Gathering evidence on what works best is key to designing holistic guidance services for individuals and the labour market. Traditional learning and career pathways are being replaced by more dynamic, 'patchier' routes and shorter job tenures. Fast-changing and more complex learning and working contexts draw more attention to continuous learning…

The Swedish government has overall responsibility for the education system and sets the policy framework at all education levels. National goals and learning outcomes are defined centrally but with decentralised implementation. Swedish vocational education and training (VET) starts after compulsory education at age 16 and includes programmes at…

This report presents a comprehensive review of the key policy initiatives that have fostered transparency and transferability of learning outcomes over the past two decades (2000-20) to promote mobility and lifelong learning. It concentrates on European-level initiatives, while also considering national developments, offering an in-depth analysis…

In the framework of European countries' cooperation on VET and lifelong learning, Cedefop monitors, analyses and reports on countries' priorities and activities. Cedefop's role in the process is pivotal: it gathers the necessary national information through its network of expertise spanning all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, ReferNet, and…

Microcredentials hold promise for connecting people's skillsets with labour market demand in a rapidly changing world of work. They have proliferated in recent years across economic sectors and education levels, reinforcing European and national efforts to understand and develop them better. They can increase the provision of…

This study compares the way IVET and CVET sub-systems interact to support the learning of adults, and thus facilitate lifelong and life-wide learning. By comparing the interaction between IVET and CVET sub-systems in the countries covered, the study analyses the extent to which IVET systems are opening up to adults, and questions whether national…

In Romania, vocational education and training (VET) is provided at upper secondary and post-secondary levels. The first two years of upper secondary education are compulsory for all learners. Enrolment in upper secondary education and training, including VET (grade 9), requires grades from national exams in mathematics and the Romanian language, a…

Formal vocational education and training (VET) in Slovenia starts at upper secondary level and is provided mainly by public schools that are founded and financed by the State. The education and labour ministries share responsibility for preparing legislation, financing, and adopting VET programmes and qualifications. While the education ministry…

This briefing note provides insights from a pan-European opinion survey conducted by Cedefop. This survey explores what adults living in the European Union (EU), Iceland and Norway think about adult learning and continuing vocational education and training (CVET), given that image and perceptions influence action. The survey defines adult learning…

Finnish vocational education and training is competence-based and learner-oriented. A personal competence development plan is drawn up for each learner. It charts and recognises the skills previously acquired by the learner and outlines any further competences the learner needs and how they can be acquired in different learning environments.…

The current vocational education and training (VET) system in Portugal is the result of a 2007 large-scale reform, which reorganised VET into a single system (Sistema Nacional de Qualificações, SNQ). The main objectives of the SNQ are to ensure that VET qualifications better match labour market needs, promoting the competitiveness of enterprises,…

Demographic trends and technological change increase the need for adults to learn and adapt to changing job content and working conditions. Despite this, most EU Member States have consistently underperformed in their efforts to reach targets for adult participation in lifelong learning. In 2010, the EU set a target of 15% of adults participating…

This briefing paper aims to inform European Institutions as well as national policy and decision makers on the issue of integrated and holistic approach to lifelong learning. It also provides the context at a high level and share a few recommendations on ways to establish lifelong learning systems at local, regional and national level. It helps…

The aim of the paper is to identify and analyse patterns and trends in enrolment in upper secondary initial vocational education and training (IVET) in Europe over the period 1995 to 2015. The research produced findings on comparability of the international data as well as trends in enrolment in upper secondary IVET and its share of enrolment in…

Jobs, labour markets and economies are rapidly changing: globalisation, technology and a growing services sector are both causes and symptoms. Ageing populations and dwindling youth cohorts, on the one hand, and labour migration, on the other, are affecting workforce composition. And that's not to mention the lingering impact of the financial…