20 mai 2014

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By Monique Leegte | NEC Netherlands. Inland Mobility: a tool to record the skills of volunteers
For two years now, the Dutch NEC has been testing the Inland Mobility as a tool to make the skills and competences of volunteers visible and usable. The experience gathered so far has been encouraging. Therefore, a pilot organisation, Scouting Gelderland, has taken the initiative to a next step: providing guidance and support for volunteer organisations that wish to offer a record of skills acquired by their volunteers.
The project partners have invited volunteer organisations to participate in a survey to inform the creation of an inventory recording learning outcomes acquired during volunteering activities. Based on the outcomes of the survey, NEC Netherlands plans to develop and test a series of support and guidance tools for volunteer organisations.
The project is carried out in close cooperation of the Dutch NEC and the European Volunteer Centre. Other project partners involved in the initiative are Education and Social Research Centre (Poland), National University of Ireland, Czech Council of Children and Youth, Pan Cyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council, and Scouting Gelderland (The Netherlands).
The project is based on the Policy Agenda for Volunteering in Europe, and relates also to the Council Recommendation on the validation of non-formal and informal learning. For more information, please contact Jo Peeters, project manager, j.peeters@scoutinggelderland.nl or Monique Leegte, NEC NL, monique.leegte@duo.nl. Télécharger la newsletter.

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By Paul Guest | Expert Consultant to NetECVET and Rinske Stelwagen | Dutch National Agency for LLP and Erasmus+. The ECVET Mobility Toolkit
Practical support for integrating ECVET into new or existing mobility practice
It has been almost five years since the recommendation on the establishment of a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) confirmed common ECVET principles, provided detailed technical specifications and recommended the wider promotion and implementation of ECVET by all Member States. In that time, a wide range of bodies and organisations have been involved in translating these core principles and technical specifications into practical processes, and tools, able to be used by vocational education and training practitioners at all levels.
In 2011, a group of 14 National Agencies for the Lifelong Learning Programme came together, under the leadership of the German National Agency (NA BIBB), to form the thematic network NetECVET. NetECVET partners adopted a bottom-up approach in the network, targeting practical solutions for mobility practitioners wishing to introduce ECVET to new or existing mobility practice.
Whilst the latest phase of network activity came to a close at the end of 2013, NetECVET leaves behind a successful legacy in the form of an ECVET Mobility Toolkit. The Toolkit provides an online platform of tools, examples, information and resources to support the gradual introduction of ECVET into new or existing mobility practices.
ECVET assistance for education and training providers
The Toolkit was ultimately designed to assist vocational education and training providers, and others working in the field of transnational mobility, in introducing one or more ECVET principles to existing mobility projects and programmes. Since launching the Toolkit to a wider stakeholder audience (Brussels, October 2013), we expect that many other individuals and organisations working to increase knowledge and awareness on ECVET will also begin to promote and make active use of the Toolkit - an example being those working in national funding agencies and those forming a part of national ECVET teams.
A common frame of reference on ‘ECVET and Mobility’
The Toolkit provides a common platform for all vocational education and training actors, in Europe, in the area of ECVET and Mobility. Users can access an introductory section in which the background to, and history of, ECVET is succinctly explained. Alternatively, users can go straight to the core ECVET Toolkit: there they can access dedicated chapters on ECVET Preparation, Partnership Building and Quality Assurance. Users can also work, systematically, through the most important steps associated with the planning, implementation and follow-up of ECVET in Geographical Mobility (Before Mobility, During Mobility and After Mobility).
The Toolkit provides introductory texts, tools, templates, checklists and examples of how to use ECVET in practice. Additional, video interviews show experienced mobility practitioners, from different countries, presenting their own experiences of using ECVET.
Not covered by the Toolkit are more generic mobility topics (non-ECVET), and ECVET-related developments not addressing geographical mobility, with numerous platforms and resources already dedicated to these matters.
ECVET: a step-by-step process towards higher quality mobility It is important to begin by reflecting on existing mobility practice - consider the importance of international mobility to your learners, what works well in existing mobility practice and how you might further develop your mobility projects and programmes.
Beyond this, start to explore the Toolkit - a user guide is provided to help you navigate your way through and checklists are provided confirming both key actors and key actions. Ask yourself, along the way, what is new, what needs to change and what additional opportunities ECVET might provide. In terms of partnership development, it is important to confirm a willingness with (new and existing) partners to experiment with ECVET, to decide which elements of ECVET you might implement together and which other actors might need to participate, embedding this into a common agreement (Memorandum of Understanding).
From an implementation perspective, consider each of the mobility phases (before, during and after mobility) and the changes that that ECVET might require. Use pilot phases to test with actual mobility participants (students, teachers) and make use of the many checklists, tools and examples provided in the Toolkit. As with all quality-assured processes, it is important to evaluate your experiences with local, national and international partners, and mobility participants, confirming the benefits of ECVET for your mobility project or programme, recognising successes and identifying any areas for future improvement.
Quick access to tools for experienced users
Admittedly, some actors have been working with ECVET in Mobility for a number of years and are already starting to build experience. In this respect, easy access is provided to the tools, examples and further reading that feature within the various chapters of the Toolkit, by simply entering the Tools, Examples and More section. Here, users can quickly work through the different tools and materials, finding that which best serves their ECVET development needs. This section additionally provides a common glossary of key terms and a searchable database of learning outcomes descriptors, the latter building on past-funded ECVET developments in many European countries and sectors. Télécharger la newsletter.

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ESCO: European Classification of Skills/Competences, Qualifications and Occupations
What is ESCO?
ESCO is the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations. It identifies and categorises skills, competences, qualifications and occupations relevant for the EU labour market and education and training, in 25 European languages. The system provides occupational profiles showing the relationships between occupations, skills, competences and qualifications. ESCO has been developed in an open IT format, is available for use free of charge by everyone and can be accessed through an online portal.
Why ESCO?
To help bridge the gap between the world of education and training and the labour market, the European Commission is developing ESCO. By introducing a standard terminology for occupations, skills, competences and qualifications, ESCO can help education and training systems and the labour market to better identify and manage the availability of required skills, competences and qualifications. Its multilingual character facilitates increased international transparency and cooperation in the area of skills and qualifications.
The financial crisis has hit labour markets throughout the European Union. In June 2013 the overall unemployment rate in the EU stood at 11 %, while youth unemployment rose to more than 23 % and reached more than 55 % in some member states.
In spite of high levels of unemployment, there is strong evidence of skills bottlenecks and mismatches within certain regions and sectors such as the green economy, ICT and healthcare. A globalised economy increases competition not only in relation to labour costs but also in relation to the skills of the workforce. Europe cannot afford to leave skills potential unused.
Getting people into work requires tackling skill shortages and mismatches. Workers need training to meet the needs of the labour market and job matching services need to make the most of available employment opportunities. However, education provides people with qualifications that differ between Member States. Qualifications do not always keep pace with the evolution of knowledge, skills and competences needed by the labour market. Employment services do not share the same IT and classification systems to manage information on the supply and demand of jobs.
What can ESCO do?
» Facilitate the dialogue between the labour market and the education/training sector
» Allow employment services to exchange relevant labour market information across borders
» Boost online and skill-based job matching
» Facilitate geographical and occupational mobility through semantic interoperability
» Help employment services in the shift towards a skills and competence-oriented approach
» Help describe qualifications in terms of knowledge, skills and competence
» Enable the development of innovative career guidance services » Help describe learning outcomes acquired in non-formal settings, thus facilitates their validation
» Ultimately: getting more people into jobs throughout Europe.
The very first version of ESCO (Version 0) is already available free of charge to European citizens (find the link in info box on this page). This version will be regularly updated, culminating in ESCO Version 1, with a full revision for all economic sectors expected in 2017. The Europass Network is currently working on the integration of the ESCO Occupations and the ESCO terminology in the Europass CV online tool. In future, the users of the Europass CV will be able to utilise, if they so wish, the pre-defined list of ESCO terminology available in 25 languages while completing their CV. This functionality will allow the users to better match their CV descriptions with the world of work and to use this information for online job matching and other services. Télécharger la newsletter.

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The European area of Skills and Qualifications
The continuing difficulties surrounding the recognition and transparency of skills and qualifications hinder the development of the right mix of skills and qualifications as well as the mobility needed to achieve a better match between skills and jobs to help boost competitiveness and prosperity. The European Commission has collected the views of stakeholders on the problems faced by learners and workers with regard to the transparency and recognition of their skills and qualifications when moving within and between EU Member States, on the adequacy of the related European policies and instruments and on the potential benefits of developing a “European Area of Skills and Qualifications”.
Through the public consultation held between December 2013 and April 2014 the Commission wished to explore the extent and nature of the current obstacles to the recognition and transparency of skills and qualifications across Europe, possible solutions and the potential value added of EU action in the current and future economic and technological context. The consultation addressed in particular the following issues:
1. How to place a stronger focus on higher and more relevant skills
2. Further strengthening links between education/training, mobility and the labour market
3. Adapting to internationalisation trends
4. Ensuring overall coherence of tools and policies and further implementing the learning outcomes approach
5. Ensuring clarity of rules and procedures for the recognition of skills and qualifications for further learning
6. Increasing the focus on quality assurance
7. Providing learners and workers with a single access point to obtain information and services supporting a European area of skills and qualifications.
The results of the public consultation will feed into a possible Communication that the Commission may launch in 2015, followed by possible revisions of existing European instruments for the transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications. Télécharger la newsletter.

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Au sommaire :

La Commission européenne organise un tchat Facebook le 21 mai à 11 heures CET sur les aspects internationaux d'Erasmus +.
La discussion porte sur les possibilités de mobilité individuelle ou de coopération dans l'enseignement supérieur, entre l'Europe et le reste du monde.

• Quelles sont les possibilités pour les étudiants de  venir en Europe? Ou pour les Européens d'étudier ou enseigner dans les pays partenaires à travers le monde?
• Quelles sont les possibilités proposées par Erasmus + pour les institutions d'enseignement supérieur du monde entier et les possibilités qui leur sont offertes pour travailler ensemble ?

Une équipe d'experts de la Commission répondra à toutes vos questions. La discussion a lieu sur la page Erasmus + Facebook. Les questions peuvent également être affichés à l'avance via Twitter ou Facebook en utilisant le hashtag #ErasmusPlusChat. Voir l'article...

Chaque année, dans tous les pays de l'Union européenne, le label européen des langues récompense les projets pédagogiques les plus innovants, en matière d'apprentissage et d'enseignement des langues étrangères.
L'agence Europe-Éducation-Formation France a le plaisir d'annoncer que l'appel d'offre pour le label européen des langues 2014 est désormais en ligne sur le site de l'agence.
Toutes les langues et tous les types de structure sont éligibles. Seulement trois critères pour candidater : Innovation, pertinence et transférabilité.
Deux nouvelles priorités pour 2014 :

• Les langues pour favoriser l'inclusion sociale
• Les langues et le sport

Informations et dossier de candidature. Voir l'article...

Un sondage est disponible en ligne ou via une section ESN . Il a pour objectif la constitution d'une cartographie des établissements et des services d'enseignement supérieur offrant une pleine accessibilité aux étudiants handicapés. Les établissements d'enseignement supérieur qui souhaitent figurer sur la carte dans sa première version doivent remplir le questionnaire dès que possible.
Pour plus d'informations, contacter ESN directement : exchangeability@esn.org. Voir l'article...