Data for better education

In order to boost employability through training, the Directors General for Vocational Education and Training from EU Member States gathered in Sofia for a discussion chaired by the Bulgarian Presidency on how to improve knowledge of employment prospects of graduates from vocational education. Representatives from the EU neighbouring countries FYROM and Turkey also attended the meeting.

The European Training Foundation (ETF) took part in the meeting, together with the European Commission and Cedefop, to provide expertise on monitoring and comparing systems. Among the highlights, data collection emerged as a key factor in ensuring better quality of vocational education, and making it relevant to social and economic demands.
 
According to ETF Director, Cesare Onestini, ‘Vocational education is a proven way of raising employment prospects for all and bridging the gap between the supply and demand for skills. To make this work, policy makers need to track vocational education graduates. This information is extremely relevant to monitor success rates on the labour market, strengthening counselling services, adapting courses to the changing demand. This will allow for more strategic choices and increase resilience in the transition from school to work.’
 
At EU level, in November, the Education Council adopted a new recommendation on tracking vocational and higher education graduates. Among the candidate countries, Turkey was the first to start tracking the performance of its vocational graduates in the labour market, with the introduction of an e-graduate system in 2007. Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia made steps towards establishing mechanisms for systematic collection of such data only recently.

The Director of the European Training Foundation also chaired a working group on the Future of vocational education and training, as well as a peer review workshop on graduate tracking.