Guides and toolkits

This in-depth study on challenges and prospects for the labour market and vocational education and training in Armenia is a contribution to European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) programming and, in particular, to the formulation of HRD-related elements in the future ENP Action Plan for Armenia. A major objective of the study is a comprehensive and forward-looking examination of the VET system and its links with the labour market, economic trends and existing employment policy. The analysis tackles strategic questions (from a medium-term perspective), as well as urgent questions that might require more prompt action. Eventually the study will contribute to policy development with proposals based on coherent and objective analysis.

This cross-country report – covering ten Mediterranean Partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip) – was built upon previous experience with career guidance reviews of the OECD, the European Commission, Cedefop, ETF and the World Bank. The analysis developed further the research methodology by paying particular attention to the socio-economic and cultural context of the Mediterranean region and its impact and limitations on career guidance services. Based on the assumption that career guidance is not only important for individuals, but can contribute also to a number of public-policy goals in education and training, in the labour market and in social cohesion and equity, it further took into account the paradigm shift in career guidance that is emerging in the EU and OECD countries, from ‘choosing a career’ to ‘constructing a career’, from ‘psychological testing’ to ‘tasting the world of work’, and from ‘external expert support’ to ‘career self-management skills’.

Education and the media are key factors for change and development in today's society. In April 2005, an ETF seminar kick-started a renewed dialogue between education and training providers and the media with the aim of establishing “a partnership for progress” between the EU and its neighbouring countries. The participants at the seminar agreed on a list of recommendations for further action. A clear priority was to look at how journalism schools and training have an impact on the media's ability to contribute to mutual understanding between countries and regions. Action was taken on 5 December 2006 at the seminar “Learning and living together – the role of Schools of Journalism” in Budapest, Hungary. This publication is a summary of that seminar. It touches on a number of issues discussed throughout the day and gives a number of recommendations. It will also provide input for further action to be taken by the Euromed and the Media initiative and its task force from 2007 onwards.

This report presents an overview of discussions on policy issues in education finance that policymakers and VET experts from Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro had in the context of the ETF 2006 peer learning project. During their visits to Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, the peers concluded that all countries are facing similar problems, but they are each trying to solve them in different ways. The financing systems are centrally managed, sometimes in a deconcentrated way, and schools have no or little autonomy. Education is underfunded and there is little private financing. Donor funding is not always aligned to nationally-owned policies. Is finance a tool to finetune VET reforms to better outcomes or is it in fact the major player which directs both policy and strategy?

This edition of the ETF Highlights describes a selection of ETF activities carried out in 2006. It is an issue that is perhaps even more aptly named than any earlier edition because 2006 was truly a year of highlights for the European Training Foundation.

In this issue: - Cover story: EU Commissioner Spidla: Fight discrimination with positive action Live and Learn interviews EU Commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities’. - Skills to counter impoverishment; Mediterranrean countries move ahead with ETF-backed observatories; Timing is of the essence for the Copenhagen project; Policy learning for sustainable VET reform.

This report provides an overview of the nature, functioning and dynamics of the labour markets in the Western Balkan countries and territories, and identifies challenges in respect of their future accession to the European Union and policy areas for further work. It covers both demand and supply side of the labour market, as well as employment policies and labour market regulation.