There are four sub-programmes which fund projects at different levels of education and training:

• Comenius for schools
• Erasmus for higher education
• Leonardo da Vinci for vocational education and training
• Grundtvig for adult education

Other projects in areas that are relevant to all levels of education, such as language learning, information and communication technologies, policy co-operation and dissemination and exploitation of project results are funded through the "transversal" part of the programme. Read more...

• The European Framework of Key Competences is a tool for policy-makers across the EU which identifies the fundamental skills that people need to lead successful lives in today's world.

• The European Qualification Framework for lifelong learning (EQF) aims to better link different national qualifications systems, acting as a translation device for employers and individuals to better understand qualifications from different EU countries, thus making it easier to work, study or hire staff abroad.

• The European Quality Assurance Reference framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) helps national authorities to improve their Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems, through the development of common European references.

• The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) provides a common basis to recognise higher education study periods abroad.

• The Diploma Supplement (DS) accompanies a higher education diploma, providing a standardized description of the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies completed by its holder.

• The European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) is being developed to help the transfer and recognition of learning experiences in Europe, including those outside formal training systems.

• Europass helps people make their qualifications and skills better understood and recognised throughout Europe, increasing their employment prospects. Its web portal includes interactive tools that, for example, allow users to create a CV in a common European format.

• The National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) provide information and advice on the academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study abroad. 

• Other guidance tools and information sources on learning and career opportunities in the EU, including the PLOTEUS portal and the Euroguidance network.

Other tools are being developed for the validation of informal and non-formal learning. Read more about actions to help recognition of qualifications across the EU.

To mark Croatia’s accession to the European Union (EU) on 1 July 2013, Cedefop has prepared a statistical overview on vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in the country. Selected for their policy relevance and importance to achieving the Europe 2020 strategy’s objectives, the indicators quantify key aspects of VET and lifelong learning and relate Croatia’s performance to the EU average.
Key findings for Croatia
• Initial VET is well represented at upper secondary level, accounting for more than 70% of students enrolled at this level in 2011, well above the EU average of 50%.
• Participation in continuing vocational training (CVT) and adult learning is low compared to other European countries. In 2010, around 23% of employees participated in CVT courses, well below the EU average of 38%. However, a relatively high number of Croatian enterprises, around 57%, provided training in 2010.
• Participation by adults aged 24 to 64 in lifelong learning was at 2.4% in 2012, well below the EU average of 9%. The European target is an average of 15% by 2020.
• In 2012, the percentage of 30 to 34 year-olds with a university-level or equivalent vocational qualification was close to the EU average of 9%.
• In the same year, some 22% of 18 to 24 year-olds were not in employment, education or training, compared to the EU average of 17%.
• Latest data show that in Croatia some 24% of people aged 30 to 34 have at least a tertiary-level qualification, compared to 36% at the EU level. The trend, however, is clearly upward as the 24% rate in 2012 compares to just 16% ten years ago.
• In 2012, 55% of adults aged 20 to 64 were employed in Croatia (the lowest level in Europe together with Greece), compared to the EU average of 68%. However, fewer adults had low levels of education, around 21% of people aged 20 to 64, compared to the EU average of 26%. Read more...

Authors: Allison Littlejohn, Isobel Falconer, Lou McGill. This paper, originally published on the blog on Open Education 2030 of the Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, provides a vision of what we term ‘fluid learning’ through which autonomous learners make choices about their own learning.
Fluid learning is suited to a world that has seen a radical change in cultural perceptions of learner agency and learner-teacher roles, associated with changes in technology. After completing compulsory education, the focus of each learner moves from learning pre-defined knowledge to filling gaps between areas of knowledge, integrating different areas of expertise, as well as learning new knowledge. Read more...

Mesurer la formation tout au long de la vie : une enquête européenne réalisée en 2003. Par Martine Möbus. Net.Doc, n° 29, 2007, 18 p.
La participation des adultes à la formation tout au long de la vie en Europe a fait l’objet d’une interrogation en 2003 en complément de l’enquête Forces de travail. La publication sur le site d’Eurostat des principaux résultats de ce module ad hoc fournit l’opportunité de revenir sur le sens et l’évolution des catégories utilisées à l’échelle européenne pour mesurer l’effort d’éducation et de formation tout au long de la vie. Après avoir brièvement présenté le cadre dans lequel le module ad hoc Formation tout au long de la vie a été élaboré, un point sera fait sur les trois catégories de formation auxquelles l’Europe se réfère : l’éducation formelle, la formation non-formelle et les apprentissages informels. Quelques illustrations tirées des résultats de l’enquête mettront en évidence la nécessité de recourir à des travaux plus qualitatifs pour pouvoir les interpréter correctement. Télécharger la publication.

Par Paul Santelmann, Responsable de la veille « emploi & qualifications » à l’AFPA. Le CEREQ (Bref n° 312 – juillet 2013) apporte un éclairage sur la participation des salariés européens aux différentes modalités de formation telles que l’enquête Continuing Vocationnal Training Survey (CVTS) les a catégorisées. Une telle catégorisation a le mérite de relativiser les formes traditionnelles de formation (stages et cours) au profit des processus plus informels (autoformation accompagnée) et/ou plus intégrés dans les organisations de travail. Cette enquête n’apporte pas de révélations extraordinaires et demeure insuffisante pour identifier les usages et les impacts réels de la formation continue notamment pour les moins qualifiés. Mais elle a le mérite de repérer les pays qui, tendanciellement, minorent le recours aux stages et cours inspirés de l’école et s’appuient d’avantage sur des modalités mises en œuvre en situation de travail. Suite...