Cedefop has released the updated national "Vocational Education and Training (VET) Policy Briefs 2023". The biennial series covering VET policy developments in all EU countries (except Malta, Ireland, and Czechia) and Iceland and Norway, plays a crucial role in Cedefop’s monitoring of countries’ progress towards achieving EU priorities in VET.
As we navigate the evolving landscape of VET, these policy briefs take stock of the actions taken by individual countries to upgrade their VET policies and assess their impact on advancing the priorities outlined in the Council Recommendation on VET and the Osnabrück Declaration, and defined in the national implementation plans developed in 2022.
Key trends in the 2023 Policy Briefs
- Agility and Attractiveness: countries have implemented measures to make their VET systems agile, resilient, and attractive. However, efforts to make VET flexible, inclusive, and quality assured are lagging.
- Curriculum Adaptation: VET curricula and programmes are being revisited to align with industry and labour market changes.
- Modular Approaches: many EU-27+ countries are adopting modular frameworks and learning outcomes approaches to new and existing VET programs.
- Flexible Pathways: countries are introducing flexible pathways and approaches to quickly respond and adapt to change.
- Teachers and trainers’ Professional Development: national policies are increasingly focused on ensuring systematic professional development opportunities for school leaders, teachers, and trainers.
- Work-Based Learning: countries have increased VET learners’ participation in work-based learning (WBL), with expanded apprenticeship programs reaching higher education levels and adult learners.
- Green Transition: addressing the green transition in VET has been challenging, with few concrete actions implemented in national plans.
26 national VET policy briefs - 400 policy developments
The 2023 briefs highlight 400 measures or policy developments from 26 countries, reflecting diverse national needs, ambitions, and stages of progress.
Green Transition and Sustainability
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Slovenia reported specific measures on green transition and sustainability. France and Latvia refer to the green transition in the context of skills for the future. Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, integrated green skills into the development of VET qualifications and training programmes. Germany focused on green transition training for trainers in VET.
Validation of Prior Learning
France reformed its validation of prior learning (Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience, VAE). Law No 2022-1598 (2022) on emergency measures related to the functioning of the labour market set three directions for VAE reform: simplification, enhance the security of validation paths by providing individualised support; and creating a national digital platform with information for users at various stages of the process.
Apprenticeship Programmes
Portugal’s Apprenticeship + (Aprendizagem +), targets young people and adults up to 29 years of age, including the most vulnerable, and allows learners to obtain an EQF level 5 qualification. The programme consists of general and scientific training, technological training, and work-based learning.
Higher VET
In 2022, in Austria, the Council of Ministers in Austria formally decided to establish higher VET as a separate education segment and initiated the process to create a higher VET Act. The main objective is to consolidate the heterogeneous field of higher VET by defining common elements and establishing a legal basis for a common understanding.
Skilled Workforce Development
In 2021, the employers' initiative for partial qualification (AGi TQ) developed the quality seal “One TQ better”, ensuring a nationwide standardised offer of partial qualifications (Teilqualifizierung, TQ) by the participating German employers' associations and business-related education institutions. The seal of approval guarantees quality for the graduates and their (potential) employers.
While progress varies across countries, these latest VET policy briefs underscore the need to accelerate policy developments to make national VET systems attractive, agile, innovative, flexible, inclusive, and quality assured. This acceleration is necessary to implement EU ambitions and equip Europe with the training and skills needed to address current and future challenges.
To access the briefs, visit Cedefop's VET policy developments page. The Timeline of VET policies in Europe, online tool also provides extensive information on national policies and practices in VET and lifelong learning.
