Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the future priorities for enhanced European cooperation on Vocational Education and Training (VET) (Review of the Council conclusions of 15 November 2004 )
Date: 2006-12-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union, Representatives of the Governments of the Member States
Subjects: European cooperation, enhanced cooperation, recognition of vocational training qualifications, teaching quality, vocational education, vocational training

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,
meeting within the Council, on the future priorities for enhanced European cooperation on Voca-
tional Education and Training (VET)

(Review of the Council conclusions of 15 November 2004)

(2006/C 298/05)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTA-
TIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES MEETING
WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

4.
the revised Lisbon strategy and its integrated guidelines
for growth and jobs 2005 — 2008 (5) reflect the central role of
education and training within the European Union's agenda. It
calls on the Member States to expand and improve investment
in human capital and to adapt education and training systems
in response to the challenges posed by globalisation, demo-
graphic change and technological innovation.

AWARE that

1.
on 12 November 2002 the Council approved a Resolu-
tion (1) on the promotion of enhanced European cooperation in
vocational education and training. This was the basis for the
declaration adopted by the Ministers responsible for Vocational
Education and Training of the EU Member States, the EFTA/
EEA and candidate countries, the Commission and the Euro-
pean Social Partners at their meeting in Copenhagen on 29 to
30 November 2002, as the strategy for improving the perfor-
mance, quality and attractiveness of Vocational Education and
Training (Copenhagen process);

the 2006 joint

‘the improvement of

interim report on progress under the
5.
‘Education and Training 2010’ work programme (6) concludes
that
the quality and attractiveness of VET
continues to be a key challenge for the future’. It also states that ‘the
search for excellence … should go hand in hand with a search for
greater access and social inclusion’;

EMPHASISE that

2.
based on the Council conclusions of 15 November
2004 (2), the first review of the process held in Maastricht on
14 December 2004 acknowledged that the visibility and profile
of VET had improved at European level and that substantial
progress had been made. This included a series of common
tools and principles (3). The Maastricht Communiqué set out
priorities at national and European level and linked the Copen-
hagen process more firmly with the ‘Education and Training
2010’ work programme;

1.
vocational education and training should provide a broad
knowledge and skills base relevant to working life, highlighting
at the same time excellence at all levels. Policies and practices
should assess the relative impacts of investing in different levels
of skills and competences. The supply of intermediary and tech-
nical skills as well as high level skills should be increased to
overcome skills shortages and to help sustain innovation and
the growth of the knowledge society;

3.
since the adoption of the Maastricht Communiqué, the
EUROPASS single framework for the transparency of qualifica-
tions and competencies and the Council conclusions on the
role of development of skills and competences have been
adopted (4). Consultation on the European Qualifications
Framework has been successfully completed and work has
continued on developing a credit system for VET (ECVET)
which is now the subject of a public consultation.

(1) OJ C 13, 18.1.2003, p. 2.
(2) Doc. 13832/04.
(3) Resolution on guidance throughout life (doc. 9286/04);

Conclusions on identification and validation of non-formal and
informal learning (doc. 9600/04);
Conclusions on quality assurance in VET (doc. 9599/04).

(4) Europass (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 6);

Conclusions on skills and competences (OJ C 292, 24.11.2005,
p. 3).

2.
VET has a dual role in contributing to competitiveness
and in enhancing social cohesion (7). VET policies should
address all sections of the population, offering attractive and
challenging pathways for those with high potential, while at
the same time addressing those at risk of educational disadvan-
tages and labour market exclusion — especially early school
leavers, those with low qualifications or no qualifications at all,
those with special needs, people with an immigrant back-
ground and older workers;

(5) Doc. 9341/2/05.
(6) ‘Modernising education and training: a vital contribution to prosperity and
social cohesion in Europe’ — 2006 joint interim report of the Council
the ‘Education and
and of
Training 2010’ work programme, (OJ C 79, 1.4.2006, p. 1).

the Commission on progressunder

(7) Presidency conclusions, Brussels European Council, 23/24 March

2006 (doc. 7775/06).

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3.
basic education should provide young people with the
knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary for further
learning,
and entrepreneurship and prepare
students to follow a general education pathway or a VET
pathway or a combination of both;

employment

4.
young people in VET should acquire skills and compe-
tences relevant to labour market requirements and for lifelong
learning. This calls for policies to reduce drop-out rates from
vocational education and training and to better
facilitate
school-to-work transition, e.g. by combining education and
training with work through apprenticeships and work-based
learning.

the adult

the skills and competences of

5.
labour force
should be promoted by encouraging the recognition of prior
learning gained through training and work experience. Training
opportunities should be provided for those in working life,
while assessing the possibilities for and the benefits of a
balanced sharing of the financial burden. At the same time,
learning opportunities should be available for disadvantaged
individuals and groups, especially for the less educated;

6.
the diversity of European VET systems is an asset which
serves as a basis for mutual learning and inspiring reforms. At
the same time, this diversity makes it important to increase
transparency and common understanding on quality issues, and
hence mutual trust between VET systems and practices. The
aim should be to promote a European VET area in which quali-
fications and skills acquired in one country are recognised
throughout Europe,
thus supporting the mobility of young
people and adults.

RECOGNISE that

the Copenhagen process has played an essential role in empha-
sising the importance of VET to political decision makers. It
has contributed to raising the profile of VET as part of the
Lisbon strategy. The process facilitates agreeing common Euro-
pean goals and objectives, discussing national models and
initiatives, and exchanging good examples of practice at the
European level. At national level, the process has contributed
to strengthening the focus on VET and has inspired national
reforms.

STRESS that

special actions addressing VET need to be strengthened in
1.
the future. The Copenhagen process should be continued
within the framework of the ‘Education and Training 2010’
work programme. A focused and holistic approach should be

ensured, in which the different initiatives and tools are inter-
linked and mutually supportive, and in which VET is developed
at all levels as an essential part of lifelong learning with close
links to general education. Emphasis should be placed on enga-
ging social partners and sectoral organisations in all stages of
the work, and on feeding national experiences back into the
developmental work at European level;

2. measures are voluntary and should be developed through
bottom-up cooperation.

AGREE that

The Copenhagen and Maastricht priorities remain valid and
should be reinforced in the next phase as follows:

1. Policy focused on improving the attractiveness and

quality of VET

More attention should be paid by Member States to the image,
status and attractiveness of VET. This calls for:

— improved guidance throughout life to take better account
the opportunities and requirements of VET and of
of
working life, including increased career guidance, informa-
tion and advice in schools;

— open VET systems which offer access to flexible, individua-
lised pathways and create better conditions for transition to
working life, progression to further education and training,
including higher education, and which support the skills
development of adults in the labour market;

— close links with working life, both in initial and continuing
vocational education and training, and increased opportu-
nities to learn at the workplace;

— promoting the recognition of non-formal and informal
career development and lifelong

learning to support
learning;

— measures to increase the interest and participation of men
or women in those VET fields in which they remain under-
represented, for instance women in the technology field;

— developing and highlighting excellence in skills, for instance
standards or organising skills

by applying world-class
competitions (1).

In improving the attractiveness and quality of VET, more
emphasis should be placed on good governance of VET
systems and providers in delivering the VET agenda (2). This
means:

(1) Such as the European Skills Competition to be organised in the
Netherlands in 2008 and the biannual World Skills Competitions.

(2) Key messages to the Spring European Council (doc. 7620/06).

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— responsiveness to the needs of individuals and the labour
market,
including anticipation of skills needs. Particular
attention should be paid to the needs of small and medium-
sized enterprises;

— national quality assurance and improvement in line with
the Council Conclusions on Quality Assurance in VET (1);

— improving public and private investment in VET through
the development of balanced and shared funding and
investment mechanisms;

— increased transparency of VET systems;

— stronger leadership of institutions and/or training providers

within national strategies;

— highly qualified teachers and trainers who undertake contin-

uous professional development;

— active partnership between different decision makers and
stakeholders, in particular social partners and sectoral orga-
nisations, at national, regional and local levels.

— further developing EUROPASS as the single European
framework for transparency, and tools for the recogni-
tion of non-formal and informal learning,
in order to
support and complement the introduction of EQF and
ECVET.

Implementation of:

a) common European tools specifically aimed at VET, by:

— participating in the testing of ECVET and encouraging

its implementation;

— drawing on the principles underlying a Common
Quality Assurance Framework, as referred to in the May
2004 Council Conclusions on quality assurance in VET,
in order to promote a culture of quality improvement
and wider participation in the ENQA-VET network;

b) common European tools in which VET plays a major role,

by:

— linking national qualification systems or national qualifi-

2. Development and implementation of common tools for

cations frameworks to the EQF;

VET

should be
The development of common European tools
continued in order to pave the way towards a European area of
VET and to support
the European
labour market. The aim should be for the agreed tools to be in
place by 2010.

the competitiveness of

— supporting national qualifications systems in incorpor-
ating international sectoral qualifications, using the EQF
as a reference point;

— promoting widespread use of EUROPASS.

Further development of:

a) common European tools specifically aimed at VET, by:

— developing and testing a European Credit System for
for credit accumulation and
VET (ECVET) as a tool
transfer, taking into account the specificities of VET and
the experience gained with the European Credit Transfer
and Accumulation System (ECTS) in higher education;

— strengthening cooperation on quality improvement by
using the European Network of Quality Assurance for
VET (ENQA-VET) to support the creation of a common
understanding on quality assurance and to foster mutual
trust. Cooperation with higher education should be
continued;

b) common European tools in which VET plays a major role,

by:

— developing and testing a European Qualifications Frame-
work (EQF) based on learning outcomes, providing
greater parity and better links between the VET and
higher education sectors and taking account of interna-
tional sectoral qualifications;

(1) Conclusions on quality assurance in VET (doc. 9599/04).

3. Strengthening mutual learning

A more systematic approach is needed to strengthen mutual
learning, cooperative work and the sharing of experience and
know-how. This should be facilitated by:

— common concepts and agreed definitions at European level
in order to make national solutions, models and standards
more easily understood;

— Commission funding for research and surveys on specific
topics to deepen understanding of European VET systems
and practices, and their links to the labour market and
other education sectors;

— monitoring by the Commission of networks, the exchange
of examples of good practice and the development of
mechanisms which can be used to disseminate knowledge
and expertise;

— a systematic and flexible framework to support peer
learning activities in the field of VET. The framework
should also support decentralised peer learning.

Adequate and consistent data and indicators are the key to
understanding what
to strengthening
mutual
learning and to laying the foundations for evidence-
based training policy.

is happening in VET,

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By the time of the next Ministerial follow-up Conference in
2008 the Commission should have:

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN
THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES,

to implement the Copenhagen process through:

— the effective use of structural funds to support VET reforms

at national level;

— targeted use of the new Lifelong Learning Programme to
the process, particularly for innovation, testing,

support
experimentation and implementation;

— the active participation of relevant Community agencies,

bodies and committees;

— close cooperation on statistics, indicators and benchmarks

with EUROSTAT, OECD, CEDEFOP, and ETF;

— the exchange of

information, expertise and results with
third countries, particularly those countries covered by the
wider Europe neighbourhood policy. Cooperation with
high-performing countries and international organisations
such as OECD should be strengthened.

The right of participation of all Member States in this work
should be ensured.

In the annual
reporting on the national Lisbon reform
programmes special attention should be paid to progress in
VET.

The integrated biennial report on the ‘Education and Training
2010’ work programme should include a specific part addres-
sing VET, enabling monitoring of the progress and identifying
key outcomes to be reported to the European Council.

— given special attention to improving the scope, precision
and reliability of VET statistics so that progress in devel-
oping VET can be evaluated;

— devoted attention to the development of the VET compo-
indicators and

framework of

nent within the coherent
benchmarks (1);

— paid particular attention to the development of statistical
information on investment in and the financing of VET.

This would best be achieved by using and combining existing
data to the best advantage, while ensuring adequate national/
regional data on VET and consistency and comparability with
other data on education and training.

4. Taking all stakeholders on board

The success of the Copenhagen process relies on the active
involvement of all stakeholders in the field of VET, including in
particular the social partners at European and national level,
sectoral organisations and VET providers. This calls for:

— concise and clear information on the process,

its back-
ground, priorities and activities and the effective transfer of
results;

— the active participation in all stages of the process of stake-
holders at European, national, regional and local level;

— emphasis on involving VET providers, teachers and trainers
in testing and implementing the outcomes of the process;

— the involvement, where appropriate, of learners and their

organisations at national and European level.

(1) Council conclusions of 24 May 2005 on new indicators in educa-

tion and training (OJ C 141, 10.6.2005, p. 7).