Why is quality and quality development in VET important?

Quality assurance and improvement in VET systems received greater importance in the EU when the Barcelona European Council decided in 2002 to target making Europe’s education and training systems a world quality reference by 2010, and when in the context of the Copenhagen process on enhanced European cooperation on vocational education and training, common principles, guidelines and tools for quality development led to the establishment of a Common Quality Assurance Framework for VET (CQAF) in 2003. In 2006, the Helsinki Communiqué underlined the need to progress from the CQAF towards a culture of quality improvement, and this was the basis for the draft recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) for VET issued in 2008. In the countries of South Eastern Europe quality issues have been addressed in several reform projects, but there is a lack of focused strategies on quality assurance and improvement.


What is the aim of this project?

The main aim of the mutual learning project is to engage policy makers and experts of candidate countries and potential candidate countries in discussing quality assurance and improvement in VET in SEE in reference with developments in Europe particularly through the draft recommendation on EQARF, in analysing the situation about quality assurance and improvement, in their countries, and in drawing lessons for possible developments including in particular the use of appropriate indicators

The ETF’s work on quality assurance and improvement in VET

The European Training Foundation’s work on quality assurance and improvement in VET includes a workshop on quality assurance in VET in SEE to improve capacities of key policymakers and other key stakeholders and to provide countries with tools to develop. It also includes a project implemented in 2007/2008 in the MEDA Region about developments, issues and challenges in quality and quality assurance in VET in Europe and in the MEDA countries. Main publications were the ETF 2007 Yearbook on “Quality in Vocational Education and Training: National Qualification Frameworks and Learning Processes, as well as the ETF Report on Quality and quality assurance in technical and vocational education and training in the EU and the MEDA Region in 2008.