Transcript Mai-Tagung 2007 - Serge Imboden

Competing for Skills:
Vocational Education and Training in the 21st Century
Panel 2
The New Global Economic Context:
Does it merit a new VET response?
Dr. Ursula Renold
General Director, Federal Office for Professional
Education and Technology (OPET)
Alberta, 31st August 2009
Outline
1. VPET in Switzerland - Facts & Figures
2. Systemic Innovation in VPET
3. Swiss VET-response during the global
economic downturn
Swiss VET/PET System
Innovation in the VPET system
Professional and labour market skills
in national and international terms
Apprentices
Gainfully employed
Associations
Determining learning
content &
competencies
Cantons
Planning &
implementation
Confederation
Legal regulations & framework curricula
Quality standards & indicators
Funding, innovation
Cornerstones of Swiss VPET

approximately two-thirds of young people
choose this pathway
• 75,000 new apprentices / year
• Almost 220,000 apprentices in total

22’500 of degrees/year in PET (tertiary B)

Qualification possibilities for all
• real education service

Decisive role of the economy
• “market-driven system”
VET – upper secondary II
Number of apprenticeship positions in 2008
Demand
Previous year
74‘000
77‘000
Offer
83‘000
Previous year
76‘000
Until August 2009  now sign of a downturn in the
apprenticeship-market
Youth unemployment under 25 years (OECD 2007)
Switzerland: 7.1 %
OECD average: 11.9 %
25
20
15
10
5
0
Greece
Poland
Italy
Slovak Republic
Turkey
Belgium
Sweden
France
Spain
Hungary
Portugal
Finland
Luxembourg
United Kingdom
OECD average
Germany
Canada
Czech Republic
United States
New Zealand
Australia
Korea
Ireland
Austria
Japan
Norway
Netherlands
Iceland
Denmark
Switzerland
Mexico
Development of youth unemployment in Switzerland
January 2000 – July 2009 (SECO)
years old
years old
Source figures: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Demographic outlook of primary school level
Pre-school
Primary school
Secondary I level
Outline
1. VPET in Switzerland - Facts & Figures
2. Systemic Innovation in VPET
3. Dissemination of research results –
evidence-based policy
Systematic and systemic Innovation in VPET
as a pro-active way to face the needs of the next
generation
Research Process(Top-down)
Research
Leading Houses
System
Monitoring
Results
Basic
Questions
Policy
Promotion of
projects
Development Process (Bottom-up)
Results
Policy
Review
Professional aptitudes
and
employability
Research/Development
Measuring outcomes
Structural changes in the for-profit
sector
Dual
VET system
Research
Innovation
Evaluations,
Quality assurance
Implementation
Reform process Fed. Decree on Education
Vocational
apprenticeships
Exam experts
Research:
Apprenticeship market,
job placement/mentoring
Research/Development
Integration, Migration
Forecast
Research:
Lifestyles of young people;
withdrawal from apprenticeship
Instructors
Inter-company
courses
VET instructors
Authorisation
Vocational schools
(teaching staff, school directors)
Continuing education
Research:
Monitoring of demographic
trends
Legislation
Research:
Quality standards for
VET students
Learning strategies and
social learning
Impact of information
technologies
Dynamic overview of basic VET
Cost-benefits of vocational
apprenticeships for firms/state
Research:
Willingness to take on apprentices,
Firms/corporate dynamics
How to make VPET education attractive to
youngsters and relevant to labor market?
• Constant reform of existing professions and
creation of new VET-professions (not just
crafts & trades): e.g. IT-engineers (Google,
Cisco, Microsoft)
• National standards and federal recognition of
diploma
• Permeability of the educational system
13
Monitoring of apprenticeship-market and
constant activities of all VET-partners
• monthly review in all cantons
• scientific monitoring of supply and demand side
of the apprenticeship market, twice a year
• statistical monitoring of apprenticeship contracts
by federal office of statistic, once a year
• cost-benefit analysis of training activity for firms
with apprenticeship training, every 5 years
Outline
1. VPET in Switzerland - Facts & Figures
2. Systemic Innovation in VPET
3. Swiss VET-response during the global
economic downturn
Swiss VET/PET System
Transition phase II:
labor market
Transition phase II: labor market or further education
Transition phase I: access to apprenticeship market &
other educational programmes
Influencing factors
• Demographic development (e.g. school
leavers)
• Short-term economic development  supply of
apprenticeships
• Number of apprentices finishing their
apprenticeship
• Number of possibilities for tertiary or continuing
eduction programmes; permeability
Acitivities on the demand side
(during crises)
• Strengthen „Case Management“-programme:
hiring of more case-manager
• More full-time VET-programmes if necessary
• Career orientation for a further education
programme
• Advertising campaign for several offers
(work placement, internship, further education)
Case Management - Federalist cooperation
Swiss Conference of Cantonal
Directors of Education (EDK)
Year 7/8
Year 9
Transition I
Federal Office for Professional Education
and Technology (OPET)
together with SECO
Upper secondary
level
Labor
Market
Transition II
Identification, registering and ongoing monitoring of ‘at risk' groups
Career orientation
Transition
Transition
Compulsory school to apprentiship
market or secondary II-level
Apprenticeship market to
labor market
Institutional cooperation
Vetbetween
Office institutional partners
CM today: Networking
supported by webbased tool „CaseNet“
Parents
Regional
Social
Regional
services
Employment
Centres
Employment
Centres
Teachers
VET
Offices
Social services
Parents
Invalidity
Teachers
authorities
Career
advisors
Invalidity
Career
advisors
authorities,
migration offices
Activities on the supply side: avoid a
meltdown of apprenticeship market
• Monitoring of apprenticeships offered by
companies
• Acquisition of new apprenticeships by VETnetworker (see next slide)
• In case of a downturn in a specific sector or
region (e.g. bankruptcy of training companies)
 providing of alternative apprenticeship s in
other sectors or regions
How to engage companies?
Average net benefit of training activity for
firms with apprenticeship training in CAN $
3-year
apprenticeship
4-year
apprenticeship
Gross cost
80‘800
113‘388
Productive contribution
93‘120
115‘488
Net benefit for company
12‘190
2‘100
Source: Mühlemann et al. 2007
To take an apprentice is a mid-term investment
and not a short-term decision, especially regarding
our demographic development!
22
Lifelong learning during unemployment
phase
• Engaging the working or the unemployed
population in a constant up-date of skills and
competencies  use time!
• Continuous education in order to improve
and develop new skills
• Market driven system for continuous
education  preparing the workforce of
tomorrow
23
Competing for Skills:
Vocational Education and Training in the 21st Century
Panel 2: The New Global Economic Context:
Does it merit a new VET response?
Thank you for listening!
Dr. Ursula Renold, General Director, Federal Office for
Professional Education and Technology (OPET)
Alberta, 31st August 2009