Launch of the Thematic Network LEARNING & SKILLS
2-3 December 2015, Brussels
PARTICIPANTS
Member State representatives:
BE / ESF Agency Flanders (managing authority): Eveline VERNEST, Joeri COLSON and Simon SWENNEN
CZ / Ministry for Education (managing authority): Petr KORECKY
IT / Ministry for Instruction, University and Research (not an ESF managing authority): Claudia SACCONE
FI / Ministry for Education (not an ESF managing authority): PaiviBOSQUET and Finnish Confederation of Professionals: Riina NOUSIAINEN
LT / Ministry for Education and Science (managing authority): RaimondasPASKEVICIUS
PL / Ministry for Education (managing authority): Jan KOSINSKI and Centre for European Projects (intermediate body): Maciej JAMROZIK
Excused:
EL / Ministry of Economy, Development & Tourism (Managing Authority):Sofia Farmaki
HR / Ministry of Science, Education and Sport:HrvojeBakić
HU /KingaSzebeni
BU / Ivanova Irina
BE / ESF Agency Wallonie (managing authority): FrédéricGOSGNACH
LV / Laura Romanovska
EU Stakeholders:none
European Commission: Maria BARONI (DG EMPL/F1), Maeva ROULETTE (DG EMPL/F1)
AEIDL team:Armelle LEDAN (thematic expert), Anne-Charlotte JOUBERT (administrator of the meeting), Aleksandra KOWALSKA (team assistant), Antoine SAINT-DENIS (policy and social innovation expert), Toby JOHNSON (team leader)
REIMBURSEMENT OF PARTICIPANTS’ EXPENSES
Participants must send the expenses claim form provided and the original invoices and boarding passes/tickets by 3 January 2016 to ESF Transnational Platform – AEIDL, 260 Chaussée Saint-Pierre, B1040 Bruxelles BELGIUM.
For questions and electronic tickets, please contact Aleksandra KOWALSKA ().
The rules related to travel, accommodation and daily allowance are described in this document:
1.WELCOME INTRODUCTION
Tour de table, each person introducing his/her neighbour after 5’ preparation in duo (Country, Name, Function in relation to L&S topic, hobby/passion).
2.AGENDA
No addition nor modification were proposed.
3.EU POLICY BACKGROUND
Maëva ROULETTE and Maria BARONI (DG EMPL F1 unit, in charge of ESF transnational cooperation) explained the EU policy objective of developing a suitable workforce and making better use of the available workforce.
- The EC will propose a ‘New Skills Agenda for Europe’ early next year, described in the EC work programme 2016 as follows: ‘The Agenda aims at promoting skills development, including the mutual recognition of qualifications, supporting vocational training and higher education and reaping the full potential of digital jobs.’ It should include initiatives to support the upgrading of skills, their anticipation, transparency and recognition of qualifications (of importance in the context of the refugee crisis), to strengthen business-education partnerships and to make better use of funding.
This provides a very timely opportunity for the network to connect to an EU level priority and contribute to it, as well as gaining visibility.DG EMPL will keep us informed about the launching conference, and will check whether some of us can be invited. The network will invite responsible officers in charge of the “New Skills Agenda” for the next meeting.
DG EMPL E2 Skills and Qualifications unit (Diana ERIKSONAITE) will also participate in the TN’s activities.
- The EC is adopting on 14 December a communication on the outcome of the ESIF negotiations, incl. the launch of an open data platform to ensure accountability by fund, by MS, by target and (at a later stage) by theme.
- The ESF annual implementation reports available in May will be an additional source of information.
4.POLICY CONTEXT IN EACH MS
- Main challenges identified:
Demographic changes => changed focus on target groups in some countries
Digitalisation
Increased speed of changes on labour markets & slow adaptation of educ & vocational training systems to labour markets
Lack of communication between labour market (employers, companies) and vocational education & training (VET) systems
Low achievement in basic skills
Inclusive education to be mainstreamed
Lack of attractiveness of the VET systems
- Priorities at national level:
Presentations from MS not attending also attached when available.
BE Flanders / All the five subthemes identified for the TN are important.LLL: lack of training in SMEs > 2 calls launched to support employers’ efforts to deliver training to their employees, targeted at the elderly, migrants, low-skilled.
Recognition of skills previously acquired: pilot project to map competencies people need to have to get proof of competence.
Support to dual learning (school & work)
BE Wallonia / On-going training of trainers
High added value trainings (biotechnologies, eco-friendly initiatives, new renovation technologies for classified buildings, cybersecurity, exercise medicine etc.)
Focus on training in Competence Centres (innovation)
E learning and ICT
Innovative approaches : smartcities, smartschools, smarttraining
Provider of expertise, a lot done in the previous programming period
CZ / Changing education is a long-term objective.
Importance of entrepreneurship (many companies already cooperate directly with schools to train their future employees).
Focus on tools to identify needs in companies, monitor and evaluate them
FI / ESF focussed on facilitating adaptation to rapidly changing LM. Massive impact of digitisation.
Focus on transitional periods (see projects examples, end of document)
Need to speed up acquisition of competencies and basic skills
Reinforcing communication between education systems and work & employers > emphasis on the demand side, apprenticeship, low-skilled workers.
HR / Labour market relevance of education and training systems and strengthening VET (enhancing and developing opportunities for work-based placements of VET students in enterprises)
Accreditation of prior learning– in terms of developing of thenational system for validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning
Enhancing equal access to lifelong learning for all age groupsImproving the quality and relevance of adult education
Transition from education to work: to explore the possibilities of ESF supplementary support for outgoing staff mobility under Erasmus+ to address the deficit in internalisation at home, especially in the design and content of new curricula and joint programmes[1].
HU / monitor2015-hungary_en_EU.pdf
IT / ESF strongly rooted in its policy context
gap between education and work > work-based learning even in general education
need for transversal skills > entrepreneurship education
Initiatives on early school leaving.
LT / Because of the demographic contraction, some schools close, which negatively affects the quality of education
Reinforcing the quality of teaching.
Support to entrepreneurship.
Coordination with the Macro-Regional Strategy in the Baltic Sea Region and its strong priority on education
PL / Recent political changes, engaged in:
Strengthening the link between the school system and labour market.
Improving learning environments by introducing electronic notebooks for pupils.
Enhancing key competencies (ICT (know-how rather than knowledge) and social/interpersonal competencies)
Reinforcing adult education and LLL
5.MAPPING EXERCISE:
The aim was to try to allocate these priorities to the 5 sub-themes identified for the L&S topic by the ESF Committee. We faced some limits, due to the general level of priorities, as well as the potential overlaps between these 5 sub-themes (accreditation could be tackled within the LLL sub priority for example, or early school leavers within transitions between school & work)). This exercise was probably a little premature, and will be developed further before the 2nd TN meeting.
5 sub-themes
/National priorities
- Combating/addressing early school leaving
- Vocational Education and Training
Dual learning (LT)
Labour market future needs anticipation (CZ)
Key competencies (STEM, languages, social competencies) (PL)
Attractiveness of the VET system (FI, CZ)
Work-based placements of VET students in enterprises by supporting apprentice, practical lessons in companies and in schools (incentives for businesses, teachers and students, campaigns. Equipping, ensuring work placements, work shadowing (HR)
On-going training of trainers (Bfr)
High added value training (Bfr)
Competence centres (innovation) (Bfr)
E learning & ICT (Bfr)
Innovative approaches : smartcities, smartschools, smarttraining (Bfr)
- Accreditation (of prior learning)
Formal recognition or not?
Cooperation with companies
developing of thenational system for validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning (HR)
- Lifelong learning
Learning in companies (Bnl)
Basic skills (FI)
Foreseeing skills needs (FI)
Transversal skills (IT)
Digital skills
equal access to lifelong learning for all age groups
- Transitions within & between school and work
Mobility (IT)
Link between labour market & education system (PL, Bnl)
Entrepreneurship education (LT, IT)
New models for transition periods (FI)
Career Guidance
Each MS refines its priorities, and connects them to those sub-themes. Possibility to merge some sub-themes or to add new ones if more relevant and focused; to be sent to Armelle before 8 January 2016.
6.ORGANISING THE NETWORK
Next meeting:
- web meeting in Feb-March (to exchange on the national calls)
- Physical meeting in April-May / to be decided by end December.
Participation: At least two participants might be replaced by colleagues in the future (Petr KORECKY/CZ and Paivi BOSQUET/FI). Representatives from HU, HR and LV have cancelled their participation but should attend the next meetings. Only one stakeholder participates (trade union representative).
Country representatives to invite a stakeholder to join for next meeting. EC/AEIDL to invite EU-level stakeholder.
Leadership:no country has volunteered to lead the TN yet. This leading role requires engagement, but does not necessarily imply heavy financing. The Italian representative will check whether she could fulfil such a role.
Country representatives to consider leadership opportunity and inform AEIDL.
Web collaboration tools: the collaborative platform on Europa should be available in January/February. In the meantime, the files will be circulated by e-mail and be accessible in a Dropbox folder (invitations to join will be sent by mail).
Baseline study: Armelle LEDAN will circulate a draft for comments early next year.
Participants are invited to sendrelevant documents about their national context and policies.
Mainstreaming social innovation and gender equality: the TN will have to mainstream social innovation and gender equality objectives. How can thinking ‘out of the box’ or adopting a gender perspective drive policy change? That’s the key issue. Two briefing notes (with further references to EU policy) prepared by AEIDL can prime the brainstorming:
-Gender equality:
-Social innovation:
7.COORDINATED CALLS FOR PROPOSALS
Toby JOHNSON’s presentation attached:
In the agreed coordination framework, it is up to the MAs to issue their own calls in accordance with country regulations. However, some parameters have to be compatible even if not identical, so that beneficiaries can build transnational cooperation projects.
AEIDL circulated the key following documents to the national contact points for comments by 11 December:
Project promoters could use the EU database to publicise their intentions (project summary in English) and find partners. Then, they will have to sign a transnational cooperation agreement.
Flexibility: transnational cooperation starts with 2 entities from 2 different MSs. The database will be accessible in spring to every MSs whatever their position in relation to the Common Framework for transnational cooperation.
Value added of transnationality: has to be highlighted. Why given partners have been selected will have to be justified.
Situation in the countries represented in the meeting:
PL: too tough deadlines. Ongoing assessment of 350 applications – impossible to assess in 3 months. Several themes will be merged in upcoming calls to alleviate workload. Funding of foreign partners will be excluded (while it is allowed in national calls). Use of simplified costs option. Not interested in a common approach to eligibility of costs.
CZ: not able to launch any coordinated call in the upcoming months as it has not been planned in the adopted national documents. No transnational element in the national calls. Use of simplified costs option in the education sector.
BE Flanders: as for each of the common themes of the transnational cooperation agreement, call will be launched on Jan 14, until March. €10m budget. Call will address the whole scope of learning and skills theme, to avoid ex ante elimination of interesting projects. Projects selected will receive €15,000 to find foreign partners between June and September, followed, if successful, by €200,000 for full project. Expecting to fund c. 40 projects. Only entities based in BE can be funded.
LT: national projects with an additional transnational component, but no specific transnational projects.Some projects funded through public procurement. Use of simplified costs option for participants and trainees. Considers that it would be important to have a common approach to the eligibility of costs. Project selection in a two-step procedure. Financing based on location of activities (to be in LT) rather than on nationality of partners.
IT: better focus on a broad subtheme to be in line with policy priorities and avoid excessive workload.
FI: has to be clarified. Labour Ministry is MA and 4 municipalities are funding.
8.POLICY COOPERATION / PROPOSALS FOR ACTIVITIES
What participants have to offer and on what they would be interested in learning?
OFFER (expertise, practices…) / NEEDS & INTERESTBE Flanders: offers 22 pilot projects in vocational training whose results will be published soon. Also: will develop a stakeholder panel for each of TNs (social partners, academics, ministerial cabinet advisers). / BE Flanders: Interested in e-learning experience.
PL: offers its experience in promoting electronic workbooks to change the education environment into a more interactive one. / PL: Need to learn about how to foster people to learn throughout their lives.
IT: offers LLL, just launched Digital Agenda.
FI: offers successful policy for transition school-work. / FI: how make fundamental change in education style in a budget-constraint period
CZ: operational practical tool to predict future needs on the LM; other countries) strategies; cooperation between schools and companies.
LT: involve more countries and more stakeholders.
Condensed info about calls in countries.
First ideas for activities to be undertaken by the network:
- Policybriefs on the evolving situation in other countries, regularly updated
- Peer reviews
- Workshops, Do instead of talk
- Meetings/visits with project promoters
- Use our network as a dissemination tool
- Communication tools rather than extensive reports
Riina NOUSIAINEN, the only representative from social partner, underlines her interest for policy issues rather than technicalities.
9.GOOD PRACTICE
Armelle LEDAN presentedtwo good practices:
PaiviBosquet (FI) sent 5 projects example of transition periods and personified studypaths she had no time to present:
ZOOMI – projectacts as a coordinating project from 2015 to 2018 in “Flexible transitions” -section managed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. ZOOMI -project supports, guides and coordinates both nationally and regionallyfunded projects. In addition the project aims to enhance the co-operation of project operators, root operational modelsto practice andenhance the effectiveness of national actions. Effectiveness is enforced by utilizing the operationalmodels, research results and know-how of state aid projects such as “the programme for the improvement ofvocational education completion”. As a result acting in national co-operation the most effective actualization of youthguarantee is enabled and the social exclusion of youth from education and society is prevented.
AAVA – A Clear Route to a Professionis a project that utilizes existing educational services in an innovative way todevelop and provide a new, multiregional open education model - The Educational Buffet model - which makes it easyfor a student to acquire skills that he/she needs to succeed in the work-place. The educational buffet model piloted inthe project provides a flexible way for a student to conduct studies with many different education providers, regardlessof the educational services available in his/her home town or home institution. The project makes it possible to moveflexibly from one education to another and from education to the workplace and vice versa.
At the operational level, the project has two themes:
- building an educational buffet with different educational paths
- developing and enhancing guidance models and services
The target group of the AAVA project are young people and adults who
a. are not in education, employment, or training,
b. have previously dropped out of school or are in danger of doing so presently,
c. have previous skills, but desire to develop them and/or improve their status as a prospective employee,
d. have the desire and the ability to complete an all-round degree, or
e. do not have the ability to complete an full degree.
The educational needs of non-Finnish-speaking young people and adults will receive special attention in the project.
Fluid transitions from vocational education and training to work in flexible regional networks(SISU)
The aim of this project is to develop methods and models for individual learning paths and flexible, coherenteducational transitions in vocational education. These are the essential elements of the new Valma-training in theFinnish preparatory education and training for vocational education. With the help of this project vocational educationdrop-outs will be prevented and transitions to labour market will be more effective.
The aims are to develop educational methods, individual learning paths and stronger guidance to support flexibletransitions also for students with special needs. The action plan includes transitions from one field of education toanother, form preparatory training to vocational education as well as from education to employment. Additional goalsare firstly to create methods for ensuring that the students’ prior learning will be identified and recognized andsecondly, to clarify the different roles and responsibilities of the personnel in each transition.
Smoother study paths
The project focuses on smooth transitions and the development of tools and methods for guidance of these transitions.
- When the aim is to increase the involvement in education and to lengthen careers from the beginning, transitionsfrom an education to another and from working life to education and vice versa, are essential.
- Lifelong learning and the support of transitions from schools to working life.
- Improving personnel's know-how of guidance to support multi-vocational collaboration.
THE AIMS OF THE PROJECT
1. Designing, describing and visualizing study paths that are alternative, flexible and working life oriented.
2. Improving personal curriculum guidance within group counsellors and student counsellors.
3. Renewing and deepening collaboration with comprehensive schools and the guidance in applying to vocationalcolleges.
4. Identification of early need for support, preliminary preparation and personal student counselling immediately in thebeginning of studies.
5. Reguralising the crediting of previous studies and skills.