Torino Process Conference declaration - 2013

The conference ‘Torino Process: Moving Skills Forward’ has concluded with a declaration. The document, agreed among the participants of the conference and based on the findings of the second round of the Torino Process, spells out the main policy priorities in the vocational education and training for 25 ETF partner countries east and south of the European Union. Read the Torino Process Conference declaration - 2013.
Torino Process Conference declaration - 2013
The Torino Process conference, ‘Moving Skills Forward’, hosted by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Turin on 8-9 May 2013 has brought together representatives of the ETF partner countries, European Union Member States and international organisations to discuss how to move skills forward.
Inspired by the findings of the Torino Process 2012 involving 25 countries, and informed by the experiences of the ETF partner countries, international best practice, and the EU 2020 Strategy, EU external relations policies and Copenhagen Process on enhanced cooperation in vocational education and training (VET), we have focused on present and future demand for skills as well as the processes needed to achieve progress. The goal is innovative, inclusive, resilient lifelong learning systems that support sustainable growth. The conference has been a valuable opportunity for policy leaders, practitioners, experts, the business community and civil society to share knowledge and experience, and to build a network of expertise which can move skills forward.
It has also been an important forum for ETF partner countries to share achievements and to learn about policy progress in other countries. We acknowledge the important progress we have made in developing and implementing VET policies since 2010. Policy makers increasingly recognise that VET is essential to meet the needs and aspirations of young people and adults for jobs, growth and social inclusion. The Torino Process has had an impact in our countries and we welcome its further development in 2014, which will see a stronger focus on country-led analysis and wider participation of stakeholders, including regional and local authorities, the business sector and civil society. We also welcome the opportunity in 2014 to focus on the impact of policies, their relevance, sustainability, cost-effectiveness and contribution to innovation on the basis of evidence in a policy cycle perspective. We acknowledge the validity of the Torino Process principles: their holistic approach to education and training; their emphasis on national ownership and leadership; the active participation of social, political and economic stakeholders; and the focus on evidence to guide policy analysis and decision-making. We support the aim of the Torino Process, namely to increase the evidence base for policy development. The conference showed more countries taking the lead in analysing VET policies in the light of their contexts, visions and labour market needs.
The conference confirms the main policy priorities facing partner countries:
■ A shared, long-term vision focused on the development and use of relevant skills for better quality jobs for young people and adults in partnership with VET providers and business.
■ The role of innovation and forward-looking policy-making to enable education and training to respond to current and future needs and equip citizens with better skills for employability, entrepreneurship and successful transition from education and training to work.
■ The closer integration of learning and work by actively engaging businesses both large and small at national, local and sectoral levels, and diversifying VET provision also through post-secondary institutions and work-based learning.
■ Making social inclusion a key transversal principal in VET policy and practice.
■ Improving the attractiveness of initial and continuing VET through frameworks for quality assurance; national qualifications systems and pathways for progression and participation that lead to valued employment.
■ Enhancing the quality of VET by developing the competences of teachers and trainers to support better learning outcomes.
■ Effective sharing of responsibilities in the governance of education and training systems, including sound policy coordination across government and between national and local levels, including business and civil society.
Meeting the challenge of these priorities requires leadership which ensures that policy formulation and implementation is monitored and evaluated to benchmark progress. In this respect, the conference supports the further development of the Torino Process analytical framework towards stronger analyses of the outcomes, cost-effectiveness, sustainability and innovative capacity of public policies. The conference also confirms the need for policy making bodies to engage in a joint policy learning cycle, to assess the impact of policies, learn from experience and move forward to deliver relevant skills. The conference outlines the following areas for joint action to move skills forward:
1. Identify areas for policy support in each country using evidence, analysis, scenarios and foresight, and prioritise them for follow up and implementation through strategies and short-term deliverables that are realistic in the national context;
2. Monitor progress on the basis of indicators measuring results using the 2012 Torino Process as a national baseline: in addition, for interested countries, developments can be monitored against relevant EU, ETF and international benchmarks for education and training;
3. Increase the use of evidence in policy making, assessing what works, and disseminating good practice achieved bearing in mind national contexts;
4. Broaden participation in policy analysis and policy making to actively include all relevant stakeholder groups, including young people, making use of social media to increase public policy transparency and participatory processes;
5. Develop methodological tools to support policy development in the partner countries according to the priority areas identified
6. Ensure education and training are labour-market oriented and serve entrepreneurial and local communities with the active involvement of business at all levels.
We welcome the ETF’s support and cooperation in policy analysis and policy learning. We call upon the EU and the international community to work together in the on-going effort to move skills forward. We thank the EU and the ETF for this rich learning opportunity and look forward to the next round of the Torino Process in 2014. Read the Torino Process Conference declaration - 2013.