Within the Eurotrainer I project, a series of country reports have been produced. The country reports describe IVET and CVET system in every member state of the EU as well as some of the associate countries. We think those reports are a useful ressource to get up-to-date information on the different VET systems in Europe or might help you in contextualise informations you have got from other countries.
The countries are in alphabetical order, you can download them by following the link.
In Austria basically, two different ways of VET can be distinguished. Students having completed their compulsory schooling may start an apprenticeship training within the framework of the dual training system or continue their education within a school-based VET programme, which includes secondary VET schools and the advanced-level secondary VET colleges.
In Bulgaria, the training of trainers as part of the general education system is provided by the National Centre for Pedagogical Support (NCPS). NCPS is affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Science, which has the responsibility to provide methodological and practical support to teachers and pedagogical advisors.
There is no formal or legal definition of VET in Cyprus. Therefore the boundaries between IVET and CVET are not legally defined. They were not even clearly identified prior to the establishment of the Cyprus ReferNet consortium and the production of relevant reports on these issues.
Besides general secondary schools various types of vocational schools exist in the Czech Republic. Especially secondary technical schools (STS) and secondary vocational schools (SVS) offer education in general subjects as well as in vocational subjects and practical training. These school types can be completed by passing the secondary school leaving exam (maturita) which provides general access to Higher Education. Apprenticeship training as specified in the European Union does not exist in the CR. In line with the focus of the EUROTRAINER study the following sections explore further to role of secondary technical and secondary vocational schools for IVET training.
In Denmark, the public sector plays a major role in the provision of continuing vocational education and training as well as general adult education. However, in the last 10 to 20 years private provision of continuing and adult education and training has grown. This includes courses provided by consultancy firms, private course providers and internal HRM departments.
Vocational education and training under the Soviet system formed part of a centralised planned economy and was closely connected to employment system. During the transition period the Soviet VET system was completely reformed so that today the Estonian VET system is primarily school based.
According to Finnish law, the aim of VET in Finland is to raise the level of vocational skills and competences of the population; develop the world of work and respond to its skilling needs; and promote employment.
In France, continuing vocational training is strongly anchored in negotiations between the social partners and the public authorities. The social partners are concerned about the future of jobs and skills needs, particularly against the expected decrease of the active workforce population, low economic growth and the latent economic crisis. The training of trainers and employees is currently undergoing a significant reform process, characterised by a national Inter-professional Agreement signed in September 2003. Lead by the Minister for Employment, this agreement was followed by a law in May 2004 which addresses the in-service training of employees
Vocational education and training in Germany continues the tradition of medieval guild training, as it was practised all over Europe. In contrast to other countries, however, this model combining practical and theoretical learning was later also adapted by industry in the 19th century / early 20th century. Initial training is to date specified by training regulations, ensuring that uniform standards of training are met throughout the Federal Republic of Germany.
The training arrangements for teachers and trainers are regulated by the same bodies that are officially responsible for the regulation of VET systems. The systems are totally centralised at the levels of vocational education and initial vocational education and training. VET teachers and trainers are active by participating in their trade unions and associations that aim at influencing the policy making bodies and the educational authorities. Particularly for vocational education related issues, teachers/trainers have established the Technology Teachers Association to handle VET policy and professional development issues in order to improve their status and advance the quality of vocational technical education in Greece.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) is carried out jointly by the state and the economy. Since 1972 schools have been providing theoretical training whereas companies have been responsible for the practical training part. Up to now Hungary has maintained this long tradition of good relations between the social partners which will be continued also in the future.
VET usually begins at upper secondary level, even though there are a few courses that for statistical reasons are classified as lower secondary education (e.g. the licence to drive trucks or other heavy machinery). School-based IVET is perhaps more common nowadays with 10-40 percent of the total study time is on-a-job-training.
There is no statutory requirement in Ireland for trainers to be qualified, though mandatory certification will occur in certain sectors, particularly where health and safety regulations are prominent. In-company trainers in Ireland have access to a similar range of qualifications as in the UK, though there is far less post-graduate provision in universities in terms of Master’s level qualifications.
Since the 1990s the Italian vocational training system underwent a strong reorganisation process that is consistent with a significant decentralisation of the VET system, according to the 2001 Constitutional reform concerning the new role and function of Regions, Provinces and Municipalities.
There is a school based VET system in the Baltic countries. After the collapse of the Soviet system and transformation to the market economy the system of practical training in enterprises was ruined. It has taken years to establish new networks of practical training for VET students and apprentices in enterprises. For the moment a new action plan that concerns better co-operation between schools and enterprises and recognition of the informal education is under discussion.
As the educational system in general, the structure of Liechtenstein’s vocational education and training system is very similar to those in its German speaking neighbouring countries which are all based on the dual or trial system. Influences from Switzerland seem to be dominant, but also Austria and Germany have had and still have some influence on Liechtenstein’s VET system.
There is a school based VET system in the Baltic countries. After the collapse of the Soviet system and transformation to the market economy the system of practical training in enterprises collapsed. It has taken years to establish new networks of practical training for VET students and apprentices in enterprises.
The formal training of trainers for employment in the public and private educational sectors falls under the Education Act XXIV of 1988 which requires a recognised University Degree. At secondary level a postgraduate diploma in further education is essential.
In-company activities and external education and training are strongly interconnected in the Netherlands. In sectors as the financial services or the health services sectoral training institutions for instance have an important role. Many companies make use of the support of public or private institutions to provide for their training and development needs. These institutions do not only offer courses, they also often bring their trainers into in-company activities and they advise companies with regard to learning and development in organisations.
In upper secondary IVET in Norway the term ‘trainer’ primarily denotes staff involved in training of apprentices and trainees. In Norway, continuing formal vocational education and training are mostly supplied by VET teachers in schools and colleges as a supplementary service or through part-time work for adult or distance education associations. Non-formal and informal workplace training do not involve trained teachers or trainers.
The legislation does not provide a single overall classification of teaching and training occupations. There are various categories of practitioners in initial and continuing vocational education and training (IVET and CVET), depending on their place of work and on the level and the type of education or training provided. Teachers and academic teachers are distinguished in the legislation as separate categories. They work within the education system and provide both IVET and CVET
Trainers’ activity has been regulated since 1994, and requires a Pedagogical Aptitude Certificate (PAC). To be a trainer, one should have, in the training domains, theoretical / scientific, technological, technical and practical, and pedagogical education and training at least of same level, or higher, than their trainees when they accomplish the respective course. Add to this, they should have specific vocational training in his area of training and an occupational experience of at least two years; however, only in the cases of trainers’ certitication through experience, before 1998.
For the moment, training in enterprises remains an isolated phenomenon, being difficult to assess and describe its features, information on internal trainers being absent. There are no national regulations on internal CVT, no related statistics, research data on training done by the enterprises are not numerous and only a few side elements can be derived from the few existing, the issue of the internal trainer being treated only in an implicit or tangent way.
Vocational in-company training as such is not provided in Slovakia. Initial vocational training is an integral part of secondary school system in Slovakia and even continuous vocational training is often carried out by vocational teachers and vocational schools. All in all, vocational education and training in Slovakia is still strongly school focused, and although there are good examples of cooperation between schools and enterprises, incompany training as such is still rather the exception than the standard.
In recent years it has become increasingly clear that unemployment among certain groups (e.g. youth and recent immigrants) presents new challenges for the education and training system. This has made it increasingly clear that there has been too little emphasis on vocational education and training (VET). To this end, the Government has introduced a new form of advanced vocational education (www.ky.se) and will improve the quality of VET at the upper secondary level in association with the new upper secondary system from the autumn of 2007.
Turkey – Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3
Vocational education in Turkey has deep-seated roots dating back to the Professional Guilds which came out as trade organizations in the 13th century. These Guilds had economic and social responsibilities as well as responsibilities for organising the general and vocational training of the workers. The apprenticeship training system today is based on the Professional Guilds.
United Kingdom (England and Scotland)
The organization and provision of VET in the two countries share characteristics which have their roots in the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. Successive governments have pursued a largely voluntarist and unregulated approach to the organization of work- based training and VET policies have been developed and organised separately from general education.
