The Copenhagen Process in Vocational Education and Training

The Education Ministers of the EU and the EEA and EFTA countries as well as the European social partners are pursuing the goal of strengthening European cooperation in vocational education and training. For this purpose, they defined specific thematic fields and steps for implementation in the Copenhagen Declaration, which was adopted on 30 November 2002. Follow-up conferences have since been held every other year (2004: Maastricht; 2006: Helsinki; 2008: Bordeaux; 2010: Bruges) with the aim of discussing the progress made and establishing future priorities.

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The 27 EU countries, the European Commission and the social partners as well as Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey are involved in the Copenhagen Process.

The fields defined in the Copenhagen Declaration include the following:

• Strengthening the European dimension in vocational education and training
• Increasing transparency with regard to both national systems and vocational qualifications
• Developing common instruments for quality assurance in vocational education and training
• Developing principles for the validation of skills and qualifications acquired through non-formal and informal learning
• Increasing international cooperation in individual sectors of the economy

The process is governed by the principle of voluntary cooperation in accordance with the distribution of responsibilities within the EU, a decentralized bottom-up approach and the active involvement of the social partners. Germany has been actively involved in steering the Copenhagen Process from the very beginning and is a member of all relevant working groups.

The current strategic objectives of cooperation formulated in the 2010 Bruges Communiqué correspond to those defined in the Education and Training 2020 strategic framework of the EU Education Ministers of May 2009:

• Improving the quality and efficiency of VET and enhancing its attractiveness and relevance
• Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality
• Enhancing creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship
• Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship
• These strategic objectives are supplemented by an Action Plan for the period 2011 to 2014 which contains a set of concrete measures for each area.

So far the Copenhagen Process has delivered the following results:

• A standard framework for the transparent presentation of qualifications and competences (EUROPASS),
• The European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
• Common European principles for the identification and validation of non-formal and informal learning
• A common European quality assurance reference framework (EQAVET)
• Principles of a basic model for a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET)

The EUROPASS enables European citizens to document their personal qualifications and skills both electronically and in print and make systematic use of this document on the labour market.

The EQF is a reference framework for lifelong learning which relates different national qualifications to eight European reference levels. It aims to ensure that learning outcomes in all educational sectors can be better understood and compared. The EQF acts as a translation device between the education and qualifications systems in the Member States, enabling workers and learners to employ their qualifications in other countries.

In order to be able to exploit people's full potential it is becoming increasingly important to certify qualifications and skills which have not been acquired and documented through formal learning. Principles for the identification and validation of non-formal and informal learning have been developed for that purpose. They mainly refer to the quality and transparency of the validation procedures, ensuring reliability and acceptance by the target groups.

Successful transnational cooperation in VET requires mutual trust. Quality assurance is therefore defined as a priority in the Copenhagen Declaration. A standard reference framework (EQAVET) was developed in this area which is to enable policy-makers and education providers to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms of quality assurance practice in the Member States. EQAVET serves as an instrument to provide for transparency regarding quality assurance in vocational education and training and can be applied both at systems level and with individual VET institutions.

The introduction of the European Credit Transfer System ECTS in higher education has considerably encouraged and increased student mobility. At the same time, the Bologna Process is encouraging and supporting national reforms in higher education. A European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) is expected to provide an effective impetus for stronger learner mobility, thereby intensifying European VET cooperation. The model is based on learning outcomes and facilitates the recognition of learning achievements. Basically, the project partners involved in the mobility measure, that is, the sending and the receiving institution and the learner, sign a memorandum of understanding which stipulates the subject matter that is to be taught and the expected learning outcomes which may have to be certified. Practical guides will be developed to support the project partners in their efforts. ECVET will serve as a transmission belt between national VET systems and can also be used in countries where no fully developed system has so far existed. Current discussions at European level focus on integrating a European Credit System into the European Qualifications Framework which relates learning outcomes and skills to different vertical reference levels.