Ensuring quality in vocational education and training
Official presentation of the German Reference Point for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training
Petra Schraml
Quality assurance is becoming ever more important in the vocational education and training field. The growing complexity of and variations in initial and continuing vocational training systems, ongoing changes in the demands placed on the training provided skilled workers and managers, and current demographic trends are making quality assurance a necessity in all areas of vocational education and training. Even though a wealth of initiatives and concepts already exists and numerous enterprises have established quality management systems, there is no consensus over the question of which methods and instruments should be used to develop and protect the targeted training quality or the training process. Germany has no uniform quality standards. In fact, the opinions on which standards and measures are needed to ensure the quality of in-company vocational training vary greatly, even among vocational training experts.
Quality in the vocational education and training field since Copenhagen
The political sector and players in the vocational education and training field are stepping up their efforts to reach a common understanding regarding the use of quality indicators and to bring transparency to the labyrinth of methods in use. The issue of quality in vocational education and training became the subject of attention at European level with the Lisbon Process (2000). Its systematic implementation began with the Copenhagen Process (2002). It was agreed in the Copenhagen Declaration to strengthen European cooperation in vocational education and training, increase transparency, information and guidance (through, for example, the EUROPASS), recognise competences and qualifications, exchange models and methods and develop common criteria and principles for quality in vocational education and training. The development of a European qualifications framework (EQF) and a European credit transfer system for vocational education and training (ECVET) was agreed on at the follow-up conference held in Maastricht. The European Commission established the European Network on Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (ENQA-VET) in 2005 in order to intensify cooperation in the area of quality assurance in vocational education and training.
The ENQA-VET network
The ENQA-VET's primary tasks are to foster cooperation between relevant stakeholders at national and European level, develop a culture of quality assurance, establish a common platform, develop and promote common guidelines and criteria as well as common instruments and indicators, and disseminate best practices and governance in the area of quality assurance in vocational education and training. Twenty-three countries currently belong to the ENQA-VET network. A Quality Assurance National Reference Point (QANRP) for vocational education and training has been or is being set up in each member state to foster the exchange of information regarding quality in European vocational education and training. In April 2008, the European Commission submitted a recommendation on the establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) for vocational education and training. The European Parliament and the Council subsequently adopted the Commission's recommendation in the spring of 2009. The EQARF will have the task of supporting member states in their efforts to implement their own quality assurance and quality development systems.
The DEQA-VET National Reference Point
The German Reference Point for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (DEQA-VET) was set up at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training in Bonn on 2 August 2008 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The DEQA-VET's mission is to foster an understanding of the benefits of quality assurance and to promote a quality assurance culture in Germany and Europe. To achieve this, it brings together and networks national stakeholders. These include the social partners, enterprises, part-time and full-time vocational schools, providers of and certification bodies for advanced and continuing vocational training, as well as the vocational training research field, and state-level and national-level education policy-makers and administrative bodies in the area of vocational education and training. The DEQA-VET supports these players through the provision of offerings, examples of good practice, and know-how in the area of quality assurance and quality development. It additionally mediates with the European level.
The DEQA-VET kick-off conference
The kick-off conference was held at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn on 22 September 2009 to acquaint VET experts and practitioners with the DEQA-NET. The opening speeches gave centre stage to the importance of quality assurance in vocational education and training. They also pointed out the difficulties involved in determining concrete quality criteria. In his welcoming speech Professor Dr Reinhold Weiß from BIBB pointed out that quality is a variable that cannot be defined in legal terms. Kornelia Haugg from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research emphasised that Germany's dual vocational training system (which combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience) is very efficient but that globalisation, technical progress, the current difficult economic situation and demographic developments have increased the demands placed on vocational education and training. According to Ms Haugg, a culture of high-quality training must be created in which quality is not only present but is also made visible and can be observed. Despite a wealth of measures, a systematic catalogue of quality criteria has not been developed to date, she noted. Establishing such a catalogue is the most important priority of the ENQA-VET network's 23 member states. Sophie Weißwange from the European Commission stated that the implementation of the recommendation for a European Reference Framework for Quality Assurance in Initial and Continuing Vocational Training was confirmed by all member states in June 2009 as one of their priorities and that agreement had already been reached on a set of quality indicators. As Ms Weißwange pointed out, the challenge that the implementation of the European Reference Framework now poses consists of finding a "balance between creativity and control".
The work of the ENQA-VET and the DEQA-VET
Karin Küßner from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research outlined the fundamental connections between the EQARF, ENQA-VET and DEQA-VET in her report on "Cooperation at European Level in Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training". She emphasised that the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) for initial and continuing vocational training supports member states in their efforts to foster a culture of quality assurance and quality improvement and targets quality control through internal and external evaluation that is based on quantitative and qualitative analyses. The member states, in consultation with all relevant players in the education field, are to develop by the year 2011 a concept for quality improvement that uses the approach of "planning, implementing, controlling and optimising" instruments and processes. In this connection, the National Reference Points, such as Germany's DEQA-VET in Bonn, are to help foster activities to inform national stakeholders, promote communication between them and advance their involvement in the implementation of ENQA-VET activities.
The Austrian ARQA-VET
Dr Franz Gramlinger from Vienna outlined how successful the work of a National Reference Point can be. The Austrian Reference Point for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (ARQA-VET) started its work a year earlier than its German counterpart and served in many ways as a model for the DEQA-VET. Following its start-up phase in October 2007, the ARQA-VET quickly initiated its first concrete, operational activities. These included being commissioned to conduct a feasibility study on the implementation of the European Peer Review process in Austria's vocational school system, and planning and conducting a pilot study on the same subject in cooperation with the QIBB vocational education and training quality initiative and the Austrian Institute for Vocational Training Research (öibf). Further activities have included the ARQA-VET's active work in the QIBB steering group, the provision of up-to-date information on the subject of quality in vocational education and training, the linking of quality experts on its homepage and establishing the ARQA-VET as the point of contact for the 'quality dimension' of various education matters.
Four quality assurance markets
The conference also featured four 'markets' that revolved around the issues: quality assurance through learning venue cooperation (Market 1), quality assurance in in-company vocational training (Market 2), the chambers' role in quality assurance in vocational education and training (Market 3) and quality assurance in continuing vocational training (Market 4). These markets gave attending VET players - who included trainers, quality managers / quality assurance officers, continuing training providers and representatives of state governments - an opportunity to discuss current challenges arising in connection with quality assurance and to identify the 'added value' that the DEQA-VET offers the respective target group. Three speakers briefly presented their respective model and encouraged a discussion among the audience of experts. For example, in Market 2 (quality assurance in in-company vocational training), Thomas Ressel from the IG Metall trade union drew attention to the fact that every training company should fulfil standards (that have yet to be determined) in at least the areas training personnel, training planning, learning processes and training outcome. At the same time, training companies must be supported in their efforts to meet the targeted quality standards. This would require players involved in vocational training - such as enterprises, part-time vocational schools, relevant bodies and unions - to have a functioning structure for this work. "A robust understanding of quality can be brought about only when training companies also recognise the benefits that quality assurance has to offer - this cannot be achieved with purely formalist requirements," Ressel noted. "This also means however that not every enterprise can provide in-company vocational training: Enterprises that view trainees as 'cheap labour' should not provide training and must not be allowed to provide training!" These comments triggered a lively discussion. In the course of this discussion, Rudolf Fink from Siemens AG and Hans-Hermann Lück from KME Germany AG described how quality assurance is practised in their companies.
Presentation of the website
During the conference, BIBB and other federal and state-level institutions, institutions sponsored by the social partners, and associations presented their quality initiatives in the foyer of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. BIBB for example presented the Jobstarter and AusbildungPlus projects, the National Agency and iMove. Several states including Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Hesse and Saarland featured their quality management systems. The Federal Employment Agency, the German Development Institute (DIE), the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) and other institutions presented their quality models.
The conference was rounded out with a presentation of the DEQA-VET homepage by Thomas G Gruber, the point of contact at the German Reference Point for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training at BIBB. This website provides information about the content and aims of the DEQA-VET and ENQA-VET. It also offers information about players, concepts and activities in the area of quality assurance in vocational education and training, and invites organisations and enterprises to use the website to present their own experience with quality assurance in vocational training.
