1 Vectors in Innovation Innovation in vocational education and training Johan van Rens, Director European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)

2 Competitiveness u EU is weak on many competitiveness and performance indicators u Disappointing economic and labour market development u Lisbon will not be reached without more action and innovation

Political agenda of meeting the Lisbon goals of 2010 not matched by economic developments European demographic forecasts show a shrinking and ageing work force Older workers forming the core of the workforce

- Unsettling prospects in the current European economy - SMEs in Europe account for 99% of all businesses - Employ 74 million people (outside agriculture)

Decisive factors of influence for training in SMEs are: - lack of a training culture within SMEs - lack of appropriate training materials - the attitude of individual managers

6 Educational attainment General comparison

7 Low and unskilled u At present 80 million EU citizens between are low skilled u By 2010 almost half of additional jobs will require tertiary level education and almost 40 % upper secondary level u A major decline in job prospects for the low skilled is expected u Half of EU workforce (± 100 million) has to upskill

8 Early school leavers u Policies exist but benchmark of 10 % will not be reached by all countries u Vocational streams and work-based learning help, but innovative links to the world of work are necessary

9 Geographical and professional mobility u Low level of mobility - more move from outside than than inside EU u Selective immigration is needed, but not enough to resolve the situation u Copenhagen/Maastricht priorities are essential to remove obstacles

10 Investment in human resources and quality u EU average below USA u Investing in skills and literacy levels will increase quality economic growth, social cohesion and have major benefits for individuals

11 Innovation strategies u Ensuring highly skilled VET professionals. u Emphasis on concrete action at de-centralised level and by the social partners u Synergy should be established between VET policies and economic and employment policies. Innovation agreements and tripartite commitment to foster investment in human capital will help u Special attention to key competences, ICT literacy and learning partnerships

Research shows the importance of learning taking place in work situations - Non-formal in nature - It is a change of the learning scenario - Must become embedded in the work organisation Promoting innovation

The main objectives of ICT supported learning - increase access to learning opportunities with increased flexibility and modes of delivery - enhance the quality of the learning experiences - increase the efficiency of the organisation, reduce costs and increase productivity Promoting innovation

What are the obstacles facing the economy? - the issue of the learning culture - what motivates the learner? - do we really know the training needs? - do we know what elearning materials are available and appropriate? Promoting innovation

The issue is a complex one - what are the funding responsibilities of the public and the private sector? - already substantial difference across occupational and social groups - raises the issue of equal access Promoting innovation

Teachers and trainers: - the agents of change in the field - their professional status must increase - an ageing profession but innovation in pedagogy is essential Promoting innovation

Some practical proposals: - synergy in our communities of practice to make innovative practice more accessible to the practitioner EVTA and Cedefop – an alliance of change

Some practical proposals: - Making the use of the LLL knowledge base on innovative policy and practice accessible to our joint communities EVTA and Cedefop – an alliance of change

Some practical proposals: - A partnership in innovation in LLL with EVTAs Exemplo and Cedefops thematic virtual communities - Using Cedefops work on teachers and trainers competences and electronic resources on ecompetences EVTA and Cedefop – an alliance of change

Some practical proposals: - Support EVTAs newsletter Ezine with Cedefop background material - Seek synergy with Cedefop-Info - Promote partnerships with ReferNet EVTA and Cedefop – an alliance of change

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