Matching education with the needs of public services on the labour market

SeminarAmsterdam

“Key competences and Experiences to better link education and public service providers”

This is the second seminar of the joint project “Matching Education with the Needs of Public Services on the Labour Market” of the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public services (CEEP) and the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE). The project aims to focus on what competences are necessary to ensure that those working in the delivery of public services are able to adapt to the needs of public service providers in the future. The project maps current and future competences needed in public services, create a collection of best practices and generate European policy recommendations regarding how the competences provided by education institutions might better match those required by public service employers in Europe.

At the first seminar that was hosted by IVEA in Dublin on 7th of June project partners and well as participants from education and training institutions discussed first results of desk research as well as field research on good practice examples. The seminar illustrated in particular two important trends and challenges: First, in the light of various trends and changes in our societies, modernised public services (including the education sector itself) require a number of new needs arising in the field of both generic and specific skills and key competences (defined as a combination of skills, knowledge, aptitudes and attitudes). And secondly, rather than studying existing skills shortages and mismatches on the labour market, it seems more important to focus on what future competences are needed in public services and ways to facilitate acquiring these competences in education and training practice.

In this context, the link and cooperation between education providers (in particular in the VET sector) and employers in public services seems crucial not only with a view on the provision of occupation-specific competences, but also - equally important – with view on generic competences that characterise employability and adaptability. Thus, a major focus of the seminar in Amsterdam is to gather information on practical experiences and best practices related to links between education and public service employers. We will also reflect on conditions for establishing effective collaboration and transferability of existing practices.

Project findings will be published in a report on competence needs in public services and effective cooperation between public services providers and education institutions. In the report competence needs of education employers and challenges related to provision of education services will also be included. Moreover, the report will be enriched with The Book of Best Practices - a catalogue of ‘proven practices’ that can be either adopted or used as inspiration to develop sector-specific solutions.

Draft Seminar Programme

09:00 - 09:15 / Welcome : background and main objectives of the project / expected outcomes of the 2nd seminar
CEEP/ EFEE
09:15 - 09:30 / Tour de table – participants
09:30 - 10:15 / Current and future key competence needs in modernised public services - presentation of findings from fieldwork and research in different sectors
Eckhard Voss (Wilke, Maack and Partner)and Anna Kwiatkiewicz (K.U. Leuven)
Discussion and exchange
10:15 - 12.30 / Matching education with labour market needs in public services - What can we learn from good practices?
Example from VET institution
Example from public transport
Example from public administration
Discussion
Animated by E. Voss/A. Kwiatkiewicz
Around 11:00. / Informal coffee break
12:30 - 13:30 / Lunch break
13:30 - 15:00 / Parallel working groups addressing the following key questions
What are ‘key competences’ required today and tomorrow on the labour market and in public services?
Good practices, approaches as well as barriers of better linking education providers and employers in public services
WG 1: Cooperation between Public Services and education institutions : success factors
Setting the scene
Exchange in the group
Suggestions and recommendations
Animated by : E. Voss / WG 2: Cooperation between Public Services and education institutions : success factors
Setting the scene
Exchange in the group
Suggestions and recommendations
Animated by : A. Kwiatkiewicz
15:00 – 15.30 / Summaryof results of the two working groups (by appointed rapporteurs)
15.30 – 15.45 / Conclusions, further steps and closure
By CEEP / EFEE