Workshop 1 Cooperation IVET HEIs
Moderator: João Delgado, Head of Unit for Vocational Training; Leonardo da Vinci, Directorate General for Education and Culture, European Commission Rapporteur: Marek Polak, Director of the Centre for International Cooperation, Warsaw University of Technology
Speakers: Isabelle Le Mouillour, CEDEFOP; Articulating qualifications frameworks, credit systems and validation for permeability in education and training Tomasz Saryusz-Wolski, Centre for International Education, Łódź University of Technology; Can the ECVET be an added value to ECTS? Karin Luomi-Messerer, 3s research laboratory, Austria; Opportunities and challenges for permeability between VET and HE - examples from Austria Berthold Hübers, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training BIBB, Germany; Actor, Advisor, Consumer: The Role of the Social Partners in the Knowledge Triangle - VET, HE and labour market in Germany Barbara Pużaoska, Deputy Director, and Maciej Siemiątkowski, EU Funds Specialist, Polish Association of Construction Industry Employers; Need for continuing vocational training of construction industry employees equal chances on European Labour Market
Issues raised How qualifications frameworks, accreditation and validation systems can enhance the permeability of education in Europe? What conditions should be ensured to streamline permeability between individual levels/sectors of education and training? What are the practical implications of ensuring complementarity of the systems? How can you further enhance the complementarity? What are the opportunities and threats to the permeability of vocational and higher education systems? How to strengthen the participation of social partners and use their potential in the knowledge triangle: vocational education and training, higher education, labour market? What are the benefits of cooperation between vocational education and training and higher education sector? How can you improve the cooperation? How can the Lifelong Learning Programme support schools in establishing cooperation with HEIs and employers?
Conclusions - 1 Implementation of Qualification Framework and ECVET system should be supported at the national and European level as this is the condition essential for the permeability of education systems. Actions encouraging HEIs to be opened to other than academic forms of education should be promoted. Education programmes at schools shall be better adjusted to the needs of labour market and the adjustments should take place in cooperation with representatives of HE and employers.
Conclusions - 2 cooperation between HEIs, schools, enterprises, training institutions, regional authorities and other social partners shall be developed in order to provide school and HEIs Networks of graduates with a possibility of an easy transfer from the education environment to work environment. Legal and financial conditions shall be created in order to provide pupils, students and graduates with a possibility of participation in work placements in the framework of initial vocational education and education in HEIs. Constant professional development of teachers should be assured by providing them with a chance to go on training placements / internships at HEIs and supporting patronages of HEIs over schools.
Conclusions - 3 Support system for candidates for studies shall be made available as a part of quality assurance at the higher education level. IVET institutions and HEIs shall be encouraged to implement widely national and international mobility into their development strategies so that education will respond to the current challenges and assure the acquisition of new skills required by the labour market. Particular significance shall be assigned to language competences.
Conclusions - 4 Qualifications have to be based on Learning Outcomes and standards with respect to Learning Outcomes must be in place. Qualification Frameworks and Credit Systems should operate together as a mechanism and as a process. ECTS and ECVET should function in parallel. It is possible to measure the degree of professional profile / orientation through the ratio No. of ECVET credits / No. of ECTS credits. ECVET is supporting permeabilty and is makes individual pathways of education much more feasible and viable.
Conclusions - 5 Permeability is a great advantage to education provided that QA processes are in place. There is no real contradiction between academic education and VET if QA rules are observed. The existing system of teaching has to evolve towards the system where the learner is in the centre. It requires an intensive effort to change teaching methods and to train teachers as tutors, moderators, inspirators, motivators, etc.. E-learning seems to be an ideal tool for specific, well defined professional needs in education. QA is a crucial issue in that case.
Thank you for attention!