Low-qualified adults have experienced a greater rise in unemployment than any other group in Europe. What particular barriers are they facing in (re-)entering the labour market? How can VET be used in active labour market policies to help overcome these barriers? How can training programmes be designed to address the particular needs of this…

Certificates, diplomas and titles are commonly known as qualifications. Their purpose is to show employers, training providers, and individuals what the person holding the qualification has learned and can do. Every country issues many different qualifications, but for the European labor market to work as intended--that is for European citizens to…

The authors analyse the reasons for Croatian higher education reform since 2003, as well as its consequences. The main proposition of the paper is that the implementation of the Bologna Process in Croatia has failed due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the goals of the process, a lack of correspondence between the cycles of higher education…

This report presents the findings of a European research project jointly conducted by the University of East London (UEL) and the University of Ghent (UGent). The "study on competence requirements in early childhood education and care" (CoRe) explored conceptualisations of "competence" and professionalism in early childhood…

The objective of making vocational education and training (VET) globally competitive and attractive by the European Union has put vocational teachers in the spotlight. As a result, the VET teacher profession in Europe is facing many challenges and demands expressed constantly by the general public, representatives from the world of work, public…

The Bologna Process is one of the largest endeavours ever undertaken aimed at reforming higher education continent-wide. It has created a framework of measures and policies aiming to foster greater compatibility and comparability of the national systems of higher education across Europe. Despite the impact reforms and change in higher education…

The European Qualification Framework (EQF) is intended to transform European national qualification frameworks (NQFs) by moulding them into a learning outcomes framework. Currently adopted as an enabling law by the European Union, the EQF has now operated for several years. In order to secure widespread adoption, however, it will be necessary for…

The ongoing economic crisis in Europe raises fundamental questions about the European Union's ability to harmonize educational policy across its member states. With evidence that European unity is clearly faltering, many educational goals, including lifelong learning, are in trouble. In this book, the contributors work toward a greater…

Cyprus takes over the European Union Presidency in the second half of 2012 in a period of continuing uncertainty due to the world economic crisis. The vocational education and training (VET) system of Cyprus is playing a significant role in dealing with the immediate adverse effects of the crisis on the labour market as well as in laying the…

The European Students' Union (ESU) has been writing about the student perspective on the Bologna Process since it get formally involved in it. Four editions of the students' independent stocktaking report "Bologna With Student Eyes" between 2003 and 2009 shed light on the perception of those stakeholders, which are probably mostly…

This article seeks to describe briefly various initiatives taken to ease recognition and comparison of formal qualifications across borders in the EU. It takes a political angle, from binding legal instruments such as directives and decisions to policy instruments such as recommendations and voluntary action and covers 27 Member States with very…

This report is the tenth in a series published annually by Universities UK, with the support of GuildHE, updating and expanding a rich variety of data which help us to understand higher education in the UK. Since its first report in 2001, the "Patterns" series has examined the trends in UK higher education at both the sector and…

Analysis of recent trends in European mobility and migration and transnational recognition of qualifications in the health sector indicates no major increase in mobility in the European Union; more complex and fluid migration patterns; and increased competition for highly skilled workers, especially in health care. Fundamental barriers to mobility…

The European Union principle of free worker movement across borders requires thorough knowledge of the language of the country of employment. Multilingualism, including intercultural skills, is a key employment skill that should be acquired early. (SK)

For the third time, ESIB has carried out a survey on the implementation of the Bologna Process. The first survey was in 2003 and the second was in 2005. Between the first two surveys the methodology developed substantially and this survey builds on the principles of the 2005 "Bologna With Student Eyes" report. This new report portrays…