Transcript Slide 1

The Wolf Report
Perspectives from Europe
Dr Andrew McCoshan
Associate Fellow
Centre for Education and Industry
University of Warwick
Wolf Report – Overview
• Purpose: to consider how we can improve vocational education for
14-19 year olds and thereby promote successful progression into
the labour market and into higher level E&T routes
• UK faces similar labour market trends to Europe, especially youth
position
• UK VET system is structurally different: market system;
qualifications play key role
• Problems stem from too much/wrong type of government
intervention
Wolf Report – Details
• 14-16:
(a) recent vocational qualifications are valueless in the labour
market and don’t enable progression
(b) balance of vocational and general is out of kilter with trends in
Europe
• 16-19:
(a) application of occupational standards is inappropriate, too narrow
(b) offer broader programmes of study
(c) government should limit itself to setting general principles,
allowing educational institutions to ‘offer any qualifications they
please from a recognised (i.e. regulated) awarding body’
(d) strengthen WRL and apprenticeships
Issues
• Much (but not all!) of the diagnosis is incontrovertible
• Many of the solutions are left open
• How do other European countries approach these common issues?
• What are their ‘starting points’?
• What can we learn?
• Two main examples – Netherlands and Sweden
Health Warning - Make international comparisons at
your peril!
L
Tertiary
(ISCED 5&6)
Postsecondary
non-tertiary
(ISCED 4)
Lower/upper
secondary
(ISCED 2/3)
A
B
General,
‘academic’
higher
education
Double
qualifying
pathways
General
secondary
education
General education
O
U
R
M
Tertiary
VET
A
R
K
E
T
Post-secondary
VET
Bridge
courses
Higher level
technical
education
Apprenticeships
Lower level
VET
Vocational education and training
Progression patterns
Primary &
lower
secondary
levels
General upper
secondary
44%
VET upper
secondary
56%
Labour market is majority
choice
Post-secondary non-tertiary attainment
Ireland 10%, Greece 8%, Germany 6%,
Portugal 1%
Tertiary VET
c15% of tertiary enrolments
Perhaps 3-4% of current total
population cohort … But
growing
EU policies
• Copenhagen process – the ‘Open Method of Coordination’ in
VET
• Quality and attractiveness – labour market relevance
• Accessibility
• Flexible systems, learning outcomes
• Transparent qualifications – European education and training
area
• Information, guidance and counselling
EU tools
• Qualifications and credit transfer systems – EQF, ECVET:
-
focus on learning outcomes
unpacking and repacking of training
need for trust
effectively Wolf concludes such tools have been misapplied
• Validation of non-formal and informal learning:
- access to formal examinations
- access to formal education if entry criteria met through prior
learning
- individual competence assessment to shorten VET
- integrating non-formal and informal learning
VET in the compulsory phase
(lower secondary)
• Becoming increasingly unpopular … but it’s more complicated than
that
• Being reformed/repositioned rather than abolished
• Generally becoming more pre-vocational and focused on preventing
early school leaving
A Dutch Example
Track
VWO
2009
B/G
20 / 23
2000-09
B/G
4/3
HAVO
23 / 24
3/2
VMBO plus
21 / 16
support/special
types
VMBO
42 / 37
4/6
-10 / -11
VET in the compulsory phase
(lower secondary)
• Dutch system offers four VET routes (2008 figures):
Theoretical - 36%
Combined - 12%
Pre-voc higher – 27%
Pre-voc lower – 25%
• 2006-08 enrolments down in all tracks except ‘combined’
• Better pathways opened up in to upper secondary VET
Programmes and qualifications 16-19
• Qualifications reform commonplace in Europe
• Sweden:
- ‘over-generalised’ the curriculum
- now ‘revocationalising’
- 17 national programmes: 13 vocationally oriented; 4 academic
- VET programmes typically 85% school-based
- 8 core subjects make up 30% of the credits: (Swedish, maths,
general science, English, the arts, PE and health, social studies,
religion)
- at least 15 weeks workplace based training (optional in general
tracks)
- in 2nd and 3rd years there can be local and regional variations to
respond to labour market needs – municipalities assemble subjects
from different programmes. 10% of cohort in 2009
Programmes and qualifications 16-19
• Netherlands:
- new competence-based qualifications structure in 2011
- 25 national competence types
- occupational profiles
- core tasks, work processes
- process – competence matrix
Work-related learning and
apprenticeships
• Sweden: ‘informal model’
- 15 weeks work placement
- education providers responsible for finding places and student
supervision = major effort
- place availability depends on schools’ links with local social partners
leading to great variability in quantity and quality
- schools have to ensure that workplace supervisors have enough
knowledge of E&T to ensure that placement is positive experience
Work-related learning and
apprenticeships
• Sweden: ‘informal model’ contd
- new apprenticeships piloted since 2008, roll out in 2011
- expected to attract 10% of cohort
- core course loads in all subjects except science and arts will be
reduced
- at least 50% work-based training, apprentices may or may not receive
a wage
- municipalities to set up local apprenticeship councils
Work-related learning and
apprenticeships
Netherlands: ‘pathways model’
Lower secondary:
Basic vocational programmes may offer programmes combining
work and study: practical out-of-school component of 80-160 days in
last 2 years
Upper secondary:
2 tracks both lead to same qualifications:
- school-based with internships: 20-60% of time as interns
(participants mostly young)
- apprenticeship: at least 60% in the workplace (40% participants
aged over 24)
Netherlands - Participation in Upper Secondary VET by
level and learning pathways, 2007
School-based route
(BOL)
%
Dual (apprenticeship) route
(BBL)
%
3
7
Basic vocational training
19
41
Vocational training
23
33
Management training
56
19
101
100
Assistant training
TOTAL
Work-related learning and
apprenticeships
Netherlands: ‘pathways model’ contd.
- web-based service introduced 2009 to broker internships:
www.stagemarkt.nl
- joint website of all 17 sectoral Knowledge Centres
- more than 223,000 accredited training companies regularly offer
places
- 6.6 million searches since launch
Work-related learning and
apprenticeships
Norway: ‘unified model’ aka 2+2 model
- Normally 2 years at school with practical training in school
workshops and short industry placements
- Then 2 years apprenticeship
- But variations on 2+2 depending on the model
- 9 vocational areas – progressive specialisation over the 4 years
- High degree of confidence amongst stakeholders, though some
query initial breadth of programmes
- By international standards relatively inclusive and few parity of
esteem issues
- But challenges include: weak basic skills of entrants; noncompletion; QA; student choice; skills of enterprise-based trainers
and counsellors
Progression
• Widespread moves to open up progression
• But most people stay within their tracks – e.g. Netherlands
• VET to general progression is a particular issue:
- bridge courses
- double qualifying pathways
- EQF (equivalence issue)
• VET students can struggle to make the transition
Progression
Source: Cedefop VET in Europe Netherlands Country Report
Conclusions/speculations
• Move in Europe to more flexibility within well-structured systems
around which there is consensus
• More structure makes it easier to open up pathways
• Programmes versus qualifications?
• Variety of work placement models: horses for courses …?