Council Resolution of 19 December 2002 on the promotion of enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training
Date: 2002-12-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European cooperation, education policy, teaching, vocational training

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COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 19 December 2002

on the promotion of enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training

(2003/C 13/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Whereas:

(1) Education and training are
promoting employability,
zenship, and personal as well as professional fulfilment.

indispensable means
active

cohesion,

social

for
citi-

(2) Vocational education and training systems play a key role
in providing competences and qualifications. Developing a
knowledge-based Europe is a major challenge to the voca-
tional educational and training systems in Europe and to all
actors involved. In this context it is important to ensure
that the European labour market is open and accessible to
all.

(3) Vocational education and training in the European Union
legislation, education and
comprise a wide diversity of
both
key
structures
training
governments and the social partners and the enlargement
of
increase this diversity. Creating a
European area of knowledge is the way both to build on
this diversity, but also to sustain and protect it.

the Union will

including

actors

and

(4) The action set out in this resolution respects the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of
the European Union, and in
particular its Article 14, which declares that everyone has
the right to education and to have access to vocational and
continuing training.

as an instrument

and social policies,

(5) The Lisbon European Council in March 2000 recognised
the important role of education as an integral part of
economic
for
strengthening Europe's competitive power worldwide, and
as a guarantee for ensuring the cohesion of our societies
its citizens. The European
and the full development of
the European
Council
Union
dynamic
knowledge-based economy. The development of high-
quality vocational education and training is a crucial and
integral part of this strategy, notably in terms of promoting
social
inclusion, cohesion, mobility, employability and
competitiveness.

the strategic objective for
become

the world's most

set
to

improving

the Lisbon European Council. These areas are
set at
the report,
based on the three strategic objectives of
namely
and effectiveness of
education and training systems in the European Union,
facilitating access
to education and training
systems, and opening up education and training systems
to the wider world.

the quality

for

all

(7) Recommendation 2001/613/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 10 July 2001 on mobility within the
Community for
students, persons undergoing training,
young volunteers, teachers and trainers (1), and the action
plan on mobility endorsed by the Nice European Council,
December 2000,
listed a series of measures to promote
mobility.

(8) In Barcelona,

in March 2002 the European Council
endorsed the work programme on the follow-up of the
objectives
report calling for European education and
training to become a world quality reference by 2010.
Furthermore,
further action to introduce
instruments to ensure the transparency of diplomas and
including by promoting action similar to
qualifications,
the Bologna process, but adapted to the field of vocational
education and training.

it called for

(9) The Resolution on lifelong learning (2) was adopted by the
Council on 27 June 2002. In particular, under the priority
of valuing learning,
the Resolution, responding to the
Lisbon and Barcelona conclusions, forms a basis for the
vocational
initiative
education and training,
inter alia in the fields of trans-
parency, recognition and transferability, quality and trans-
national projects. This was previously confirmed by the
Resolution on skills and mobility (3) adopted by the
Council on 3 June 2002,

cooperation

towards

closer

in

NOTES that the transition towards a knowledge-based economy
capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better
jobs and greater social cohesion brings new challenges to the
development of human resources;

NOTES that the adaptability and employability of young people
and adults, including older workers, depend strongly on access
to high-quality initial education and training and the oppor-
tunity to update and acquire new skills throughout working
life;

(6) The report on the ‘Concrete future objectives of education
and training systems’, endorsed by the Stockholm European
identified new areas for joint
Council
in March 2001,
in order to achieve the goals
actions at European level

(1) OJ L 215, 9.8.2001, p. 30.
(2) OJ C 163, 9.7.2002, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 162, 6.7.2002, p. 1.

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levels,

increased cooperation in European vocational
NOTES that
including formal and
education and training at all
non-formal
learning, must be pursued within a lifelong
learning perspective, emphasising the need for appropriate
links between initial and continuing education and training.
These links are necessary to overcome fragmentation between
different
the
positive diversity of
education and training
currently to be found within Europe;

forms of provision and to make full use of

vocational

NOTES the relevant activities already under way in a number of
Community agencies, for example Cedefop and the European
Training Foundation, informal forums at Community level, for
example, the meetings of the Directors-General for Vocational
Training, the existing forums on transparency and quality, as
well as within relevant international organisations and stresses
the need for complementarity between them;

NOTES that the European social partners have agreed in the
context of the European social dialogue on a framework of
the lifelong development of competences and
actions for
the European
qualifications. The member organisations of
framework in Member
social partners will promote this
States at all appropriate levels,
taking account of national
policies and practices;

NOTES that the conference on ‘Increased cooperation in voca-
tional education and training’ in Brussels, June 2002, with the
participation of Member States,
the Commission, candidate
countries, EEA countries and the social partners, highlighted
certain working principles and priorities for increased coop-
eration in vocational education and training;

STRESSES that it is necessary to strengthen and develop closer
European cooperation in vocational education and training to
support the idea that citizens can move freely between different
jobs, regions, sectors and countries in Europe;

STRESSES that
there is a need to improve the quality and
attractiveness of vocational education and training in Europe;

STRESSES that enhanced cooperation should be based inter alia
on the following working principles:

— cooperation should be based on the target of 2010, set by
the European Council in accordance with the detailed work
programme and the follow-up of the Objectives report in
order to ensure coherence with the objectives set by the
Council,

— measures should be voluntary and principally developed

through bottom-up cooperation,

— initiatives must be focused on the needs of citizens and user

organisations,

— cooperation should be inclusive and involve Member States,
the Commission, candidate countries, EFTA-EEA countries
and the social partners,

that within

special
STRESSES
consideration should be given to the principle of gender main-
streaming and social inclusion.

cooperation

closer

this

REAFFIRMS:

1. Its commitment

to enhanced cooperation in vocational
education and training in order to remove obstacles to
occupational and geographic mobility and promote access
to lifelong learning. This involves taking steps to increase
transparency and recognition of competences and qualifi-
cations within vocational education and training systems
and to promote closer cooperation regarding quality in
European vocational education and training systems as a
sound basis for mutual trust.

2. That

future objectives of

further cooperation in vocational education and
training should be enhanced by the actions and policies
developed primarily in the context of the report on the
‘Concrete
education and training
systems’, taking into account the Resolution on Lifelong
Learning, but
the European
employment strategy.
Important means to achieve these
ends are the Community education and training instruments
in particular
the
European Social Fund, and initiatives for e-learning and
foreign languages.

the Leonardo da Vinci programme,

also in the

context of

ACKNOWLEDGES that priority should be given to the following:

European dimension

— Strengthening the European dimension in vocational
education and training with the aim of improving closer
cooperation in order to facilitate and promote mobility and
the development of
interinstitutional cooperation, part-
nerships and other transnational initiatives, all in order to
raise the profile of the European education and training
area in an international context so that Europe will be
recognised as a worldwide reference for learners.

Transparency, information and guidance

— Increasing

transparency

in vocational

information tools and networks,

education and
training through the implementation and rationalisation
of
including the inte-
gration of existing instruments such as the European CV,
certificate
the Common
European framework of reference for languages and the
Europass into one single framework.

supplements,

diploma

and

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— Strengthening policies, systems and practices that support
information, guidance and counselling in the Member
States, at all levels of education, training and employment,
particularly on issues concerning access to learning, voca-
tional education and training, and the transferability and
recognition of competences and qualifications, in order to
support occupational and geographical mobility of citizens
in Europe.

Recognition of competences and qualifications

— Investigating how transparency, comparability,

transfer-
ability and recognition of competences and/or qualifi-
cations, between different countries and at different levels,
could be promoted by developing reference levels, common
principles
common measures,
including a credit transfer system for vocational education
and training.

certification,

and

for

— Increasing support to the development of competences and
qualifications at sectoral
level, by reinforcing cooperation
and coordination especially involving the social partners.
initiatives on a Community, bilateral and multi-
Several
including those already identified in various
lateral basis,
sectors
recognised qualifications,
aiming
illustrate this approach.

at mutually

— Developing a set of common principles regarding validation
learning with the aim of
in

of non-formal and informal
ensuring greater
different countries and at different levels.

compatibility between approaches

Quality assurance

— Promoting cooperation in quality assurance with particular
focus on exchange of models and methods, as well as

common criteria and principles for quality in vocational
education and training.

— Giving attention to the learning needs of

teachers and
forms of vocational education and

trainers within all
training.

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION WITHIN
THE FRAMEWORK OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES:

— to take the appropriate steps to initiate the implementation

of the priorities set out in this resolution,

— to build on and adapt existing structures and instruments in
Europe relevant to the above priorities, and establish, where
appropriate, links with work in the context of the Bologna
declaration,

— fully to involve the key players, particularly the social
partners, and the Advisory Committee on Vocational
Training,

— to involve,

in accordance with existing objectives and
agreements, the candidate and EFTA-EEA countries in this
process,

— to enhance cooperation, where appropriate, with relevant
international organisations in particular, the OECD, Unesco,
ILO and the Council of Europe in the development of
vocational education and training policies and concrete
actions,

— to submit a progress report as part of the report on the
follow-up of the future objectives of education and training
systems as requested by the European Council for its spring
meeting of 2004.