Universities and the labour marketUniversities and the labour marketJonathan Winterton

Director of Research and International Development

Professor of Human Resource Development

Toulouse Business School

4th Forum European Higher Education Authority

Universität Wien – 24 November2008

Overview

employment in Europe labour market reform mobility in HE and VET role of the EQF in integration competence as the cement dimensions of competence ECVET KSC and holistic model European diversity in competence

Employment in Europe

Labour Market Reform Luxembourg Summit 1997 focus on

employment and growth: European Employment Strategy promoting

employability, adaptability… Lisbon Summit 2000 objective of making

Europe, by 2010: ‘the most competitive and knowledge-based

economy in the world capable of sustainable growth, better jobs and greater social cohesion’

Stockholm Summit 2001 incorporating Lisbon objectives in Luxembourg Strategy: emphasis on education and training

Mobility in Higher Education

European Credit Transfer System 1989 Ministers from DE, FR, IT, UK Socrates Programme

Bologna Declaration June 1999 29 Ministers for HE committed to

establish a European wide system of credit accumulation and transfer

Berlin Communiqué September 2003 compatibility between HE and VET

Mobility in Vocational Education

Leonardo da Vinci Programme 1995 Copenhagen Declaration November 2002 TWG on Credit Transfer in VET

Reference levels (QCA London) Typology of KSC (ESC Toulouse) Credit transfer (Kassel University)

ECVET and EQF designed to increase labour mobility, harmonise emerging EU Labour Market (and NQFs)

The role of the EQF

need for greater synergies between education and the labour market between HE and VET

EQF provides references levels between qualifications of Member States benchmarking, mobility, lifelong learning

radical changes, especially for HE competence-based, focus on outcomes dislocated from inputs and nominal time

Integrating HE and VET

objective of making division irrelevant some common qualifications exist already but limited articulation between the two

in practice two distinct pathways perennial lack of parity of esteem HE less engaged with the world of work

HE and VET different logics HE educational systems hierarchies VET occupational hierarchies EQF adds third hierarchy of skill acquisition

Competence as the cement

EQF vertical level descriptors interact with horizontal descriptors of competence

competence critical to developing joined-up learning relevant to labour market needs HE restricted to cognitive competence? VET restricted to functional competence?

different understandings of competence between education (HE and VET) and work between different Member States between experts in the same field

Analytical separation of dimensions of competence

conceptual

operational

occupational individual

socialcompetence

meta-competence

functionalcompetence

cognitivecompetence

ECVET Typology of KSC

Knowledge (declarative knowledge, cognitive competence) know that

Skill (functional competence, pscho-motor and cognitive) know how

Competence (social competence, behavioural, attitudinal) know how to be

Holistic model of competence

European competence models

Three dominant models: Britain France Germany

variations of the above and alternative interpretative approaches

approximation strategies through DISCO and EUCLID