CEN/ISSS Workshop on ICT-Skills Activities towards the development of a European e-Skills Meta-Framework Contribution to the experts workshop held at Cedefop/Thessaloniki on 23 and 24 June 2005 BURKART SELLIN/Cedefop, chairman of the CEN/ISSS ICT-skills workshop

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 1 Overview Introduction CEN/ISSS Workshop ICT-Skills Business Plan Roadmap & Current Status Outcomes In Resources Overview

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 2 Cedefops work Promote a European area of LLL throughout an enlarged EU Providing information on and analysis of VET systems, policies, research and practice Our tasks are to: –compile selected documentation and analysis of data –contribute to developing and coordinating research –exploit and disseminate information –encourage joint approaches to VET & LLL problems –provide a forum for debate and exchange of ideas Introduction to Cedefop

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 3 CEN/ISSS Workshop Introduction Contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area with voluntary technical standards Workshop organisation –Chairman: Mr. Burkart Sellin, Cedefop –Co-Chair: Mr. Wolffried Stucky, Cepis –Workshop Manager: Mr. Luc Van den Berghe, CEN/ISSS –Workshop Secretariate: Mr. Massimo Actis Dato, UNINFO –Project team (co-funded by the European Commission) Workshop environment is open to all interested parties Virtual Community set up by Cedefop Introduction

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 4 European e-Skills Forum 2004 taken from respective conclusions Development of a European ICT skills meta-framework has priority European-wide ICT certification standards to be accredited/assured in co-operation with the social partners and with the support of multi-stakeholder partnerships Transparency of e-skills industry certifications and their links with public standards to be improved Promote appropriate quality standards for public and private certifications and for the training industry ESF Conclusions

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 5 Definitions and Proposals from the e-Skills Forum Synthesis Report European e-Skills Forum Synthesis Report 2010 (ESF 09/2004), see: e-Skills Concept –wide range of capabilities (knowledge, skills and competences) –ICT Skills (practitioner, end-user) subset of e-skills Reference Framework –[…] create appropriate European-wide skills frameworks at both professional and vocational level is absolutely essential. Meta-Framework –European e-skills meta-framework […] act as a reference for national and regional frameworks and encourage their convergence, comparability and transparency. ESF 2004 – Synthesis Report

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 6 CEN/ISSS Workshop - Phase 2 Workshop on European ICT-Skills Meta Framework (WS-ICT-SKILLS), main objectives: To prepare, validate and agree a European Meta- Framework To contribute to geographic and professional mobility of skilled employees To foster transparency of skills and qualifications –wherever and how they have been delivered or acquired making them transparent and comparable CEN/ISSS ICT-Skills – Phase 2

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 7 CEN/ISSS Workshop - Phase 2 Kick-off meeting 14 &15 February 2005 in Karlsruhe/DE Workshop Business Plan defining workshop objectives was agreed Being implemented by workshop project team Regular workshop meetings to present and discuss preliminary results 2 nd Meeting of the Workshop was held 17th 18th May Brussels Final meeting is scheduled for end September CEN/ISSS ICT-Skills – Phase 2

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 8 WS ICT-Skills Business Plan Main item: work on a European ICT-Skills Meta- Framework To produce a reasonably detailed and pragmatic overview of existing approaches (in various Member States and in Industry) Purpose and principles for such a framework + criteria for allocating national frameworks to an overarching European one Descriptors and analysis shall provide clarification of stakeholders needs and priorities for such a European Meta-Framework -> results and recommendations will present consensus WS ICT-Skills Business Plan

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 9 CWA – First Draft The purpose of the EU Framework is to enable transparency and comparability of profile models and profiles, belonging to different sources. The suggested European Framework is intended : not to be a common denominator of existing national or international frameworks but to link these and to cater for their communication and understanding to become a real meta-framework allowing to accommodate existing and future ICT-skills thus to allow for an allocation of forthcoming and new skills within the respective occupational or professional area to support the establishment of a European data base or collection of ordered data as well as to disclose framework properties and characteristics. For this purpose common descriptors and working definitions will be proposed for promoting national ICT skills frameworks WS ICT-Skills Business Plan

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 10 Frameworks which for the survey have been retained so far Airbus APO ( SFIA ( & ECDL/ICDL ( EUCIP ( Cedefop study outcomes from Flensburg and York Universities based on ISCO Career Space ( CompTIA Career Passport ( Computing Curricula 2004 eCCO ( WS ICT-Skills Business Plan

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 11 Reorientation Business Plan as agreed in May 2005 European Qualification Framework (EQF) : Being developed by an expert group set up by the European Commission (DGEaC) in November 2004 Reorientation to take into account the work done by the EQF expert group was agreed in Brussels at May meeting To ensure compatibility and increase impact of the approach WS ICT-Skills Business Plan

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 12 Expected Outcome Repository/ overview of national frameworks and systems, including a prototype for European level descriptors Options for a meta framework and for a clustering of the ICT field Reference to levels of EQF proposals based on the three descriptor categories knowledge, skills and wider competences Compatibility with the Directives definition of levels identifying at least for one cluster the respective ICT specific knowledge, skills and wider competences (prototype) Additional recommendations on how to continue work on issues like certification and standards or accreditation including credit transfer Expected Outcome

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 13 Main purposes and uses of the upcoming framework (1) Multipurpose tool made available to industry, providers, certification bodies as well as to individual practitioners To provide guidelines how to develop national frameworks, and to be a reference system To accommodate skills existing and forthcoming at both the national and international levels. Main Purpose

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 14 Main purposes and uses of the upcoming framework (2) To agree outcome based descriptors for knowledge, skills and wider competences; To elaborate guidelines for national bodies to deliver additional information on learning pathways and programmes if possible presented in the form of a national skills framework; To identify main indicators for a European database which presents and maintains up-to-date information on Member states developments. Main Purpose

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 15 In Inventory of existing frameworks/sets of ICT-skills profiles and levels Prototype and analysis of options for an ICT-Skills Framework Recommendations and agree a set of priorities Last meeting on 30 September 2005 Documentation and publication of results in form of a CEN Draft Workshop Agreement (CWA) to be disseminated and voted in Oct In a next stage the development of approaches to certification, credit transfer, quality assurance and standards will be in the focus Development of European standards, however, cannot be reached in a single step, intermediate or partial achievements must be defined and other actors may have to be involved. Way Forward

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 16 Resources Virtual Communities for information, exchange & discussion ( –CEN/ISSS Workshop on IT Profiles and Curricula (/cen-ict) –European e-Skills Forum (/esf) –Credit Transfer in VET (/credittransfer) –European Qualifications Framework(/EQF) Publication of studies on ICT skills (see handout) e-Skills Newsletter Nr. 3 and issues 4, 5 and 6 are scheduled Bridging activities between the e-skills actions and current work on EQF and ECVET Resources

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 17 Get information web sites: & & Franz Gramlinger: Burkart Sellin: Contact for workshop participation: and Luc Van den Berghe: Resources

23 & 24 June 2005, Thessaloniki CEN/ISSS WS © 2005 Cedefop - 18 Thank you!