EN Official Journal of the European Union C 228/9

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Partnerships between education establishments and employers (Exploratory opinion)

2009/C 228/02

In a letter dated 27 June 2008, in the context of the forthcoming Czech presidency of the European Union, the Czech Minister for Foreign and European Affairs asked the European Economic and Social Committee to draft an exploratory opinion on the following subject:

‘Partnerships between education establishments and employers.’

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 10 March 2009. The rapporteur was Mr MALOSSE and the co-rapporteur was Mr PIRVULESCU.

At its 452nd plenary session, held on 24 and 25 March 2009 (meeting of 24 March 2009), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 160 votes to 1, with 11 abstentions.

1. Summary and recommendations

1.1 Drawn up in response to a request by the Czech presidency to the EESC, this exploratory opinion focuses on relations between employers and education establishments, and sets out recommendations for businesses, business associations, the wide variety of education establishments, and the EU; it also explores possible approaches to social dialogue and civic dialogue with all stakeholder institutions and bodies.

1.2 The opinion takes the following aspects into account: — the current recession, which is exposing Europe to new external and internal challenges and which in the real economy is taking the form of business closures, restructuring and a steep rise in unemployment; — structural trends with a strong social and economic impact, such as demographic ageing, the arrival of emerging economic powers to compete with on global markets, and the development of new technologies that require constant adjustment and planning to ensure the availability of new skills to meet future needs; — the needs of people and groups at risk of exclusion. Vulnerable groups are the most at risk in a period of recession. Partnerships must promote fairness by developing projects that help get women, young people, minorities, people with disabilities and older people into work.

1.3 The opinion highlights various priorities: — a culture of partnership, with due respect for the fundamentally different roles of businesses and education establishments; — a general overview of relations and partnerships between education establishments and businesses, of which – outside the field of technical and vocational education – there are still not enough, and which above all lack the requisite resources and strategic vision; — the need for all initiatives to strike the right balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches; — the importance of personal relations in making partnerships work effectively; — the need to pursue a three-level approach to all issues relating to partnership in the broad sense, between education establishments (universities, vocational training centres, schools, etc.) and employers (private sector, public sector, NGOs, etc.). — These three levels are as follows: — primary, secondary and tertiary education, — basic and continuing vocational training, — training in the fields of engineering, technology, innovation and research. special efforts are needed to support professional sectors and SMEs, as, thanks to their flexibility, such businesses are the main engine of job creation in a recession and play a particular role in developing entrepreneurship and creativity; — the role of employers’ organisations, trade unions and civil society organisations in facilitating projects and unlocking synergies to support initiatives and dynamic, sustainable structures. Against the backdrop of competition, the overall approach is to promote cooperation between all stakeholders involved.

1.4 The EESC suggests building a new framework for partnership between education establishments and businesses at European level, with a view to capitalising on the benefits offered by a European dimension and to securing social progress. The EESC recommends launching a European process, possibly called the Prague process in reference to the Conference on the Partnership between Education and Training Institutions and Employers for Lifelong Learning due to be held in that city on 6 and 7 April at the initiative of the Czech presidency. This process could take the form of a fairly broad European reference framework enabling grassroots operators to put innovative measures in place at local and national level: — urging Member States and other public authorities to step up investment in education in general, and such partnerships in particular, as an appropriate response to the recession and to the persistent difficulties in the labour market; — encouraging businesses and education establishments to become involved in such partnerships through innovative input as to both form and content; — organising exchanges of best practice and formulating technical and financial guidelines enabling initiatives to be tested, evaluated and disseminated at European level; — developing joint projects (joint reference systems for degrees, networks of schools and initiatives, teacher training, network of mediators); — promoting cross-mobility programmes involving teachers, pupils, schools and employers’ organisations.

1.5 The EESC suggests that this process could be funded up till 2013 by the European Structural Funds and under existing programmes (Leonardo, Grundtvig, Erasmus for students, apprentices and entrepreneurs, etc.), with adaptations where necessary. For example, the ESF could be used to support basic training. A specific top-up programme could be proposed for the period after 2013.

2. The need and potential for partnerships between the worlds of business and education

2.1 Throughout Europe, development and quality of life are determined largely by cultural and scientific standards, which are in turn dependent on the quality of education systems. It should be emphasised that in Europe partnership between business and education is facing a number of major challenges due to the following factors: — in terms of society, rapid growth in demand for knowledge, — in terms of the economy, an exponential growth in the subjects that need to be taught in order to take into account the needs of the economy, and — in terms of culture, increasingly complex needs with regard to promoting multicultural values. Partnership must also take account of the following: — the universal right to education at the highest possible level of general culture, including language learning and modern communication technology; — the struggle against all forms of exclusion and discrimination and respect for diversity in all its forms; — initiative and creativity and all the positive values surrounding the concept of wealth creation and entrepreneurial spirit; — particular attention to individual cases, especially for specific groups.

2.2 Traditionally, Europe has relied on long term skills forecasting. However, in a rapidly changing global economy, there is a requirement for education and business to work more closely together on immediate and near future requirements of the economy and particularly SMEs.

2.3 For many years, the technical, secondary and tertiary education sectors have benefited greatly from their experience of partnerships. Through these, the sectors concerned are able to ‘link in’ with the overall economic environment under a range of formal and informal agreements between education establishments and businesses. In addition to the best practices which to some extent may be found everywhere, there is strong determination to create long-lasting partnerships, with due respect for the different roles of all involved – especially education establishments, and their complete independence in awarding qualifications – in a bid to generate synergies, join forces and harness talent so as to work together to meet economic and social needs. Obviously, businesses and education establishments pursue different goals, but by developing channels for the exchange of information, partnerships and joint projects, they can gain a great deal and thus fulfil their respective roles more effectively. For years, indeed centuries, there have been examples in many Member States of alternate education and training systems where learning takes place at school and in the company (dual system in Germany, apprentissage in France, apprenticeships UK, etc.). Alternate education has proved the high value added of permanent, structured and integrated partnerships.

2.4 In an ideal situation, businesses can offer their knowledge of market needs, both immediate and forecasted, thus enabling education and training to be more effectively targeted. They are repositories of knowledge, professional skills and technological resources.

2.5 In the same way, education establishments have assets in terms of technical and scientific know-how that could be put to practical use, for example in preparing people for the world of work and developing new training possibilities and pathways.

3. Challenges for businesses and education establishments

3.1 Despite many positive experiences, the number of partnerships between education establishments and employers remains limited, with many confined to technical and vocational education. As the recession bites, it is vital to rekindle the potential of such partnerships, given that any successful economic recovery is contingent on education and training that is more suited to the needs of the labour market and on businesses making better use of skills and human resources.

3.2 The framework for such new European partnerships must of course be multifaceted. It must involve the various players concerned in differing ways: — locally, there should be partnerships between companies and education establishments and local authorities; — these local partnerships should be driven and given a structure by business associations, the social partners, educational bodies and other civil society players; — at European level, the European Commission, the main European employers’ and workers’ organisations, other civil society players and of course European governments should give it dimensions commensurate with the 27-member European Union.

3.3 Education and business establishments share a duty to propose joint training pathways and options, not least by means of their representative organisations.

3.4 Businesses need to equip themselves with highly varied skills at various different levels; these skills determine how companies are organised, their operations and economic activities in terms of technological development, internationalisation and new technologies. What businesses need is, firstly to locate the requisite skills on the labour market, and secondly to train employees, managers and future managers to deal with the demands of their jobs. As for employees, they face the corresponding necessity of developing their employability in their professions, and of having their qualifications validated with diplomas of recognised value both within the company and externally on the labour market.

3.5 Two phenomena are to a large extent the driving force behind developments in European education: the advent of ‘mass’ education on the one hand, and the diversification of what is taught on the other. Rapid growth over the past few decades in the number of pupils and students has simultaneously brought about significant diversification in the population in terms, among other things, of age structure, previous education and social background.

3.6 Despite the current difficulties, there is enormous potential for cooperation here, and stronger action is needed in three areas in relation to this aspect of the problem: 3.6.1 Currently, there is a severe lack of skilled staff in sectors such as personal services, the building trade, the catering and hotel business, etc. Technical and vocational education has often been the reference point for cooperation between business and education establishments at local level. In many countries this type of training has fallen into abeyance – a fact some see as directly linked to the growing insecurity and exclusion in evidence in our societies. Businesses and education establishments have a shared responsibility for improving career prospects (pay, promotions, etc.) and raising the profile of trades and craft-based professions, while also securing high-quality teaching with a strong emphasis on ‘general culture’. 3.6.2 The permanent nature and pace of change mean that activities need constant updating, with ongoing training, re-learning and maintenance of professional skills and qualifications. Lifelong learning has therefore become a necessity for everyone, and offers considerable scope for partnerships between employers and education establishments. 3.6.3 Exceptions apart, education establishments are a largely unknown commodity for businesses, and for SMEs in particular. SMEs may however need employees to be trained in a variety of tasks. A particularly useful approach would be to involve employers more closely in training teachers involved in developing professional skills. It would also be useful to train mediators to stimulate partnerships and make them work.

4. Moving towards a European framework for links between education and business

At a time of many new challenges, recession and a high increase of unemployment, it is especially important to invest in training, but also to quickly anticipate, assess and manage future skill needs as recognised by the European Commission in its communication ‘New Skills for New Jobs’ (1). It is vital to tap into existing resources, such as the Structural Funds, to deal with current challenges, and to devise new forms of action for the 2014-2020 period.

4.1 In the 1980s, a single European network (the COMETT programme) was created that was effective in organising thousands of trans-national university-industry exchanges each year, including intensive advanced training courses. Both the quantity and the quality of training have improved throughout the EU, thus helping to enhance European competitiveness and to raise awareness and understanding of the benefits of cooperation between universities and businesses.

Some elements of COMETT were retained in the Léonardo da Vinci programme; however, the specific nature and potential of the networks created by COMETT have gone (2).

4.2 The Bologna process

4.2.1 The creation of a European Higher Education Area, launched in 1999 as the ‘Bologna process’ by education ministers and university representatives from 29 countries, has resulted in a major reform, officially involving 46 countries which are members of the Council of Europe.

4.2.2 The aim of the process is to create a European Education Area, largely by harmonising the various stages of university education in Europe (B.A./M.A./Ph.D.), not least to make it easier to compare degree courses and thus facilitate the free movement of students and promote mobility. All of these measures are conducive to ensuring greater transparency, removing barriers and improving cooperation between academia and business.

4.2.3 However, it must be noted that: — the Bologna process does not at any juncture give priority to strengthening links between business and education; — obviously, the main role of universities is not to build links with employers, and they do not by and large have the means or the capacity to engage in structured relations with businesses from EU countries; — employers welcome cooperation, but all too often they do not provide the requisite technical and financial support.

4.3 The Copenhagen process

4.3.1 Launched in 2002, the objective of this EU process is to enable vocational education and training (VET) systems to become a quality reference. Actions similar to the Bologna process but tailored to the field of vocational education and training have been strongly encouraged.

4.3.2 The Leonardo programme facilitates mobility for people wishing to obtain professional experience in Europe together and fosters the exchange of best practices between training stakeholders. The Grundtvig programme seeks to enhance quality and strengthen the European dimension of adult education and to offer Europeans more opportunities for lifelong learning. However, participation in both of these programmes is still too limited, and they have not achieved the critical mass which would enable objectives to flourish. Without wishing to question the practical arrangements for these programmes, steps should in future be taken to reinforce the course of action open to them.

4.3.3 The communiqué issued by the Bordeaux Council (26 November 2008) ties in with the Copenhagen process as regards enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training. It also reiterates the need to harness appropriate public- and private-sector funding, through instruments such as the ESF, the ERDF, and EIB loans. With regard to skills shortages and the action required to respond to future needs, the Bordeaux communiqué recommends that vocational training components be developed on as broad a scale as possible, with the involvement of the Member States, the Commission and the social partners.

5. A new European process to promote partnerships between employers and education establishments

5.1 According to the latest progress report on the Education & Training 2010 programme, the European Union cannot overlook the fact that it is lagging behind in the field of education (3), or the difficulty in providing companies with people who have basic training and sufficient specialised skills to meet today’s technological challenges and cope with globalisation. Mobility between European countries is vital here, as is foreign-language learning within the ambit of the European strategy for multilingualism. A joint approach to the subject of relations between business and education establishments must be seen as an essential element in dealing with the issues at hand, and also, above all, as a means of decompartmentalising national education policies and unlocking, at last, the human potential of European integration.

5.2 More help must be given to schools and universities seeking to provide not just basic training, but continuing training as well. For instance, with the exception of a few Member States, education establishments are not eligible to receive financial assistance under structural programmes for the development of human resources. However, experience in countries where this is possible shows that such initiatives can make a significant contribution to building up stronger ties with companies, while also enhancing the overall standard of education and training on offer.

5.3 There is recognition that the main problem with European programmes is their lack of ambition owing to tight budgets. Therefore, rather than recommending yet another European programme with a small target group and affecting only a very narrow and elite section of the public, it would surely be more worthwhile to adopt a systemic approach based on mechanisms that are both simpler (not bureaucratic like many European programmes all too often are) and more ambitious, involving: — an overall policy framework subject to the approval, evaluation and monitoring of the social partners, the European Parliament, the European Council and the EESC; — European tools for identifying markets and sectors with a high demand for skilled staff; — the exchange of best practice including both technical education, life-long training and research; — European grant facilities funded by the EU, Member States and the private and voluntary sector and concerning all sections of the general public, especially minorities and disadvantaged young people; this could involve work experience, and projects to promote employability and innovation; — the development of common reference systems for degrees and professional qualifications, and of cross-border networks of local initiatives; — the creation of European networks of mediators to facilitate partnerships; — an alignment of existing European funds and programmes to achieve this objective.

5.4 European integration offers substantial added value in terms of sharing experience and broadening the scope for giving wider, more intensive, support to our education establishments, and of providing businesses with an internal market that unlocks the potential for development. The Prague process, which refers to the Conference on the Partnership between Education and Training Institutions and Employers for Lifelong Learning to be held in that city on 6 and 7 April at the initiative of the Czech presidency, could provide a political impetus and an operational roadmap for these developments.

Brussels, 24 March 2009. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Mario SEPI

(1) COM(2008) 868/3 ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions :New Skills for New Jobs - Anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs’.

(2) EESC exploratory opinion on Promoting the mobility of young people in Europe, rapporteur: Mr Rodriguez Garcia-Caro (OJ C 224, 30.8.2008)

(3) http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/natreport08/council_en.pdf - COREPER report to the Council of 31.1.2008, Draft 2008 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education & Training 2010’ work programme, doc. 5723/08.