Forum 4
Lifelong vocational education and training
The world of occupations and work is subject to structural changes and upheavals. Technological developments and the advance of the global economy are exerting a variety of influences on vocational education and training, on occupational biographies and on individual learning requirements. Occupations are becoming obsolete in the same way as skills and knowledge once learned. New occupational profiles and new initial and continuing training pathways are developing. Occupational skills are becoming increasingly associated with a set of competences and occupational experience gained in a range of learning and work environments and with specific biographical experiences, such as those of persons from a migration background.
The consequence of the changes in the world of occupations and work is that lifelong vocational education and training has become an issue. This has resulted in the emergence of new requirements in terms of the structuring of educational pathways. The following issues will constitute the main focus of the forum:
- How will transitions within the VET system be organised?
- Which pathways are available or required for catching up on vocational training?
- Which possibilities are required for the development and recognition of competences?
- How can the continuity of lifelong learning be secured?
- Which new competences are arising and, like intercultural competences, will be needed within trade and industry and society? Does this represent an opportunity for persons from a migrant background to improve their position on the labour market?
These issues will be addressed within the working groups of the forum with the aim of contributing to the debate surrounding the necessities and implications of a more flexible structuring of VET pathways. The opening event will tackle these issues by addressing the question of "Flexibilisation in vocational education and training - how much is needed, how much is possible?" and will set out different positions. The closing event will look at this debate from a European perspective.
