1. 21.10.2002 1 Cedefop European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training Dr Stavros Stavrou Deputy Director of Cedefop TELEBALT CONFERENCE VILNIUS 21 OCTOBER 2002 Lifelong Learning as a driver for employability and adaptability with particular reference to e-Learning

2. 21.10.2002 2 THE BACKGROUND Lisbon European Council March 2000  a new strategic goal for Europe: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion

3. 21.10.2002 3 LIFELONG LEARNING: THE NEW PARADIGM  Questions the traditional paradigm of learning  high quality learner centred approach within formal, non-formal and informal learning experiences  Equal learning opportunities, i.e. for the excluded or disadvantaged in access  A new scenario of continuous skills upgrading  European population getting older and the technology younger

4. 21.10.2002 4 KEY MESSAGES 1. VALUING LEARNING 2. INFORMATION, GUIDANCE, COUNSELLING 3. INVESTING TIME AND MONEY IN LEARNING 4. BRINGING TOGETHER LEARNERS & LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 5. BASIC SKILLS 6. INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY

5. 21.10.2002 5 E-LEARNING  to adapt the EU's education and training systems to the knowledge economy and digital culture  to catch up in the use of the new ICTs by intensifying Europe’s efforts = EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES INTO LIFELONG LEARNING:

6. 21.10.2002 6 E-LEARNING: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? opening up new ways of teaching – widening access (messages 4 + 6) making it easier for people to acquire new skills and update existing ones (message 5) creating opportunities for distance learning (message 4) E-learning has the potential to change education and training radically,by…

7. 21.10.2002 7 WHY THE NEED FOR URGENT ACTION? Equipment gap Skills gap Contents gap Information gap THE LIMITS OF INITIAL TRAINING SYSTEMS  Initial systems cannot respond rapidly to changing skill demands on labour market

8. 21.10.2002 8 2 FACTS WORTH REFLECTING UPON  80% current workforce left the education & training system before ICT made impact  Coming 20 year witness drop of 11 million in 20-29 age bracket - increase of 16 million in 50-64 age group

9. 21.10.2002 9 Time lags in provision Assumed average time lags depending on national institutional settings and regulations) between new skill requirements and new supply of labour Assumed average time lags (depending on national institutional settings and regulations) between new skill requirements and new supply of labour

10. 21.10.2002 10 eEUROPE ACTION PLAN 2002 connect all schools to research networks (end 2002) ratio of 5-15 pupils per multimedia computer (2004) availability of support services + educational resources on the Internet (end 2002) school curricula with new learning methods based on ICTs (end 2002) teacher training for use of digital technology (end 2002) worker digital literacy (end 2003)

11. 21.10.2002 11 THE E-LEARNING INITIATIVE  platform for European cooperation  part of the comprehensive eEurope Action Plan 2002 adopted in March 2001 Four components: - equip schools with multimedia computers - train European teachers in digital technologies - develop European educational services and software - speed up the networking of schools and teachers.

12. 21.10.2002 12 RESOURCES mostly national backed by adequate Community instruments and partnerships between public authorities and industry  strengthen cooperation at all levels (local, regional, national European) + all sectors (education/training, content + service providers)

13. 21.10.2002 13 “the next generation”- ( adopted by the Commission in May 2002) modern online public services -e-government -e-learning services -e-health services -dynamic e-business environment + as an enabler for these... -widespread availability of broadband access at competitive prices -a secure information infrastructure TARGETS BY 2005 eEUROPE 2005: an Information Society for all

14. 21.10.2002 14 CEDEFOP’S CONTRIBUTION TO E-LEARNING ETV (European Training Village) eTTnet (e-Training of Trainers Network) Cedra (Cedefop Research Arena)

15. 21.10.2002 15 THE EUROPEAN TRAINING VILLAGE Current ETV activity includes the on-going development of our eLearning pages. Products and services Research Metadata Discussions Surveys (e.g. elearning in Europe - training of trainers and elearning)

16. 21.10.2002 16 ETV - e-learning

17. 21.10.2002 17 SURVEY ON E-LEARNING IN EUROPE e-learning defined to cover all training involving ICT (CD-ROMs/internet) on-line survey using a web-based questionnaire located at the Cedefop internet site covered initial +continuing training in a range of subject-areas distinguished training users/providers – current/capital spending- software/hardware data from 800 organisations involved in training  reasonable coverage of most EU countries...

18. 21.10.2002 18 MORE RESULTS... the more suppliers use e-learning methods, the less they use the classroom suppliers estimate that revenue from e-learning 34% in 2001 (up from <20% in 1999) e-learning accounted for an estimated 14% of current spending on training in 2001 (up from 9% in 1999)

19. 21.10.2002 19 CEDEFOP/CAREER SPACE DG Enterprise/IT industry collaboration promoting the development of the technical and behavioural skills for a knowledge- based economy produce new course modules directly relevant to the skills needed in the IT industry (new employee skills + combining qualifications from engineering and informatics with business and behavioural skills)  http://www.career-space.com/index.htm

20. 21.10.2002 20 CEDEFOP/CAREER SPACE

21. 21.10.2002 21 CEDEFOP/CAREER SPACE

22. 21.10.2002 22 ADDRESSING THE SKILLS GAP SMEs employ 66% of the workforce in the EU and account for 99.8% of enterprises (18 million in the EU) GoDigital Initiative: help SMEs to introduce e- commerce into their business strategies Priorities: - promote framework conditions for electronic business - facilitate its take-up, by making available RTD results - alleviate ICT skills shortages among SMEs

23. 21.10.2002 23 ICT SKILLS MONITORING GROUP established as a follow-up to GoDigital a synthesis report on the situation of ICT and e-business skills in Europe was released in June 2002 : downloadable from  http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/ict/policy/i ct-skills.htm

24. 21.10.2002 24 FINDINGS by 2003: skills gap to increase from 1.2 million (now) to 1.7 million the ICT and e-business skills gap is not just about quantity of skilled people but quality the average half-life for technical knowledge is estimated at 3-5 years the problem in short: not an insufficient supply of qualified IT workers, but a mismatch

25. 21.10.2002 25 E-LEARNING: GREAT EXPECTATIONS? E-LEARNING: GREAT EXPECTATIONS?  structural barriers (lack of awareness, sensitivities, competence) in SMEs  lack of tailor-made offers to specific target groups among the SMEs  absence of standards  issue of ownership and copyright  no quality assurance of products  etc, etc, etc Barriers and obstacles to implementing e-learning

26. 21.10.2002 26 Those of a fundamental and pedagogical nature...  Is there an expectation that technology changes the WAY we learn?  Do tried and tested pedagogical principles lose validity in an ICT environment? in other words: -is ICT considered to be a complementary/innovative part of new pedagogy or -is ICT going to gradually replace traditional pedagogy (rather than enriching it)

27. 21.10.2002 27 “DELIVERY”  Increasing talk of delivery of learning  Access to information itself is not a learning experience (as information differs significantly from knowledge)  In ICT the “C” is more important than the “I” in a learning context

28. 21.10.2002 28 Tutoring – Feedback If technology cannot provide this, elearning will have major deficits à easy/cheap access is not enough Elearning must simulate and follow proven ways of learning

29. 21.10.2002 29 Technology replicating learning processes Which implies: the need for qualified e mentors good community learning centre integrating social dynamic of learning groups with technology

30. 21.10.2002 30 Success in e-learning uptake Depends largely on how learning technology and courseware adapts to learning patterns

31. 21.10.2002 31 For further information: P.O. Box 22427 GR-55102 Thessaloniki Greece Tel.: (30-310) 49 01 11 Fax: (30-310) 49 01 02 E-mail: info@cedefop.eu.int Web sites: www.cedefop.eu.int www.trainingvillage.gr Brussels Office: 20, avenue d’Auderghem B-1040 Brussels Tel.: (32-2) 230 19 78 Fax: (32-2) 230 58 24 E-mail: info.be@cedefop.eu.int