“COVID-19 beyond 2020: A new generation of VET?”

The COVID-19 is a health hazard of global proportion and also a wake-up call to unprepared policy makers who have been faced by unprecedented circumstances.

Notwithstanding the enormous investment in research and in international organisations, humanity has been caught on the wrong foot when faced by such a deadly enemy. While health care systems have had to increase their capacity overnight, other systems including education and training had to switch to remote work with all its challenges and opportunities.

This conference will bring together practitioners’ members of EfVET and other stakeholders to share their experiences in the face of COVID-19 and the impact on educational institutions focused on Vocational Education and Training.

Online teaching and learning has had its problems and its advantages. Many have experienced difficulty in making sure that the class meets at a particular time, on a given platform and with the same state-of-mind that normally takes place when people meet face-to-face. Accessing a platform, downloading material, sharing texts and interacting is not the same as when a normal classroom or lecture room is being used. What will be the impact of such a change in the mode of operation? Will technology prove to be more effective than human being parting knowledge, skills and competences or the reverse? How can teachers partner with technology and remain in command of the learning process? Will social distancing in education and training trigger a new generation of work-based learning? Which digital solutions should be adopted by VET Providers to face the challenges of new learning scenario? How online education can smoothly complement and integrate with classroom and work-based learning?

Online learning also carries a financial burden which many countries were not prepared to cover to the extents that it required. Delays in the provision of learning slots and material has been experienced in many countries. Postponement of European projects, meetings and conferences, the halt in mobility programmes will certainly have an impact on the way we view European cooperation in the future.

What will happen now that European projects, particularly those supported by the ERASMUS+ programme, will face when Europe gets back to its “new normal” mode of living? How will this change in programmes impact students, teachers and the academic year which will start in a few months’ time? How will the restrictions on the entry and exit of citizens of any origin affect internationalisation of education and training? And also, how can we have a totally new organisation with the same old financial budget and rules? Are these worlds connected or parallel?

Coupled with these challenging impacts of COVID-19 on education and training is the issue of economic recession which inevitably will bring a new wave of unemployment and the need for re-skilling and up-skilling of workers of all ages. Is this an opportunity to invest seriously in promoting Vocational Education and Training among the wider spectrum of a country’s workforce? Will businesses invest in E&T during times of recession or will they distance themselves from providing opportunities for work-based learning including apprenticeships until they recoup their momentum prior to COVID-19? Will international organisations and governments increase or decrease budgets for education and training when it is most needed in times of recession?

Data protection issues are also in agenda, with some experiences being quite intrusive in the lives of citizens and with schools and business having to deal with a whole new world of organisation and digital rules that, until now, were enough. If the data is the new fuel, many questions and restrictions will pose severely from now on.

Likewise, the protection and health of workers will also have to be ensured in a different way from what we have had so far. These and other questions will be asked during the online EfVET Annual Conference. Participants will be invited prior to the conference to share their experiences and to alert the organisers whether they wish to intervene in the exchange of views that will take place online. The online chat will be open throughout the conference so that participants can intervene with their statements and questions.

It is planned that the outcome of this conference will be an EfVET Declaration on VET in the post-COVID-19 era.

Other topics will be discussed during the Conference. Please read the full programme and theme.

Conference video – Watch it!
Presentations:

• Video Message by Mr. Nicolas Schmit – Watch it!
• COVID-19 and the Foreseeable Impact on Education and Training
  • Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Download
• Panel Discussion: “The Future of the Erasmus Plus Programme: Key Elements in a European Education Area”
  • João Santos, Senior Expert – Vocational Education and Training, Apprenticeships, Adult Learning, European Commission – DG-EMPL – Download
  • Michèle Grombeer, Head of the Skills Sector Unit A2 – Erasmus+: Platforms, Skills and Innovation, European Commission – Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) – Download
  • Mika Saarinen, Counsellor of Education and Head of Unit, Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) – Download
• Good Practice from EfVET Members and EfVET Declaration on VET in the post-COVID-19 era – Download all

“Robots, Human Capital and Digital Learning. Managing Transition and Inclusion”

The EfVET International Annual Conference 2019 ‘Robots, Human Capital and Digital Learning. Managing Transition and Inclusion” took place from 23 to 26 October in Ponta Delgada (Azores, Portugal).

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Conference video

Presentations

• Thematic Teams:
  • The opening presentation by Stefano Tirati – Download
  • Joint European Qualifications – Download
  • VET.4 – Download
  • Entrepreneurship – Download
  • Internationalisation and Learning Mobility – Download (1), Download (2),
• Speakers:

  • Second Panel discussion: work-based learning and technology – partners for the next generation of VET:

    • Marta Serrano, Comau S.p.A – Download (1) (2)

    Keynote speech from European Institutions on European Commission VET  apprenticeship and adult learning/Digital competences in initial VET

    • Dana Carmen-Bachmann, European Commission, Head of Unit (VET, Apprenticeship & Adult Learning) DG-EMPL – Download
    • Tina Bertzeletou, CEDEFOP, Expert, Department for VET Systems & Institutions – Download

    Third Panel discussion: from stakeholders to shareholders – who should manage European VET beyond 2020? Final reflections on the workshop discussions and the theme of the conference.

    • Hans Lehmann, EUC Syd – Download

    Keynote speech on AI robotics

    • Lars Mathiesen, Syddansk Erhvervsskole Odense-Vejle, Knowledge Centre for Automation & Robot Technology – Download

        Workshops:

• • • • • WS1 Internationalisation of VET –  Download
        • WS2 Digital Learning  – Download
        • WS3 School-Enterprise relationship – Download
        • WS4 Higher VET and Apprenticeship Programmes – Download
        • WS5 Industry, Innovation and E&T 4.0  –Download
        • WS6 The future workplace and key competences – DownloadPresentations:

         Reports:  

• • WS1 Internationalisation of VET – Download
  • WS2 Digital Learning  – Download 
  • WS3 School-Enterprise relationship – Download
  • WS4 Higher VET and Apprenticeship Programmes – Download
  • WS5 Industry, Innovation and E&T 4.0 – Coming soon…
  • WS6 The future workplace and key competences – Download

“Rethinking VET for Inclusive Excellence”

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In the daily global challenges of educational and training activities, the importance to help students, mainly young Persons, to develop a personal resilience is paramount. Entrepreneurial, digital skills, and creative thinking are only some of the key competencies required in today’s, and the future, labour market as highlighted in recent EU policy documents, including the EU Skills Agenda in 2016.

As mentioned in the Skills Agenda, an ageing population will impact on European economic growth, increasing the need for higher productivity and higher skills (CEDEFOP, 2016). Global competition is dramatically affecting local markets and the sustainability of many enterprises. Technology is changing habits, consumption, production and ways of working (industry 4.0, internet of things): the future jobs of 65% of children starting their primary school today do not yet exist and will provide goods or services which are not yet requested (WEF, 2016). Innovation has become one of the key drivers for the future sustainability of both societies as a whole and people’s daily life (Chatzichristou, 2017).

Skills are the keystone for the future. The need to rethink VET has come:

• Overcoming current dichotomies between theory and applied training, HVET and academic systems, formal vs. informal or non-formal training. Professional competences, literacy and numeracy and soft skills are all crucial.
• Incentivising a lifelong learning attitude in students and adults, promoting more flexible pathways. “One-size-fits-all” training can be neither effective nor sufficient for a whole lifetime career.
• Strengthening stakeholder engagement, in terms of business-education relationships for internships, apprenticeships, training needs assessment and for promoting “educational pacts”, is crucial to creating quality training for Learners. Stakeholders should include parents, voluntary organisations and institutions, to drive a cultural shift in the perception of VET.

Presentations

Thursday 25th October 2018

Rethinking VET for Inclusive Excellence: keynotes

• Melania De Nichilo Rizzoli, Regional Secretary for Education, Training and Labour – Download
• The future of EU VET policy post -2020 João Santos, Deputy of Head Unit VET, Apprenticeships & adult learning European Commission, DG- EMPL – Download
• The bridge between VET & Industry Cristina Cofacci, International Industrial Relations, Multinational Company ENEL

“Outside the EU: cooperation and development for excellence”

“Work and Education aligned to the Future”

The World Economic Forum, in its 2016 publication “The Future of jobs”, states we are at the beginning of a Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is not only a technological revolution, as there are also socio-economic, geopolitical and demographic changes influencing the new scenario.

Today’s job markets and in-demand skills are vastly different from the ones of ten or even five years ago, and the pace of change is only set to accelerate. Governments, businesses and individuals alike are increasingly concerned with identifying and forecasting skills that are relevant not just today but that will remain or become so in the future to meet business demands for talent. Skills mismatches are then not only about today but between today’s skills and future skills requirements. Some studies forecast 65% of children in today’s primary schools will work in jobs not existing yet. So we must look at those skills people will need in order to face a rapidly changing labour market.

To tackle future challenges, all stakeholders – governments, companies, education providers and others – have to work closely to develop the 21st-century curriculum. It requires new and collaborative approaches – to support individual talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship and to facilitate new incentives and opportunities. The New Skills Agenda, launched in June 2016 by the European Commission, encompasses also a number of actions to ensure that the right training, the right skills and the right support are available to people in the European Union; reskilling and upskilling of our workers is critical too.

According to CEDEFOP’s Director, Mr James Calleja, one of the priorities for the next years is “to look at the world of work and the world of education and to see how we can align them to build the right workforce for the future”. So what is better other, than to explore in our 26^th Conference in Thessaloniki how to bring closer those two worlds to face together this uncertain future?

Presentations

• Thursday 26 October
  • Video Message by Ms Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion
  • EU initiatives on VET: Empowering people with “skills for life” – Joao Santos, Deputy Head of Unit – DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission – Download here
  • Promoting quality in VET Delivery – The way ahead presentation of Subgroup 2 “Learning Providers & EU Mobility”, Tina Bertzeletou Cedefop’s Senior VET Expert and Rasa Zymantaite, EfVET Secretary – Download Sub-Group 1 here and sub-group 2 here

• Friday 27 October
  • How training links to employee engagement and operational efficiency, Anna Mamalaki, Member of BoD of IVEPE- SEV – Download here
  • VET and work-based learning: international lessons from OECD, Pauline Musset, Policy Analyst, OECD DG for Education & Skills – Download here
  • CEDEFOP introduction session by James Calleja, Cedefop’s Director and Irene Psifidou, Cedefop Expert – Download here

Workshops presentations

• Workshop 1: Quality apprenticeship in work-based learning, Hans Lehmann & Hans Severinsen – Download here 
• Workshop 2: How to Establish bridges between VET and HE, Stavroula Bibila & Stylianos Mavromoustakos – Download here
• Workshop 3: Digital learning and how far we embraced? 1) Download here  & 2) Here
• Workshop 4: How to beat early leaving from education and training?, Irene Psifidou – Download here
• Workshop 6: Industry 4.0, are we ready?, Luca Boetti – Download here

Workshops feedback

• Workshop 1: Quality apprenticeship in work-based learning – Download here
• Workshop 2: How to establish bridges between VET and Higher Education? – Download here
• Workshop 3: Digital learning and how far we embraced? – Download here
• Workshop 4: How to beat early leaving from education and training? – Download here
• Workshop 5: The upskilling and reskilling of today’s labour force – Download here
• Workshop 6: Industry 4.0, are we ready? – Download here and here

Workshops reports

• Workshop 1: Quality apprenticeship in work-based learning, Download here
• Workshop 2: How to establish bridges between VET and Higher Education? Download here
• Workshop 3: Digital learning and how far we embraced? Download here
• Workshop 4: How to beat early leaving from education and training? Download here

Conference materials

• Roundtables descriptions – Download here 
• Conference programme – Download here

Conference pictures – see here

“Quality in Action: Putting the learner at the forefront of everything we do”

On 25th Anniversary Conference we celebrated the Quality of VET in action and explore how Quality can be further embedded in all aspects of our activities – both at a strategic level and operational/delivery levels. Quality takes many forms and should form the driver for improvements in VET. Quality starts by putting the Learner first; at the heart of everything we do;

How do we raise the Learners experience?

There are so many aspects to this debate but all have an influence on quality; on perceptions; on learners motivation. The conference will encourage participants to share good practice in a range of areas.

Presentations

• Thursday 27th October
  • The importance of VET in Spain, Soledad Iglesias Jiménez, Deputy-Director General for
    Guidance and VET, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Spain – Download here
  • How private companies can help deliver quality VET in practice. How can businesses and the different stakeholders assist each other in defining the skill needs in the short and in the long run? Locally, regionally and European level. Examples to co-operate with the VET schools and trainers as a model – Download here
• Friday 28th October
  • Vocational Education and Training: The OECD Perspective. Providing the right mix of up-to-date technical skills and generic skills, including literacy and numeracy, to support broader employability. The challenges of ensuring high quality teaching. Making the most of work-based learning, Mari Kiviniemi, Deputy Secretary-General of OECD Download here 
  • Learning in a Digital Age – the impact and opportunities of digital technology for quality in VET. How does VET address the challenges; the implications for both learners and teachers and trainers; a new pedagogy or just a tool?, Essi Ryymin, R&D Manager, Global Education, Principal Lecturer, Ph.D., HAMK University of Applied Sciences School of Professional Teacher Education, Download here

Conference materials

• Roundtables descriptions – Download here

Conference pictures here