Changing labour market conditions affect individuals’ life courses. More and more people have to face career interruptions and changes, especially during an economic crisis. Coping with instability and insecurity in life as well as with career and life changes requires specific adaptability skills as well as lifelong learning. More...

Understanding the contribution of VET to individuals’ career, employability and social inclusion as well as its impact on economic growth and productivity is important for assessing investment in VET compared to other types of education or learning. More...

Continuing earlier activities on older workers and lifelong learning, this project aims to increase understanding of and provide new insights into ageing and work through new research. Its purpose is to support evidence-based active ageing policies in the context of widespread population ageing in many western societies. More...

Archived Projects. More...

Two documents are directly completed and updated by citizens using the Europass online editor, with the help of examples and tutorials:

• the Curriculum vitae (CV) presents skills and qualifications acquired in formal and non-formal learning; a cover letter can also be created online and attached to the CV, along with copies of qualifications, employment certificates, etc.;
• the Language passport gives a detailed description of language skills.

Three documents are issued by national authorities:

• the Europass mobility is a record of knowledge and skills acquired during a placement or a training in another European country;
• the Certificate supplement describes the content of training programmes (knowledge and skills acquired, validation, certification level, legal framework). It complements the information included in official certificates;
• the Diploma supplement is issued to graduates of higher education. It describes the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies.

A network of National Europass Centres is the first point of contact to learn more about Europass.

How Cedefop is involved

Cedefop designed and maintains the Europass Web site available in 27 languages. More...

Cedefop undertakes research and develops tools to empower the role of VET to the fight against early leaving from education and training (ELET). More...

Cedefop’s ‘Digitalisation and the future of work’ project analyses the impact and drivers of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies on employment and changing skill needs of jobs. It also examines the implications of new forms of digital labour, such as platform or crowd work, for individual’s skills development and skill mismatch. More...

Information on skills demanded from job-seekers by employers is very useful to inform career and continuing VET decisions of individuals. In the very dynamic labour market of today, understanding employers’ requirements is also crucial for employment services and guidance counsellors to assess individual training needs, as well as for training providers to revise curricula and training programmes and tune them to current labour market demand. Policy-makers also feel the need to obtain up-to-date information on skill needs, new jobs being created as well as emerging skills. More...

The Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of

• employment,
• continued education,
• apprenticeship,
• traineeship

within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. More...

Empowering young people by expanding and improving apprenticeships. Apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning help young people make smoother transitions from school to employment. Thus, they are central to the development and implementation of the youth guarantee schemes. More...