The Committee for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament instructs the Council and the Commission on their priorities in the VET sector.
On 11 June, Brigitte van den Berg, Dutch Renew Europe MEP and rapporteur for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, published a draft report that places vocational education and training (VET) firmly in the spotlight. The report builds on the Herning Declaration (see SwissCore article), the VET Council Recommendation of 2 November 2020, the Union of Skills (see SwissCore article), as well as the ongoing Erasmus+ programme generation among others. However, going beyond existing and proposed VET frameworks, the report sends a clear signal to the Council of the EU and the European Commission (EC): A cultural change is needed to strengthen the European VET sector.
The Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs stresses that VET remains undervalued compared to academic education. VET students and workers often have fewer opportunities for upskilling and reskilling, and their qualifications are not always recognised and valued by society and the economy. Against the backdrop of geopolitical shifts and growing skills and labour shortages, this is becoming increasingly pressing. According to projections by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), 60% of all job openings by 2035 will require qualifications traditionally provided through VET. For that reason, the draft report mainly circles around “recognising the value of VET in society”, “improving VET quality and relevance through increased investment” and “recognising the mobility of VET students and workers.”
The draft report underlines the decisive role VET plays in the EU’s economy and its ability to make Europe more competitive. It is a call for a strong European VET strategy that supports learners not only in their personal development but also contributes to innovation. Recognising VET’s value should go as far as supporting WorldSkills and Euroskills and to acknowledge their contribution in making VET more attractive and visible, and how their “Occupational Standards” can also serve as a source of inspiration for VET policy. Unsurprisingly, increasing the allocated budget for the VET sector in Erasmus+ is, as presented in the report, at the core of what it means to prioritise and value VET. Moreover, MEP van den Berg has long advocated for VET students to benefit from exchange opportunities in the same way students of higher education institutions do. At policy events and in Parliament interventions, she has highlighted that rates of mobility among VET students should be comparable to those in the higher education institutions within Erasmus+. This focus is reflected in the draft report’s emphasis on the persistently low mobility rates among VET students and workers. For VET, the current target lies at 12% of learning mobility by 2030 in Erasmus+.
Additionally, a strong case is made in favour of higher investments to improve the quality of VET. It calls on the EC to support the Member States with country-specific recommendations, lists the Just Transition Fund or the European Competitiveness Fund as additional funding possibilities to strengthen VET and encourages synergies with ongoing EU policies and programmes. In practical terms, the report highlights the need to invest in updated VET curricula of quality, connect VET providers more closely with regional technological and industrial clusters, take account of AI’s impact on the labour market, and improve remuneration for apprenticeships and internships.
This draft report clearly showcases the handwriting of MEP van den Berg and very much reflects her VET agenda. Ultimately, she argues that the lack of skills and labour shortages in jobs requiring VET qualification are partly a consequence of societal and political negligence regarding vocational education and vocational professions. In other words, in her view, training more people is not enough. The working conditions of the job as well as the long-term perspectives for upskilling and reskilling, and thus, the status and attractiveness of these jobs should not be underestimated. In this light, the draft report can be understood as particularly supportive of the initiatives and programmes aimed at improving the quality of VET through programmes like the Centres of Vocational Education which is part of Erasmus+ (see SwissCore article), as well as initiatives that aim to facilitate the recognition of skills and qualifications such as the Skills Portability Initiative. Be it as it may, in due time we will see whether MEP Brigitte van den Berg’s concerns are addressed in the upcoming European VET strategy of the EC.