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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2020/2767(RSP))

On the Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience

B-9-2020-0400

on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution welcomes the proposed Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience and sets out what it wants done. It calls for VET to be modernised, made more inclusive, accessible and attractive, and treated as equal in priority to academic education, with more investment and support for digital learning. It asks the Commission and member states to expand mobility programmes, create an EU online VET platform and a job portal for traineeships, and improve graduate tracking. It backs the proposal's targets for 2025 and calls for a quality guarantee for learners whose training was disrupted by COVID-19.

Key points

  1. VET is vital for a changing labour market, filling skills gaps, and upskilling and reskilling workers, especially in SMEs.
  2. VET should be coordinated with formal education and treated as equal in priority at EU and member state level.
  3. VET policies should be modernised and expanded to be more inclusive, accessible, resilient and attractive, supporting fair employment and the green and digital transitions.
  4. The COVID-19 pandemic has strained VET systems; Parliament calls for financial means, technical assistance and guidance for digital devices and e-learning, and attention to remote areas.
  5. Parliament fears a decline in apprenticeship places and calls on member states and regions to expand alternative supra-company training.
  6. It calls for a quality guarantee allowing people who finished training during the COVID-19 crisis to fill gaps by retaking courses.
  7. Parliament welcomes the proposal's quantitative objectives for 2025: at least 82% employed graduates, 60% of recent VET graduates with work-based learning, and 8% with learning mobility abroad.
  8. It calls on the Commission to expand mobility programmes such as ErasmusPro and on member states to set a more ambitious mobility target.
  9. It calls for an EU online platform on VET and an EU web job portal for traineeships and apprenticeships.
  10. It calls for a common definition of micro-credentials, which should be complementary to full qualifications and quality assured.
  11. It calls on member states to promote the dual VET model, integrate green and digital skills into curricula, and improve skills anticipation systems.
  12. It calls for paid educational leave, stronger language learning in VET, and a review of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships.

Who is affected

  • Member states, which are asked to design inclusive VET systems, promote the dual model and ensure funding.
  • The Commission, which is asked to report every five years, expand mobility programmes and explore an EU job portal.
  • VET learners, who should get a quality guarantee, mobility opportunities and representative structures.
  • VET teachers and trainers, who need continuous training, digital skills and research opportunities.
  • SMEs, which are encouraged to take part in mobility and offered incentives for apprenticeships.

Figures and deadlines

  • By 2025, at least 82% of employed graduates.
  • By 2025, 60% of recent VET graduates should benefit from work-based learning.
  • By 2025, 8% of VET learners should benefit from learning mobility abroad.
  • In August 2020, youth unemployment stood at 17.6% in the EU and 18.1% in the Euro area.
  • 60 million adults in the EU are low-qualified.
  • 128 million adults in the EU have a low level of education, low digital skills or low cognitive skills or are at risk of skill loss.
  • In 2017, 4.3% of pupils in lower secondary education followed vocational programmes, 47.8% in upper secondary and 92% in post-secondary non-tertiary education.
  • In 2015, 30.5% of companies with 10 or more people provided IVET and 72.6% provided CVET.

Legal basis: Articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union