Over the past two decades, European cooperation in education and training has brought to life ambitious initiatives and targets, including for VET. Focus has been placed on equipping people with the right skills for the modern economy and society and ensuring that people’s skills, regardless of where they have been acquired, are understood and valued. More recently, in response to the 2020 Council Recommendation on VET and the Osnabrück Declaration, European countries have developed national implementation plans that set concrete measures to make their VET more attractive, inclusive, innovative, agile and flexible.
Yet we still have much to do. Unleashing the full potential of VET and skills agenda calls for all VET stakeholders to get on board and share responsibility in line with their mandates and interests and requires focus on implementation. To do so, we need to better integrate VET, skills, and other policies, including those linked to recovery, green and digital transitions. Such policy integration helps overcome challenges in VET and LLL, underlies their innovation and growth potential and can accelerate policy implementation. The EU allocates significant funding to support national actions. Cedefop monitors the progress of the countries on their policy implementation journeys and its research and analysis support peer learning and exchange of good practice. These joint efforts will help make lifelong learning a reality for all.
Key Cedefop publications
- Cedefop (2023). Working together towards attractive, inclusive, innovative, agile and flexible VET. Briefing note.
- Cedefop (2023). Microcredentials for labour market education and training: microcredentials and evolving qualifications systems. Cedefop research paper, No 89.
- Cedefop (2022). Defining, writing and applying learning outcomes: a European handbook - second edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office.
- Cedefop (2020). NQF developments 2019. Cedefop briefing note, September 2020.
- Cedefop (2020). National qualifications frameworks developments in Europe 2019. Qualifications frameworks: transparency and added value for end users.
- Cedefop (2020). The importance of being vocational: challenges and opportunities for VET in the next decade: Cedefop and ETF discussion paper.
- Cedefop (2020). Enhancing European cooperation in VET: outcomes of the Riga cycle. Progress in common priorities for 2015-20: final report. Cedefop reference series; No 115.