Cedefop work in European Commission publications

Cedefop’s research on how to improve the responsiveness of European education and vocational education and training (VET) systems has been endorsed in a series of recent publications by the European Commission. These publications aim to inform EU Member States on challenges and required actions to achieve the education and employment targets of the EU2020 strategy.

Recent EU Commission/Eurostat publications where Cedefop research is mentioned:

2013 Education and training monitor:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/documents/eatm/education-and-training-moni...

Growth potential of EU human resources:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1970&furth...

Smarter, greener, more inclusive? – Indicators to support the Europe 2020 strategy (2013 edition):
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/product_details/publ...

Cedefop has for a long time been a centre of expertise on the development of common European tools on education and training (e.g. EQF, ECVET). But Cedefop’s activities have also promoted in recent years a better understanding of labour market needs and skill mismatches in European economies.

Cedefop’s skill supply and skill demand forecasts provide early warning signals to policy-makers on the skills needed in the coming decade in the European job market. They highlight that the continued growth in the supply of highly qualified individuals will result in more than one in three European citizens possessing a tertiary qualification by 2020.

However, Cedefop cautions that education and training targets that call for further investment in human capital without a targeted strategy for job creation, investment in knowledge-intensive workplaces and a greater provision of vocational training by enterprises is likely to breed skills mismatch.

According to Cedefop’s latest estimates, about 15-20% of European workers are overqualified. About two million highly qualified workers took up skilled non-manual jobs (e.g. clerical and service and market sales occupations) during the period of the economic crisis. The scarring of early career mismatch is found to have adverse long-term consequences for affected individuals.

To increase youth employment and to mitigate skill mismatch, the EU Commission has recently called on Member States to step up efforts in developing word class vocational education and training and to promote work-based learning, including quality traineeships, apprenticeships and dual systems.

Cedefop’s research confirms that a vocational education does not only provide a much needed passport for the smoother entry of young individuals into the labour market, but is also likely to entail wider social benefits.

Σχετικός Σύνδεσμος:
www.cedefop.europa.eu