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A pilot to explore new ways for apprenticeship and work-based learning was initiated by the Ministry of Labour in 2015 along with stakeholders: the social partners; the National Employment, Training and Vocational Guidance Council (Conseil national de l'emploi, de la formation et de l'orientation professionnelles, CNEFOP); the National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions (Agence nationale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail, ANACT); and training funds (Organismes...

In the reporting period, the initiative was further extended through labelling 95 campuses covering 12 growth and job-creating sectors: food and food-processing; chemistry and biotechnologies; creation, design, audiovisual; infrastructures, construction, eco-construction; materials, innovative materials; mobility, aeronautics, terrestrial and maritime transport; digital, telecommunications; business services, logistics; innovative services, mechatronics; tourism, gastronomy; energy...

The Pathways for the future (Parcours d'avenir) measure, announced in 2015, has been in place in all lower secondary education schools since September 2015. It is available to all learners from lower to the end of upper secondary years (from Sixième to Terminale). A particular focus is placed on apprenticeships.

A practical guide for the implementation of the Parcours d'avenir measure has been circulated to the heads of institutions. It emphasises the importance of raising awareness of...

Apprentice mobility was enshrined in the Labour Code (2017). New legal provisions have come into force, aimed at removing obstacles to long-term mobility in Europe for apprentices and trainees in alternance training schemes. Recent laws reforming the Labour Code (March 2018) and vocational education and training (September 2018) include measures that apply to all young people under the apprenticeship contract (contrat d'apprentissage) and the professional development contract (contrat de...

The School of Computational Thinking was set up in the academic year 2018/19 to train teachers to develop programming and robotics in their classrooms. This initiative is coordinated by the National Institute for Education Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF) in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities, which provide their own teachers for the project, as the education ministry does not have the competence for the teacher training in the regions.

In primary education, teachers use...

The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, through the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training and the Autonomous Communities, elaborated, in 2021, a new reference framework for digital competence in teaching through a commission dependent on the Working Group on Learning Technologies. This framework was approved by the Sectoral Conference on Education at its meeting on 30 March 2022 and published by Resolution of 4 May 2022 of the Directorate General for...

There are multiple initiatives to raise the skills of young people and workers (employed or unemployed) in ICT and the digital economy. Different public bodies are involved, in some cases in partnership with industry.

Red.es, a public entity for the promotion of the information society, is currently in charge of the following schemes:

Digital professionals youth employment - this scheme is part of the digital agenda for Spain 2013-15, and is jointly funded by the European Social Fund...

In the education system, the process towards an integrated vocational guidance system was initiated in 2018. A working group was set within the General Council for Vocational Training, with the aim of laying down basic principles and legal provisions. In guidance under employment authorities, the Action plan for youth employment (2019-21) foresees the hiring of 3 000 professional counsellors by the regional PES to provide guidance services in connection to the common services portfolio. The...

The new government, in power since June 2018, reorganised the administration. The change of name in the education administration state, now the Education and Vocational Training ministry (previously Education, Culture and Sports), reflects the new strategy to promote VET. In October 2018, the Government presented the Strategic plan for vocational training under education authorities. In February 2019, the Council of Ministers published the Agenda for change (Agenda del Cambio). The agenda...

The education ministry has contributed to promote work-based learning by supporting VET skills competitions at national (Spainskills), European (EuroSkills) and international levels (WorldSkills). All regional education authorities are also fostering different kind of events to promote dual VET among students, families and companies.

Trade unions are also contributing to the development of dual VET. In January 2018, General Union of Worker (Unión General de Trabajadores - UGT) published a...

Since 2015, BIBB has funded eighteen 'VET for sustainable development' projects (BBNE). They experimented and evaluated relevant curriculum concepts, digital teaching, learning materials and examination questions on green skills for initial and continuing VET, e.g. on energy saving and energy efficiency, carbon and water footprint, or thinking about resources. 

In 2016, new funding guidelines also relevant for the continuing professional development (CPD) of trainers were covered in the...

Under its Digital pact for schools programme (2019-24), the Federal Government aims to fund the digital infrastructure in all German schools, including vocational schools, to promote the uptake of digital skills. Vocational schools have been gradually provided with high-quality digital equipment including professional administration. This investment goes hand-in-hand with investment of Federal States, promoting digital competences of teachers and the development of new digital teaching...

The web portal, Digital media in VET, has provided information since 2015 on the use of digital media in VET and selected project findings. The  portal offers a project database and map, including 222 projects in the following seven categories: didactics/methodology, learning in the work process, creation of content, learning location cooperation, competence assessment and documentation, mobile learning, and web 2.0.

The portal also features a selection of products developed by the funded...

The 2015-18 Alliance for initial and further training was agreed between the Federal Government, Federal States, business and industry, the unions and the Federal Employment Agency at the end of 2014.

Within the alliance, sectors committed to providing 20 000 places annually for introductory training (transition programme), which has been implemented: 17 500 young people took up this type of training in 2015 and 21 000 in 2018. Evaluations showed that around 70% of young people moved into...

Building upon the results of its pilot project Continuing education and training guidance, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) launched in 2017 a more comprehensive Lifelong vocational guidance project. The project targets both young people and adults. In 2018, it was piloted at four locations.

The Lifelong vocational guidance (Lebensbegleitende Berufsberatung, LBB) is based on the BA 2025 strategy of the employment service, which provides better support for...

To provide young people with the best possible one-stop support in the transition from school to work, local alliances known as youth employment agencies (JBA) have been established in many places since 2011 (first in Hamburg but ten years later widespread in Germany with more than 350 agencies). This is where the various players responsible for vocational guidance and social support coordinate their efforts at the regional and local level. The alliances that have been established vary...

In 2015, the Federal Institute for VET (BIBB) started 12 pilot projects in VET aiming to ensure a sustainable development (Berufsbildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung BBNE). With the EUR 12 million budget, the projects intend to develop vocational competences in sustainability. Until 2021, they will be experimenting and evaluating relevant curriculum concepts, digital teaching, learning materials and examination questions for initial and continuing VET. These projects will lead - amongst...

In January 2019, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the project Shaping the future - innovations for excellent vocational training (InnoVET) and ran the first call. It invited projects targeted at increasing the attractiveness, quality and equivalence of VET through innovation and excellence, with a focus on higher VET.

Proposals were expected to put emphasis on:

1. innovative training, especially above DQR level 5, geared to the needs of companies and providing...

The ValiKom project aims to promote the validation of non-formally and informally acquired skills in Germany and was initiated by the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (DHKT) and the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), together with the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). ValiKom is considered a reference project for setting up a validation system in Germany. It addresses adults who acquired skills and competences through work but lack a formal...

Nationwide standard support measures anchored in the Social Code (e.g. SGB III) cover the transition from school to work, for example with various forms of vocational preparation and continuous support during training. The main measures are: vocational orientation, training entry and placement support, introductory training (internship placement), vocational preparatory measures, assistance during training and vocational training grant. 

In 2016, measures within the Educational chains...

Since 2015, and partly also due to the 2015-20 strategic plan for technical and vocational education and training, a framework for teachers professional learning (TPL) is implemented (following adoption by the Council of Ministers). This framework for TPL includes VET teachers and sets principles for continuing professional development (CPD). According to this framework, CPD becomes systematic, addressed to all teachers, and targeted to both teacher and school needs. This decision also tasks...

In November 2016, the Council of Ministers adopted the ordinance for State education standards (SES) for obtaining a professional teaching qualification. The ordinance increases the number of learning hours for teacher initial training by 30% to 50%. It introduces new areas of study (for example, conflict management, violence prevention, ICT in education and inclusive education) and training methods (such as distance learning). The teaching qualification is acquired after completing a...

Compulsory education

The digital strategy for education was adopted in 2018 and then implemented. The strategy includes the following 5 axes:

1. defining digital content and resources for learning,
2. providing support and training to teachers and heads of school,
3. defining modalities of school digital equipment,
4. sharing, communicating and disseminating,
5. developing digital governance.

Digital competence is regarded both as a learning object and a support to other disciplines. Digital...

Several centres of excellence in guidance, teaching, training and discovery of science were set up in Belgium, namely one Cité des métiers centre was set up in Namur in June 2016 and another one in Brussels in 2018. Founded in May 2019 by the Government of the Walloon Region, the University of Liège and Le Forem, the non-profit organisation named Centrale des Métiers de Liège is responsible for the Cité des Métiers project in the city of Liège.

Since the academic year 2017/18, all students enroling in initial teacher education at bachelor level have to take a non-binding admission test on study skills and motivation and knowledge of Dutch. Students enroling in initial teacher education programmes for primary education take additional tests on knowledge of mathematics and French. Taking the exam is compulsory, but admission to the programme is not linked to the results on the admission test. The admission test is meant to assist in...

There is increased cooperation between different validation providers (inside as well as outside education) and the willingness to create a single framework linking validation processes to the Flemish qualifications framework (FQF). In July 2015, the concept for an integrated framework for validation in Flanders was approved by the Flemish government; a task force was set up to develop the integrated policy framework and to draft a decree on validation. A cost-benefit analysis has been...

In May 2018, the Flemish Parliament adopted the law to integrate higher profession-oriented education (formerly called HBO5 programmes) into a fully fledged component of higher education (as short-cycle programmes leading to an associate degree). To stress this difference, the name HBO5 was taken out and replaced by the associated degree programmes (HBO programmes). At least one third of the learning period in this type of programme has to be work-based, which is intended to attract adult...

In 2019, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) published the Digital competence model for Austria (DigComp 2.2 AT). The tool is intended for supporting the assessment and description of personal digital competences and the identification of possibilities for further development. It is based on the DigComp reference framework of the European Commission.

Since autumn 2017, all new teachers must acquire standardised digital competences, including digital subject-specific didactic, within their initial teacher training programme. They have to prove their competences through a mandatory portfolio, which contains a digital competence check (digi.check), completion of a modular course programme and reflection on one's own teaching activities. To promote the digital skills of teachers already in service, the course programme is also offered...

The 2015 amendment reduced red tape by allowing the apprentice and the training company to agree to extend the training period for the duration of the exam preparation without having to ask the consent of the regional apprenticeship advisory board.

Education provider who offer the Berufsreifeprüfung receive funding which is determined periodically. At the end of the respective funding period, an evaluation usually takes place. In 2015, the new funding period started until 2018, accompanied...

The We educate the economy plan was approved in 2018 by the Austrian Economic Chamber and focusses on developing projects in five fields:

1. virtual learning platforms, for example for virtual company tours or online career information;
2. digital tools for apprenticeship training, such as digital learning worlds for apprentices, online tools for planning and documenting apprenticeship training and digital training and continuing education platforms for trainers;
3. continuing training, such as...

Coaching and counselling for apprentices and companies (in particular the apprenticeship trainers) has been mainstreamed across Austria since October 2015. These services were evaluated in a 2018-19 pilot project. In particular, guidance and counselling can be divided as follows:

1. youth coaching: this is an assistance programme for young people at the end of their mandatory schooling or after they drop out of school. Within the coaching process they should get to know their personal...