Lifelong learning, permeability and equivalence of educational pathways
Vocational education and training does not end with the final examination that concludes formal vocational training or university studies. Learning is today a process of on-going qualification that continues throughout the individual's life, from the vocational orientation phase to the individual's withdrawal from the working world. A high degree of transparency in the vocational education and training system is a prerequisite for being able to recognise and make use of opportunities for professional development. Standardised descriptions of acquired skills and qualifications establish transparency. Skills and qualifications must be defined and formulated in a way that ensures the utmost compatibility between different educational pathways, education institutions, education systems, heterogeneous career paths and, last but not least, between the individual countries in Europe and abroad. The recognition of skills and competences should not be dependent on the path taken to acquire them.
The idea of assessing certifications and qualifications in terms of credit points originated with the so-called Bologna Process. This idea has received fresh impetus and refinements at different levels of vocational education and training, triggered by various projects and programmes conducted by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) collaborates on these developments in many projects and conducts research on the changes for vocational education and training arising from these developments. The issues that are currently the subject of discussion in the specialist community include:
- Individualisation and inclusion
- The costs and benefits of continuing training
- The connection between continuing training and the employment situation
- Transparency, permeability and recognition
- Credit point system for vocational training
- Formal and informal learning - Points of reference and conceptual options
