Recent vocational education and training (VET) reforms in many countries have focused on reducing the number of VET qualifications available and restructuring qualifications so that they better meet the needs of working life. This literature review provides examples of how VET qualifications have been rationalised in various countries and briefly…

Concise, clear and comprehensive snapshots of vocational education and training systems in EU, Iceland and Norway: this is what the Cedefop Spotlight on VET series offers. Building on individual country Spotlights, this publication provides an overview of VET systems with their distinctive qualities, such as main accession and progression routes…

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational…

The world is undergoing a major transformation that requires new skills and qualifications, new ways for people to know about skills and qualifications, and new ways to acquire skills and qualifications. This toolkit is about skills and qualifications, and the benefits they provide for people in a changing environment. It focuses specifically on…

Improvements in workforce skills are essential for European countries to attain higher economic growth and to compete effectively on product markets. Literature indicates a positive relationship between levels of education and productivity growth. This report builds on and expands this body of research in two ways: (1) It investigates the…

Every now and then the feminisation of the teaching force is put forth as a barrier to reduce educational equality between the sexes. The feminisation of education is supposed to have a negative impact on boys' achievement, causing educational as well as behavioural problems. It is not just boys who allegedly suffer; over the years, the…

Survey responses from 55 Dutch agricultural vocational schools show that administrators believe that transition, the ability of students to change between training modes or qualification levels easily, has enhanced the flexibility of the qualification system developed under recent national reforms. (SLD)

This paper focuses on the development and maintenance of the national qualification structure for secondary vocational education and training in the Netherlands. The qualification structure was introduced in 1997 as part of new legislation for vocational and adult education. The core questions to be answered concern the extent to which the policy…

This report presents papers on the vocational qualifications systems in Sweden, France, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, and England and Wales. An introduction (Russ Russell) looks at common themes. The paper on Sweden (Gun Cardell) addresses vocational education opportunities, curriculum and standards, costs, youth and…

Using the case study method, research was synthesized on micro-enterprises in Europe and the effects of changes in work organizations on employee qualifications and vice versa. The research focused on retail operations employing 10 or fewer staff. Five case studies were conducted in each of four member states of the European Union--Greece,…

This book contains the following chapters: "The Demarcation Issue: Introduction" (Wim J. Nijhof, Jan N. Streumer); "Qualifying for the Future" (Wim J. Nijhof); "The Many Meanings of Occupational Competence and Qualification" (Per-Erik Ellstroem); "Qualification and Labour Markets: Institutionalisation and…

These 24 papers represent the proceedings of a program presented by the research network on vocational education and training (VET). They include "School-Arranged or Market-Governed Workplace Training?" (Ulla Arnell-Gustafsson); "Prospects for Mutual Learning and Transnational Transfer of Innovative Practice in European VET"…

The impact of developments in work organizations on the skilling process in the Netherlands was studied through a macro analysis of available statistical information about the development of education for work in the Netherlands and case studies of three Dutch firms. The macro analysis focused on the following: vocational education in the…

This book examines existing European environmental education and agricultural practices friendly to the environment. Focus is on studies conducted in five countries Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain--that aimed to define new knowledge qualifications related to environmental issues in producing alternative agricultural products…