Cedefop organises a validation workshop to discuss the preliminary findings of the ongoing research on the role of VET in reducing early leaving from education and training. Selected policies and measures from fifteen European countries are examined in-depth during this second year of the research. More...

Cedefop is organising a meeting to present, discuss and validate initial findings of a Cedefop study aimed at investigating the economic and social consequences of a too high rate of low-skilled adults in Europe. More...

Cedefop’s policy learning forum on the definition and writing of learning outcomes will explore the way learning outcomes approaches are applied in initial vocational education and training (IVET) throughout Europe. It will be the first in a series of events that aim to open up for a continuous process of sharing and learning in this area. More...

Cedefop’s 40th anniversary exhibition charts the political and social circumstances which led to the Centre’s establishment in 1975, and the events that have shaped its work over the past four decades. The exhibition features images, texts and artefacts illustrating Cedefop’s eventful history and the main themes of its work, including vocational education and training research, policy analysis and support for mobility. More...

Cedefop is organising a conference addressed to a wide range of stakeholders with a role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in increasing their apprenticeship offer (9-10 November, Thessaloniki).
This initiative is part of Cedefop’s support to the European alliance for apprenticeships, which aims to strengthen supply of apprenticeships and improve their quality and image.
It is one of a series of Cedefop conferences to enable interaction, cross-country dialogue and experience-sharing among relevant stakeholders for apprenticeships, all focused on supporting bilateral/multilateral cooperation for apprenticeship boost and modernisation. The first conference of this type was organised in May 2014. More...

Adult learning promotes competitiveness, employability and social inclusion. It is a vital component of the European Union's (EU’s) lifelong learning policy. But many challenges remain to make it an attractive, inclusive, accessible and flexible learning option.
In 2014, just over 10% of adults (aged between 25 and 64) participated in lifelong learning, well below the EU’s target benchmark of 15% by 2020. But participation in adult learning can be difficult to assess as it takes many forms and is often non-formal. More...

The 2014/15 school year has just ended and, with it, the Polish Year of vocational schools. The idea for this initiative, decreed by the Minister for National Education, came from a wish to restore the importance and prestige of VET. More...

The Adult education initiative (Initiative Erwachsenenbildung) is a binding agreement reached between provincial governments and the federal government in 2012. It enables young people who have completed compulsory education to acquire basic competences and adults to complete compulsory schooling. Both programmes are free of charge and guarantee high standards. More...

Job orientation: training in businesses and schools (JOBS) combines two elements: labour market and schooling in the last years of lower secondary education, and the first years of technical high school or vocational education. Students are prepared for choosing their further educational career, receive general information about professional opportunities, and get the chance to acquire life skills, which are useful in any future career. More...

The Czech Republic has one of the highest shares of industry in the EU, so technical and science education is of crucial importance. However, the Czech Republic has been experiencing a long-term trend of deviation from science and technical studies towards general fields of study, especially among highly gifted students. As a consequence, industrial enterprises are facing reduced availability of skilled workforce. More...