and training in line with both personal objectives and labour market requirements. Lifelong learning is therefore an essential tool to raise the quality of life.

On the other hand at this point, it should be noted that the approach of downgrading the main reason for lifelong learning to only the economic motivation" is being criticised.

III – PLACE OF LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE LISBON STRATEGY AND ITS CONNECTION WITH VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

The Lisbon Strategy is a strategy developed over the course of time. Therefore it will be a more correct approach to call the Lisbon Strategy which focuses on further developing the European Employment Strategy as the Lisbon Process. Therefore it is possible to identify the Lisbon Process with four basic interlinked concepts such as employment, social policy, lifelong learning and vocational education. Moreover, it is clearly understood that lifelong learning appears to be the point of intersection of other components as well as direct references.

The European Employment Strategy (EES) is based on four pillars such as to increase employability, to develop entrepreneurship, to increase adaptability and equal opportunity, where lifelong learning is referred to at the top of the implementation tools. Vocational education in the employability pillar, and lifelong learning in the adaptability pillar are further underlined.

In Lisbon, for the EU the 10-year strategic goal was defined as: "by 2010, the EU to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion." Lifelong learning within this framework has been defined as: " a core element of this strategy, central not only to competitiveness and employability , but also to active citizenship, social inclusion and the personal development and satisfaction of the people who are working and living in the knowledge- based economy".

In order to accomplish these objectives, Lisbon underlines the bases of an integrated strategy such as. meeting the needs of the information society by the system of vocational education, encouraging agreements between social partners on lifelong learning and vocational education and making investments in people.

The joint targets of the Lisbon Strategy-lifelong learning and vocational education taken all together are for individuals to;

acquire skills and competences relevant and adequate for the labour market and their future lives,

achieve the transition from school to work,

ensure that they have the ability for continuous personal development throughout their careers and lives,

enjoy flexible education pathways increasingly enabling progression to further education and training by valuing their educational accreditations.

Development of the Process:

In Europe, lifelong learning and the vocational education system have been developing in a combination strictly linked with each other. EU Summit Conclusions and Declarations , as well as Commission publications include important principles in developing EU vocational education. The process goes back to 1995 when the Commission published a White Paper on education and training entitled "Teaching and Learning: Towards the Learning Society". The Bologna Declaration on higher education later adopted in June 1999 introduced enhanced European cooperation in the area of vocational education. Efforts have been made to enhance the subject in this period through European Council Summits as in Lisbon, Stockholm, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Maastricht and Helsinki.

Bologna Declaration (1999): the Bologna Declaration created a new Enhanced European Cooperation to be developed in the area of vocational education at the level of higher education.

Lisbon Council (2000): the European Council launched the Lisbon Strategy with the objective of making the EU the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The Council assessed the development of high quality vocational education and training as a very important and integral part of this strategy for social inclusion, mobility, employability and increasing competitiveness.

Stockholm Council (2001): In the report entitled "The Concrete Future Objectives in Education and Training Systems" approved by the Stockholm European Council, improving the efficiency and quality of the education and training system, facilitating the access of everybody to the education and training systems, the opening of education and training systems to the larger world in the European Union were defined as the areas for joint activities in the EU for achieving the Lisbon objectives.

On the other hand, a Working Group prepared the "Education and Training Programme-2010" in 2001. The committee determined eight different competence elements in this programme required for a better life for individuals. These are communication in one's native language, communication in a foreign language, competence in mathematics, science and technology, digital competence, learning to learn, interpersonal and intercultural and social competences and civic competence, entrepreneurship and cultural expression.

BarcelonaCouncil (2002): The Barcelona European Council approved the Work Programme prepared as a follow-up to the "Targets Report" aiming at making education and training in Europe as the reference point for world quality by 2010. Additionally, it made a call for action for finding new tools such as developing an action plan similar to the Bologna Process, adapting vocational education and training and providing transparency for diplomas and qualifications.

Parallel to this, the European Union Education, Youth and Culture Council made a decision about improving cooperation in lifelong learning and vocational education in November 2002. In this decision, strategies such as improving competences and qualifications in all periods of life through the European Social Dialogue, improving employment, active citizenship, social participation and personal development were given priorities in relation to lifelong learning and mobility.

Copenhagen Declaration (2002): It emphasised the effective role played by cooperation in education and training at European level over the years in creating the future European society and the need for a European dimension to education and training. Start of the ECVET (European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training) process was provided with the Declaration.

In the Renewed Employment Strategy covering the period 2003-2006, adopted in 2003, lifelong learning was emphasised by listing it among the ten priorities to achieve results for action by Member States such as increasing the consulting and education services for unemployed youth and the long-term jobless, promoting entrepreneurship and creating employment, increasing educational investments qualitatively and quantitatively, reducing the rate of people who are not able to read and write by at least 20%, keeping the rate of people who drop out of school before graduation below 10%, having at least 85% of people who are over the age of 22 being at least high school graduates and at least 12.5% of adults participating in lifelong learning.

Maastricht Declaration (2004): The Maastricht Declaration identified so many motivating actions and priorities for reforms in the main areas including: to make European education and training systems a world quality reference pointby 2010 and to transform lifelong learning into concrete reality for everybody and in this framework, to establish as a priority a European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and a European Credit Transfer System for VET .

In this regard, reforms and investments were envisaged to be carried out as follows;

  • Increasing the image of vocational guidance as an attraction for both employers and individuals for the purposes of increasing their participation in vocational education and training
  • Achieving high quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems
  • Establishing a connection between the labour market requirements of the knowledge economy and vocational education and training in order to attain a workforce with high-level skills
  • Fulfilling the requirements of low-skilled and disadvantaged groups (about 80 million people aged between 25 and 64 in the EU) for the purpose of increasing social inclusion and participation in the labour market
  • Making the reforms and determining common instruments, references and principles to support improvements in areas such as accepting the Europass, lifelong guidance, quality assurance and common and informal training in the vocational education and training systems and their implementation.

In accordance with this, in 2005, the Europass was introduced in Luxembourg and immediately after that national Europass centres were established in member countries. In the same year, the Commission established a European Network of Quality Assurance in VET (ENQA-VET) with the purpose of strengthening the Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF).

The European Commission adopted a Communication in 2006, entitled "Adult learning: it is never too late to learn", to underline the contribution of lifelong learning of adults to employability, mobility and personal developments.

In the European Social Agenda as a Renewal of the Lisbon Strategy covering the years between 2005-2010, there is a roadmap consisting of the issues of developing a lifelong perspective in education, enlarging and improving the investments in human capital, and harmonisation of the education and training systems to meet the requirements of new skills.

Helsinki Communique (2006): The priorities of the HelsinkiCommunique were set out as: increasing the attractiveness and quality of VET, developing common European tools in VET and implementing them, strengthening mutual learning and involving all partners in the process. It was decided that the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), the European Credit Transfer System in VET (ECVET) and Europass should be improved by linking them to the National Qualifications Frameworks as the common tools facilitating the mobility of learners and workers and improving the transparency and recognition of professional qualifications. The aim was that a fundamental framework should be established for the comparability of VET statistics by 2008.

In 2007, the EU Commission, in a Communication entitled "A coherent framework of indicators and benchmarks for monitoring progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training" set the targets for the rate of participation by young people in lifelong learning and of adults’ skills acquirement as well as for the high school completion rate .

IV – INSTIUTIONAL AND CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE LISBON STRATEGY

The EU Commission has a Directorate for Lifelong Learning under the Directorate-General for Education and Culture and a Lifelong Learning Integrated Programme (Fund) about VET issues. The VET Integrated Programme consists of the Transversal Programme, the Jean Monnet Programme, the Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig Programmes. The EESC proposed in 2005 that the name of this Integrated Programme be Athena (The Ancient Greek Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom).

Besides these institutions, the EU has reinforced the lifelong learning and vocational education processes by improving some of the new conceptual frameworks such as the European Qualifications Framework, the National Qualifications Framework, the European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training, and Europass.