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2 Eyjafjallajökull Reykjavík

3 eyti.is Some facts about Iceland  Iceland is an Island of sq.km  Population (decline first time since end of 19 th Century)  Icelandic is the mother-tongue (North/Germnanic origin)  Homogeneous culture and history since 874 AD  Immigrants were 2% in 1996, over 6% now  Job activity is very high, but unemployment around 9% since 2008

4 eyti.is Some facts about Iceland-2  GDP high although the crises in 2008 struck the country very hard  Vegetation 24% - Wasteland + glac. 76%  Sea area within fishing limits sq.km  Annual fish catch ca. 1,5 million tonnes  Important sources of income: Production and selling of energy, fishing, industry, tourism  Reykjavík- Paris New York 4200 km

5 THE ICELANDIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Age Higher Education (112% increase in n. of stud. since 1997) School year Upper Secondary Schools Not obligatory (95% attend) Most schools are mixed general and vocational Most use unit-credit system Specilalised vocational and art schools 14 Compulsory Schools Primary and lower secondary education Single structure system - No streaming or selection by ability 10 Pre-schools (Not obligatory, 95% of children 2-5 attend) Open access Access to a specific study programme / school, subject to specific requirements 1

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7 The Education and Training Service Centre

8 Establishment  20th of December 2002  Established by The Icelandic Federation of Labour and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers.  The form is a Corporation. Non-profit.  Contract with the Ministry of Educationa from 2003.

9 The whole labor market  In May 2010 the ordinance and membership of the organisation was changed to also include:  Federation of State and Municipal Employees  The Association of Local Authorities in Iceland  Ministry of finance

10 Law on Adult Education  Approved at 22nd of March  Adopted 1. October 2010  Education fund established  The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture  The Icelandic Confederation of Labor  Confederation of Icelandic Employers  Federation of State and Municipal Employees  The Association of Local Authorities in Iceland  Ministry of finance  Ministry of Social Affairs, (The labor market)  The Association of Upper Secondary Schools

11 Contract with the Ministry of Education  ETSC is a collaborative forum of the owning parties for adult education and vocational training  The Centre is publicly financed based on a contract with the Ministry of Education  The main target group is adults that have not finished Upper Secondary School i.e. have neither formal Vocational Training nor Matriculation examination.

12 Contract with the Ministry of Education  To develop, increase and improve Educational and Training offers for the target group. Accredited on Upper Secondary Level.  To develop workplace guidance for the target group. Has proven to be important for the validation of prior learning.  To assist The Ministry of Education in building up an Validation system for non- formal and informal education and training and work experience.

13 Who are the players? LLL center LLL centers Mímir-símenntun Centers of the manual trades Vocational Funds

14 What have we done?  27 educational opportunities – described in a curriculum and validated with regard to upper secondary schools – published – LLL centres  Teacher training to increase quality  Quality standards  Information material – Gátt – Web - brochures  Counselling in the Workplace – LLL centres  Validation of prior learning – Pilot projects- proposals to the Ministery of Education – The centres of manual trades.  Leonardo project – Validation of Work experience - REVOW

15  EQF / NQF tenging fullorðinsfræðslu við rammann.  REVOW)  European Guidelines for validation of formal and informal learning (CEDEFOP)  Active in development  LdV, LLL,