Development of Vocational Qualification Standards in a Selection of European Member States

Development of Vocational Qualification Standards in a Selection of European Member States

Executive Summary

The following report is submitted in accordance with the Service Contract for Upgrading of Vocational Qualification Standards (Stage 1 Report), taking into account Best Practices in EU Member States under Phare 2003 BG 2003/004-937.05.03 “Vocational Qualification” Project.

In this Report, a comparative analysis of European systems has been conducted, with the aim of drawing out key elements of similarity and important differences across Europe. The findings of the report are intended to inform the development of Vocational Qualification Standards in Bulgaria, ensuring that these nationally specific standards are created with reference to most appropriate practices from across Europe.

The Objectives of the Stage 1 Report for the Development of Vocational Qualification Standards in Bulgaria are as follows:

• Study of EU good practices in development and applying of Vocational Qualification Standards and a comparative analysis elaborated.

• Study of EU instruments for assessment and certification of vocational qualifications and training and proposed model of methodology which would improve vocational competences assessment in Bulgaria. Report on the existing European practices in development of methodology for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of vocational standards and give recommendations.

• Propose upgrading the framework requirements for development of vocational qualification standards in Bulgaria, recommended on the basis of the elaborated comparative analysis.

The Structure of the following report divides the text into two main sections for ease of reference. These are:

Country Profiles: 10 national reports outlining domestic arrangements, specifically: the administration of qualification system; key organisations and their role; key areas of policy development; process and procedures – safeguarding standards; types of vocational education and training; qualification structures and learning outcomes; qualification frameworks or occupational structures; and categorisation of sectoral qualifications.

The 10 national systems identified by the Project Team, approved by the PIU are Belgium (Flanders), Belgium (French Speaking Community), Denmark, England, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Slovakia.

Comparative Analysis: Drawing on the studied national systems, a comparative analysis is offered, focusing upon three key elements. These are:

• Similarities: The section on similarities draws together the findings of the national profiles, highlighting shared practices between sample countries in the development of vocational qualification standards.

• Fundamental Differences: Differences between the national systems are considered and examples provided.

• Key Features Relevant to Bulgaria: This section will outline the most appropriate practices for the Bulgarian project, based upon the findings of the previous sections.

The comparative element of this report differs in structure from the country profiles. Rather than a narrative-driven description of the system in place, the analysis is provided as a series of specific points, to better emphasise the issues to be addressed and raised.

The members of the Project Team for this Report are:
Dr Cloud Bai-Yun (Team Leader)
Mrs Magda Kirsch (IE)
Mr Yves Beernaert (IE)
Mr Peter Davitt (IE)
Mr Philip Land (IE)
Mrs Dagma Winzier (IE)

The Project Team draws on the support from the UK NARIC with contributions from the following members of staff: Mrs Caroline Macready, Mr Paul Norris, Mr Nick Brennan.

1. Country Profiles

The study concentrates on the development of Vocational Qualification Standards within 10 national systems identified by the Project Team, approved by the PIU.

The profiles of national systems are designed to provide an overview of the following aspects:

• General Overview

• Structure of Key Organisations and Respective Roles

• Policy Development

• Safeguarding Standards

• Types of Vocational Education and Training

• Qualification Structures and Learning Outcomes

• Qualification Frameworks or Occupational Structures

• Categorisation of Sectoral Qualifications

Each Profile is therefore structured so that these key issues are emphasised. The Comparative Analysis in Section 2 then highlights areas of similarity and difference between the ten Profiles, based upon the categories of information presented here.

1.1. Belgium (Flanders)

1.1.1. General Overview of Vocational Education and Training System

The Flemish community of Belgium comprises the inhabitants of the Dutch-

language area and the Dutch speakers of Brussels. The Flemish Community is responsible for so-called personal related issues. These are policy areas in

which the provision of services to the people is linked to the language spoken in the area where they are to be carried out. Specifically included are education, welfare, public health and culture.

The Government of Flanders has autonomy in all the policy areas for which Flanders is competent. The Government of Flanders and the Federal Government are on an equal footing with no overlapping powers. Therefore only one of the two will legislate on any one policy area and in theory, the other authority cannot interfere. As this system significantly reduces the chance of conflict between the different levels of authority, it is also an important factor in maintaining political stability.

Responsibility for education lies within the Flemish Community and each of the different communities has its own educational system. In the Government of Flanders, the Flemish Minister of Education is responsible for almost all aspects of education policy, from nursery to university education.

Compulsory Education

Compulsory education in Flanders begins aged six and in principle lasts for twelve full school years after which only part-time compulsory education is required: a combination of part-time learning and working. However, the majority of students continue to attend full-time secondary education.

Compulsory education ends either on a student’s eighteenth birthday or on 30 June 30 of the student’s eighteenth year. If compulsory education ends before this date, the right to a certificate or diploma is lost.

Students who obtain a diploma of secondary education before reaching the age of 18 will no longer be required to participate in compulsory education.1

Educational networks

In many cases the educational networks, as the representative associations of the governing bodies, assume the responsibilities of the governing bodies. The governing bodies therefore relinquish some of their autonomy and the networks draw up their own curriculum and timetables. Traditionally a distinction is made between three educational networks.

1 EDUCATION IN FLANDERS, A broad view of the Flemish educational landscape, 2005

Funding education

According to available figures in policy documents, the education budget for Flanders for 2000 amounted to 6.51 billion EUR. This accounted for 42% of the total Flemish budget.

Moving towards autonomy

Flemish policy makers have tried to stimulate education by giving education providers greater responsibility and making users more accountable. This process of local accountability has been introduced at every level of education. Colleges of higher education and universities are further along the way to autonomy than primary and secondary schools.

1.1.2. Organisational Structure in Vocational Education and Training System

System of Administration: Key Organisations

Within the Flemish central government it is the Minister of Education who is responsible for nearly all aspects of educational administration going from nursery to university education. The Constitution stipulates that Communities (and by extension their government and relevant minister) have all responsibilities in relation to the education system with the exception of fixing the beginning and end of the compulsory school attendance period of establishing the minimum conditions for granting diplomas and of maintaining the pension system.

The policy of the Minister of Education is prepared, executed and evaluated by the administration (the Education Department of the Flemish Ministry). The Education Department (Departement Onderwijs) of the Ministry of the Flemish Community (Vlaamse Gemeenschap) itself works under the authority of a Secretary General. The Education Department itself is organised into five

directorates: / the / Logistics / and / Support / Administration / (Administratie
Ondersteuning), / Elementary / Education / Administration / (Administratie
basisonderwijs), / Secondary / Education / Administration / (Administratie

Secundair Onderwijs), Higher Education and Scientific Research Administration (Administratie Hoger onderwijs & Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek), and the Continuing Education Administration (Administratie Permanente Vorming). At present, nearly all of these services are located in Brussels. Some continuing training is also under the responsibility of the Education Minister: Social Advancement Education (Onderwijs voor Sociale Promotie OSP), Part-time Art Education (Deeltijds Kunstonderwijs DKO), distance learning (Afstandsonderwijs), part-time vocational education (Deeltijds Beroepsonderwijs DBSO) and industrial apprenticeship contract (Industrieel leercontract).

Key Areas of Policy Development

The structure of Flemish educational policy provides for a consultation procedure for those matters that are laid down by the Education and Training Minister in Parliament of Flanders Acts or Government of Flanders Decrees. This applies both to compulsory education and adult education. This procedure involves both the Flemish Education Council and the Socio-Economic Council of Flanders (SERV) in the consultation and ensures that social debates are held at this stage on top of the social debate in the Parliament of Flanders. Amongst others in these consultation platforms, involving the education, socio-cultural and socio-economic sectors, items such as attainment targets, developmental objectives, job profiles and training profiles are discussed and selected key competencies are given tangible shape.

Flanders also has a tradition of co-operating with its neighbour, the Netherlands. Within the framework of this co-operation the GENT IV agreement was signed in 1999 by the Dutch and Flemish Ministers of Education. Education officials from both countries reached an agreement on a non-exhaustive alphabetical list of 36 “key skills” deemed to be important for vocational training. The list has no “official” status but it is used by the Socio-Economic Council of Flanders (SERV) to establish job profiles. The relevant committees consult about which of these key skills are essential for the job profile in question and/or which ones need to be added.

Process and Procedures for Developing Standards

Vocational / Professional Standards

Flanders has only recently begun developing vocational/professional standards. These are developed by SERV (Social and Economic Council for Flanders). SERV drafts the standards and gives recommendations for assessment of the competences needed to access a certain profession and to be granted the title of professional competence. The standard is always drafted in collaboration with the sectoral partners. After approval by the competent minister the final version of the standards will appear in the Official Journal of the Flemish Community. The standards are based on the professional profiles that are also drafted by SERV. The standards for the title of professional competence giving access to the profession are always drafted according to the same template: Title of the profession; description of the profession; key competences required; general information such as the number of the standard, the level, the legal requirements, the documents used for drafting the standard and the date; success criteria for each of the key competences and in respect of certain key competences the circumstances in which the competence has to be assessed (e.g. coping with stress) will be mentioned.

Directives for assessment include: time given for certain actions to be carried out; preparation time; maximum number of people that can be assessed simultaneously; what can be done during preparation time; circumstances under which the assessment takes place (e.g. weather conditions, number of people present); professional activities to be carried out; infrastructure of the assessment centre; tools that can be used; breaks allowed in between different tests etc. The candidate must be successfully assessed as far as all key competences are concerned.

Members of the steering committee and of the development committee are provided with an explanatory list to enhance the understanding and reading of the standard.

The standards can be used for formal education but also for competences acquired elsewhere. One part of the document indicates how the standards have to be assessed.

Until now curricula in vocational and technical secondary education and in Professional Higher Education were based on professional training profile (for secondary education) and educational profiles (professional higher education). These are in turn based on professional profiles. In a publication of HIVA (Higher Institution for labour studies), the organisation that has drafted the directives to write professional and educational profiles, the link between vocational standards and professional profiles in formal learning is explained as follows:

“For the assessment and the recognition of competences, standards must be available that can be used as benchmarks for the recognised competences. A standard is in fact reference frameworks in which competences are described that are required in order to be able to carry out certain activities successfully. Standards can have different functions. They can make an inventory of a profession and describe the competences needed to carry out that profession either as a starting or an experienced professional. The professional structures and professional profiles that have been developed by the SERV (Social Economic Council for Flanders) in collaboration with the sectors and the social partners and that are legitimised by them are such standards. They describe in tables the tasks a professional must be able to carry out and that can be regarded as profession or domain specific skills. The other competences viz. the general and specific knowledge, the key competences (including attitudes) are also described. Such standards can be used to identify competences, to draft educational and final objectives, learning pathways but also to determine criteria to assess the competences individuals have acquired as well in education and training as in the labour market. Standards can also make an inventory of the education and training programmes and describe educational/final objectives. An educational/training standard has this function. Such educational/training standards can be used to certify the competences acquired. They describe the final objectives in coherent learning pathways – the general and specific competences required to function on the labour market in terms of skills, knowledge and key competences at the level of a starting professional. This is done in collaboration between the educational authorities (Flemish Ministry of Education and Labour, the SERV and the Governing bodies. The education providers draft the educational programmes and curricula, based on the final objectives.”2

The distinction is made between three kinds of profiles:

• Professional profiles describing the knowledge, skills and attitudes of an experienced professional (higher education level)

• Educational profiles describing the contents of study courses and options training students for a specific profession at higher education level (Professional Bachelor’s level);

• Professional training profiles describing the knowledge, skills and attitudes of a beginning professional (secondary education level).

2Ingrid Vanhoren, Van herkennen naar erkennen Praktijken en ontwikkelingen rond ‘de (h)erkenning van verworven competenties’ in Vlaanderen, HIVA, Leuven, 2002.

Professional / Vocational Profiles

The Professional/vocational profiles for Secondary Technical education are developed by the SERV in collaboration with the social partners. This Council gives advice on all draft decrees (Ontwerpdecreten) of the Flemish Government, including all decrees concerning education. It consists of representatives of employers and employees. The SERV plays an important role in designing specific final objectives and professional profiles that are the basis of the professional education profiles and the curricula in secondary education.

Since 1997, SERV has developed professional training profiles, and since 2000 professional structures as well. This happens according to a scientifically developed method and according to a cooperation agreement with the sectoral social partners and the training foundations, sometimes also with the professional associations and the sector commissions of the SERV. A professional structure is a whole cluster of professions within a sector.

They are also used as a basis:

• for making final attainment levels / final objectives / standards for education, syllabuses and curricula, professional training by VDAB (Manpower Services) in order to optimise the links between education and the labour market

• to counsel young people in study and professional choices, as a tool for human resource policy and for career counselling or assessment

• for the recognition of acquired competences and acquired prior experiential learning (EVC- APEL).

Professional profiles are developed either for a cluster of professions or for one specific profession. Professional profiles are also drafted according to a well-defined methodology. They should contain:

Sector, profession and sectoral partners that have collaborated; serial number of the PP

1. Demarcation and definition of the profession

1. 1.1. Domain
2. 1.2. Job demarcation
3. 1.3. Job content
4. 1.4. Career possibilities
5. 2. Tasks and competences linked to them (in tables describing the tasks and the competences required)

1. 2.1. Preparatory tasks
2. 2.2. Performing tasks
3. 2.3. Support tasks (Safety, QA, etc.)
4. 2.4. Distinction between experienced and starting professional;
5. 3. Competences

1. 3.1. General professional knowledge
2. 3.2. Key competences : translated into (knowledge, skills and attitudes)
3. 4. Special labour conditions (if required)
4. 5. Organisation of the sector
5. 6. Possible difficulties or obstacles
6. 7. Future evolutions
7. 8. Glossary