11,283 research outputs found
Competence and competency in the EQF and in European VET systems
No full textPurpose – Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of this paper is to clarify those appliedin the EQF and the vocational education and qualifications systems of particular European countries and to contribute to the development of a transnational understanding of the term, one which is compatible with a rapidly changing labour market.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on evidence from work funded by the Nuffield Foundation entitled “Cross-national Equivalence of Vocational Skills and Qualifications”, the paper explores the various conceptions of competence in the EQF and the national systems – in particular in the sectors of construction, ICT and health – of England, Germany, France and The Netherlands.Findings – Interpretations are located on a continuum from the comprehensive occupational model traditionally found in many European countries to the task-focused model of the English NVQ system.Research limitations/implications – Much developmental work involving all stakeholders is necessary to arrive at a commonly agreed conception. A broad understanding of competence would relate to the potential of labour, itself determined through the occupational capacity embodied in thequalification.Practical implications – Zones of Mutual Trust need to be based on transnational categories of VET.Originality/value – The value of the paper is in seeking to go beyond identifying differences by developing transnational categories and suggesting the nature of Zones of Mutual Trust for implementing the EQF
Aptidoes e qualificacoes transnacionais: um estudo de quatro profisses em quatro paises no contexto do Quadro Europeu de Qualficacoes (QEQ)
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Knowledge, skills and competence in the European labour market: what's in a vocational qualification?
No full textFor the free movement of labour across the European Union, establishing transparency and comparability of qualifications across member states is vital. This book examines how qualifications, knowledge, skills and competences are understood in different national contexts and trans-nationally and reveals a complex picture of differences and similarities both within and between countries. Against the background of [European Union] EU policy initiatives, and in particular the European Qualifications Framework, an important focus is on the prospects and difficulties of establishing cross-national recognition of qualifications. The book draws on case studies of particular sectors and occupations in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands
Der Widerspruch zwischen nationalen Berufsbildungssystemen und dem europaeischen Arbeitsmarkt: der Fall der Maurerqualifikation
No full textThis paper draws on research into bricklaying qualifications in eight countries to show how equivalence might be established between qualitative differences in occupational qualifications so facilitating the implementation of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF). These differences are associated with different forms of vocational education and training (VET) and related to social partner (trade union and employer) involvement and the significance attached to underpinning knowledge and broader educational components. A main distinction is drawn between countries where bricklaying continues to be predominantly a ‘trade’, based on narrow skills gained at the workplace, and those where it is conceived as a broader occupation with a substantial knowledge base. A contradiction exists between national VET systems and the European labour market, from which stems the necessity for a European Sectoral Qualifications Framework (SQF) if differences in qualification are to be recognised and if the EQF is to function as a meaningful translational device
Trade-based skills versus occupational capacity: the example of bricklaying in Europe
No full textThis article shows why qualifications built on occupational capacity rather than on trade-based skills have more potential to accommodate the aims of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and changes in the labour process, going together with the development of occupational labour markets. The article challenges the distinct Anglo-Saxon notion of ‘skill’ attached to a trade-based system of vocational education and training (VET), where qualifications have weak labour market currency. This distinctiveness has implications for EQF implementation, built on common understanding of knowledge, skills and competences and intended to establish equivalence between different occupational qualifications. The article focuses on the example of bricklaying in England and Germany, an occupation archetypal of construction and skilled manual work. Clear differences are identified between bricklaying founded on developing occupational capacity through negotiation and regulation by stakeholders, recognized through qualifications, and bricklaying as a demarcated trade, defined by output and with ‘skills’ distinct from other trades
Knowledge, skills, competence: European divergences in vocational education and training (VET)—the English, German and Dutch cases
No full textPolicy debates on employability, lifelong learning and competence?based approaches suggest a convergence of VET approaches across European countries. Against the background of the creation of a European Qualifications Framework, this paper compares the VET systems of England, Germany and The Netherlands. The analysis reveals the distinct understandings and meanings of outwardly similar terms. These meanings are deeply rooted in the countries’ institutional structures and labour processes and still inform national debates and policies today. The paper identifies a major distinction between a ‘knowledge?based’ VET model in Germany and The Netherlands and a ‘skills?based’ model in England. There is a need to develop trans?national categories that take into account the social construction of terms such as ‘skills’ and ‘qualifications’
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