Context/background of the project For several years the European Commission has stressed in each of its communiqués the importance of vocational education and training (VET) for the employability of (young) people as well as for the competitiveness and growth of the economy. In many countries strategies to foster VET focus, however, largely on initial VET. Higher VET, that is, VET leading to qualifications on EQF-levels 5 to 8, are often neglected or underestimated in such policies. This is due to the fact that in many countries the HiVET sector is often very heterogeneous with a great variety of providers, assessment procedures, qualification standards, etc. This distinguishes this sector from the higher academic education area that – thanks to the Bologna process – has a largely uniform structure (Bachelor, Master, PhD) and common standards of quality assurance (QA). Though QA mechanisms are in place in HiVET as well, there are no European reference guidelines/principles, nor are they uniformly defined on the national level. The absence of such common QA guidelines has become evident during the implementation of national qualifications frameworks in the countries. As a consequence HiVET qualifications are often underrated, i.e. there is no parity of esteem between qualifications from the higher academic sector and the HiVET sector. Main objectives A main objective of this project is to contribute to the creation of more parity of esteem between these two educational sectors that should supplement each other. This contribution should be reached by defining “European Guidelines and Principles on Quality Assurance in Higher VET”, which should serve as a European reference for all HiVET providers and qualification awarding bodies. In order to strengthen cooperation among these stakeholders, a “European Network on Quality Assurance in Higher VET” should be established that should keep the subject matter on the political agenda also beyond the project and develop the guidelines further. Participants/partner institutions A partnership of six institutions has been formed to reach the objectives of this project. Five national institutions from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Greece as well as one European organisation (UEAPME, headquartered in Brussels) have agreed to work together on this three-year-project to develop the products and contribute to the political work in this area by disseminating information about the project and its deliverables. The core partnership is strongly supported by national experts in each country as well as by the Vocational Training Committee of UEAPME, the European organisation that plays a key role in European VET. Activities and methodology The activities to be carried out in this project are divided into four work packages (wp). The work thus begins with the analysis of the national situation in each country, i.e. what is already being done in terms of QA, that is, what instruments, tools, processes, etc. are being applied. In order to be able to compare the national reports, a template will be developed by the core partners in a first step which will be structured along quality dimensions/fields (for instance, involvement of social partners in curricula design, qualification of trainers, recognition of prior learning, etc.). In a second step the different national reports will be subject to a comparative analysis that should bring out similarities and differences in the participating countries. On the basis of this comparative analysis a first draft of the QA guidelines will be developed. This draft will not only be discussed and critically reviewed with the experts and evaluated in national multiplier events. The feedback collected will be considered for drawing up the final version of the guidelines. As a complement to the guidelines a paper on a review and audit methodology will be produced to support VET providers and qualification awarding bodies to monitor their own QA system and implement improvements. At the end of this project the QA network will be set up in order to guarantee sustainability. Results The main results of this project are: - European Guidelines and Principles on Quality Assurance in Higher VET - Paper on review and audit method for the implementation and improvement of QA mechanisms/systems - European Network on Quality Assurance in Higher VET Impact and sustainability The national QA systems should be improved on the basis of the European guidelines defined. In order to support process of improvement, the review and audit methodology paper shall support the institutions. The QA network should help to sustain the results also beyond the project period. Its members shall also further develop the guidelines after the end of this project. All these efforts should lead to a better visibility and recognition of HiVET and to more parity of esteem between HiVET and higher academic education.
An increasing number of people today acquire qualifications in the field of higher education. Despite this educational expansion, many EU Member States sometimes have very high unemployment rates, also among young people with an academic qualification. At the same time, many companies in the EU are complaining about skilled labour shortage and about job applicants frequently not having suitable qualifications. To tackle these challenges effectively, education and training programmes need to be geared more strongly towards the specific qualification demands of companies. The educational reform steps taken in many Member States mainly focus on initial vocational education and training (IVET), however. In view of the far-reaching changes in the world of work due to globalisation and digitisation as well as increasing requirements made on employees, upskilling programmes should also be considered in the reform plans. To date the discourse in connection with higher qualification has been restricted to academic tertiary education. But hardly any discussions are held about vocational tertiary education – or higher VET. Here it would be necessary to establish higher VET as an equivalent supplement to academic tertiary education or enhance visibility of this sector, thus also providing qualifications of this sector with a higher degree of perception and appreciation. This is because a knowledge- and innovation-driven national economy needs both: graduates of study programmes with a focus on general education and an academic orientation as well as skilled workers who are highly qualified in their profession and guarantee the transfer of research findings to marketable products and services. One fundamental reason why higher VET has to date played a subordinate role in the educational policy discourse can be found in its heterogeneity. Academic tertiary education, which is perceived as being much more homogeneous, has a uniform qualification structure (bachelor, master, PhD) and common quality standards (i.e. Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, ESG). In addition, academic qualifications are acquired at universities and other higher education institutions, which are generally known and which enjoy a high degree of prestige. All these “unifying elements” cannot be found in higher VET. Therefore no common understanding of higher VET has developed in many EU Member States, but also at the European level overall. The main aim of this project was to create more awareness of the significance of higher VET. In order to reach this aim it was necessary to increase the understanding of higher VET, show the charateristics of this sector and demonstrate how it works. This purpose is persued by the project's main product, i.e. the "European Guidelines on Quality Assurance in Higher VET", which are based on a precise definition of higher VET. The Guidelines also show which features are essential to assure the quality of this sector. On the one hand the Guidelines support players of higher VET in checking their own quality assurance measures and in improving them, if necessary; on the other hand they give all people outside higher VET an insight into this sector. Thus, the Guidelines contribute to a better understanding of higher VET and more appreciation of its qualifications. Five national organisations from AT, BE, FR, GE and GR with expertise in higher VET as well as a Eureopan organisation (UEAPME) worked together in this three-year-project to develop the products and raise more awareness of this subject matter by disseminating information about the projects and its deliverables. Methodologically the project was divided into four work phases: At the beginning the quality assurance mechanisms and systems of all partner countries were analysed on the basis of higher VET sample qualifications and later transnationally compared. This comparison formed the basis for the developement of the European Guidelines, which started in the second work phase. After a testing and dissemination phase in the third project stage the Guidelines were improved and presented during the final conference towards the end of the project. This conference also marked the launch of the "European Network on Quality Assurance in Higher VET", which is located at UEAPME and which should guarantee sustainability of the results also beyond the lifetime of this project. It is the aim to keep the subject of Higher VET on the educational policy agenda and to promote the use of the European Guidelines as well as develop them further.