European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network Database, ELGPN Database

Subject of the Policy document

EUROPE 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

Reference data

Adopted/Released by European Commission

Year of adoption 2010

Reference number COM(2010) 2020 final

Available at http:// http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/documents/related-document-type/index_en.htm

Available in English at http:// http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:2020:FIN:EN:PDF

1. Additional narrative description of the reference to Lifelong Guidance

While the strategy makes no explicit reference to lifelong guidance, the paper and its flagship initiatives (Youth on the Move, The Agenda for New Skills and Jobs, Innovation Union, and A European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion) emphasise the active role of citizens' acquisition of lifelong career management skills.

Attached files

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Outi Ruusuvirta

No comments by users.

ELGPN, legislation, policy, access, adult education, ageing population, career guidance, co-operation, communication, drop-out, early childhood education, higher education, informal learning, non-formal learning, schools, strategy, tertiary education, VET, vocational education, mobility, modernisation, European union, career management skills, co-operation and co-ordination, quality assurance and evidence-base, employment, social inclusion

Name of the good/interesting practice/initiative/policy

Development and Pilot Operation of National Database of educational opportunities - PLOIGOS

Country

GREECE

I am proposing that this example will be published also in the KSLLL database

1. Background

What makes this an example of good/interesting practice/initiative/policy?

- The motivation of the initiative (What is the history/background of the policy?)

- Linkages with LLG policy priorities (Please add references to other national/EU policies or documents)

- Participants

Ploigos gives valid information about Learning opportunities and training possibilities available in Greece in all educational levels and all types of education.

The decisions of EU councils of Lisbon and Stockholm called for the creation of unified information systems on education and training opportunities in Europe. The first phase (2002-2008) of such an information system was completed with the development of PLOTEUS I (Portal on Learning Opportunities throughout the European Space), a European internet portal which aimed to help students, job seekers, parents, guidance counsellors and teachers to find out information about studying in Europe. The development of Ploteus I was assigned by DG Education and Culture to Euroguidance Network. EKEP as the Greek Euroguidance center provided Ploteus I with links to web sites of universities and higher education institutions, databases of schools and vocational training and adult education courses in Greece. The second phase of a European Internet portal on learning opportunities PLOTEUS II (2009-today) does not provide links to websites of education institutions, instead it gives the actual information – details of each educational opportunity. Necessary prerequisite for this was the creation from every EU country of a national database of learning opportunities and the connection of these datasources on the basis of a common protocol. The development of the Greek National Database on Learning Opportunities "Ploigos" was assigned by the Greek Ministry of Education to EKEP.

Aims and targets

- Objectives of the initiative (What did the policy set out to achieve?)

- Target group

- Methods applied to reach the objective (technological and /or pedagogical)

Objective: The development of the first national database on educational opportunities in Greece

Target group: students of all education levels, their parents, graduates interested for post graduate studies, teachers, counsellors, european citizens interested for studying in Greece

Method: Cooperation with education opportunity providers for the collection of information - Field Study.

2. Implementation

Strategy and actions (Please describe the approach adopted to make the reform work and any actions taken.)

- Level of implementation (national, regional etc.)

- Implementation (description)

Implementation:
1. First we communicated with supervising ministries asking for their support in order to secure the cooperation of the departments, services and organizations within their competence, to define all the sources of educational opportunities within their competence and to assign a representative responsible for the co-ordination of the relevant departments, services and supervised organizations
2. As a result relevant ministerial decrees were issued
3. We created the tool for gathering information, a questionnaire in excel form with the 21 fields - elements (in 4 data sheets) comprising each educational opportunity according to the common protocol of Ploteus II
4. The blank queries were sent by e-mail to the contact person of each educational institution together with detailed instructions for filling
5. The contact persons filled the queries and returned them to EKEP in electronic form (either by e-mail or by regular mail – cds) before a certain deadline
6. EKEP’s team checked the queries for right filling and sent them to contractor for translating in English and insertion to the data base

Level of Implementation: National

Monitoring and evaluation

- What has been put in place for monitoring and evaluation?

- What actors are involved?

Ploigos is already accessible trough the website of EKEP. In order to safeguard the smooth operation, monitoring and evaluation of the database a "team for support and renewal of Ploigos" has been established. In particular this team is responsible for: administration of the database, communication with Ploteus II as well as with national education opportunities providers, enrichment and renewal of the contents of Ploigos (insertion - modification - deletion of educational opportunities), promotion of national educational opportunities database
The following steps have been taken:
1. The contractor (ICT company that developed the Greek national database "Ploigos") has offered EKEP a 5 years warranty for good operation and technical support
2. Since Ploigos will be a permanent national database, EKEP conducted a viability study in order to define the technical, financial and organizational factors that will permit the smooth operation of the database. The system’s architecture permits the enrichment of the content of the database e.g. the entry of new or the change of existing educational opportunities. This can be done either by the institutions themselves with the use of specific passwords or by EKEP’s ploigos team
3. In order to strengthen the dissemination of Ploigos there are plans to promote it by brochures, articles, advertisements in newspapers-TV-radio, presentations in conferences e.t.c. A promotional booklet in Greek and English has allready been handed out to students and guidance counsellors.
The actors involved are:
1. EKEP's "team for support and renewal of Ploigos"
2. ICT company CYBERCE (The company that developed the Greek National Database Ploigos)
3. ICT company EUROPEAN DYNAMICS (The company responsible for the provision of technical assistance to the Commission, in order to ensure the smooth running of Ploteus II portal) and from January 2010 onwards "Intrasoft International"
4. National Educational Opportunities Providers (Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Social Security etc)

3. Outcomes

Achievements (Please describe the main outcomes/results according to the following headings. Each option can be answered - up to 50 words)

- Specific results

- Cost effectiveness

- Budget

- Innovative aspects

"Ploigos" is the first official database of educational opportunities in Greece.
It gives valid information to a broad target group about learning opportunities and training possibilities available in Greece in all educational levels and all types of education. It so promotes the mobility of European citizens within the European space and offers them equal access to educational opportunities

The cost effectiveness is high since Ploigos is the first and only such database in Greece. The information it contains helps students, graduates etc in their educational and career decisions and functions as a multiplier of their opportunities in today's labour market.

The project was financed by the Operational Program “Education and Initial Vocational Training” (EPEAEK II) of the Ministry of Education - Action 2.4.1.a.: “Strengthening of the Counselling & Vocational Guidance structures” - “Support of the EKEP” (European Social Fund program). The development of the database was undertaken by the private ICT company “Cyberce” after the conduct of an international open competition announced by EKEP. The overall budget of the project was 143.266,48 Euros. The development of the system started in 10-9-2007 and finished in 15-5-2009

Success factors (What key success factors have led to or prevented success?)

- Lessons learnt

- Unintended impacts (Have there been any unintended impacts? Positive or negative?)

The support we had from the supervising ministries e.g. the Ministry of National Education , Lifelong learning and Religious affairs, helped us very much in the process of communication and collection of educational opportunities of schools, initial vocational training institutions etc. However in the cases of educational opportunities providers that were somewhat independent e.g. higher education institutions, it proved more difficult to collect all the educational opportunities on time. Another lesson learnt is that the value of a good ICT company is very important for the successful completion of the project. Good project managing was also a very important factor as well as good cooperation – coordination of all participating parties.

Strengths and weaknesses

- What areas of the policy can we learn lessons from?

- Are there still challenges ahead?

We can learn lessons about the use of an electronic tool (database) in order to promote access to educational opportunities and education information. Other areas are: The interconnection of such tools in European level into a bigger portal (Ploteus II) which supports european mobility. The cooperation between so many different actors (educational opportunities providers, ICT companies, Ploteus II central authority etc)

The challenge is the continuous renewal and upgrade of both the contents and systems of Ploigos in order for it to be technically modern and uptodate in terms of its contents

4. Additional narrative description of the policy/practice/initiative

Additional information

Name of contact

Dr. Dimitrios Gaitanis

Role (in policy initiative)

Project Manager of "Ploigos" National Database of Educational Opportunities

Organization name

EKEP (National Resource Center for Vocational Guidance)

Address

1 Parassiou str. & 99 Aharnon str.

Phone

+30 210 8233669

Fax

+30 210 8233772

E-mail

dimitrisgaitanis@ekep.gr

Website address

www.ekep.gr

Documents and publications

Attached files

Links

http://ploigos.ekep.gr/ekep/external/index.html

This information was provided/updated by:

 

No comments by users.

ELGPN, good practice, initiative, interesting practice, policy, adult education, career information, career management, career planning, education planning, education provision, Greece, guidance in schools, schools and training, student counselling, vocational adult education and training (VET), career management skills, access, quality

Subject of the Policy document

Towards Common Principles of Flexicurity - Draft Council Conclusions

Reference data

Adopted/Released by Council of the European Union

Year of adoption 2007

Reference number 15497/07

Available at http:// http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=102&langId=en

Available in English at http://

1. Additional narrative description of the reference to Lifelong Guidance

Draft Council conclusion, which sets out the key principles of flexicurity. While the document makes no direct reference to lifelong guidance, it is an underlying assumption in one of the four policy components of flexicurity, Comprehensive lifelong learning strategies.

Please also see the Commission Communication (Towards Common Principles of Flexicurity) and the Council Secretariat's Report by the "flexicurity" mission on the implementation of the flexicurity, both availabe in this database.

Attached files

This information was provided/updated by:

Outi Ruusuvirta

No comments by users.

ELGPN, legislation, policy, adult education, advisory services, career management skills, companies, employment, labour force, labour market, labour market policy, PES, public employment service, transition, unemployed, flexibility, security, flexicurity, support measures, European union, Conclusion, social inclusion

Subject of the Policy document

Towards Common Principles of Flexicurity: More and better jobs through flexibility and security

Reference data

Adopted/Released by European Commission

Year of adoption 2007

Reference number COM(2007) 359 final

Available at http:// http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=102&langId=en

Available in English at http://

1. Additional narrative description of the reference to Lifelong Guidance

Commission communication, which sets out the key principles of flexicurity. While the document makes no direct reference to lifelong guidance, it is an underlying assumption in one of the four policy components of flexicurity, Comprehensive lifelong learning strategies.

Please also see the Council Conclusions (Towards Common Principles of Flexicurity) and the Council Secretariat's Report by the "flexicurity" mission on the implementation of the flexicurity, both availabe in this database.

Attached files

This information was provided/updated by:

Outi Ruusuvirta

No comments by users.

ELGPN, legislation, policy, adult education, advisory services, career management skills, companies, employment, labour force, labour market, labour market policy, PES, public employment service, transition, unemployed, flexibility, security, flexicurity, support measures, European union, communication, strategy, social inclusion

Subject of the Policy document

Council Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies

Reference data

Adopted/Released by Council of the European Union

Year of adoption 2008

Reference number 2008/C 319/02

Available at http:// http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/educ/104236.pdf

Available in English at http:// http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:319:0004:0007:EN:PDF

1. Additional narrative description of the reference to Lifelong Guidance

This is one of the key policy documents relating to lifelong guidance. The Resolution identifies the four priority areas (encouraging the lifelong acquisition of career management skills; facilitating access by all citizens to guidance services; developing quality assurance in guidance; and encouraging coordination and cooperation among national, regional and local stakeholders in guidance), around which the ELGPN work packages are built. The document also recognises role of the ELGPN as, inter alia, a means to share information and examples of best practice among the Member States.

Attached files

This information was provided/updated by:

Outi Ruusuvirta

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policy, access, career management skills, Cedefop, cooperation, coordination, disadvantaged groups, ELGPN, employment, European Qualifications Framework, guidance practitioner, guidance system, key competencies, lifelong guidance, lifelong learning, quality assurance, social inclusion, European union, resolution, co-operation and co-ordination, quality assurance and evidence-base, schools, VET, higher education, adult education

Name of the good/interesting practice/initiative/policy

National Quality System for Guidance Provision - Portugal

Country

Portugal

I am proposing that this example will be published also in the KSLLL database

1. Background

What makes this an example of good/interesting practice/initiative/policy?

- The motivation of the initiative (What is the history/background of the policy?)

- Linkages with LLG policy priorities (Please add references to other national/EU policies or documents)

- Participants

The present initiative stands as the first articulated attempt to create a fully comprehensive system of quality assurance for guidance activity in Portugal.
Although previous measures existed, providing the quality of instruments and methods used in PES-supplied guidance, as well as basic training for professionals, there was a clear need for a more integrated instrument, with adequate monitoring tools.
Given its institutional mission of assuring the adaptability and adequacy of guidance provision, the national public employment service, IEFP, has taken initiative in establishing a national standard, which will also account for the visions of an advisory network of relevant participants.
Other entities will be enrolled in the project to guarantee diffusion and improvement of standards, namely: the Portuguese Ministry of Education; Universities with research on guidance; professional/scientific associations; inter-national structures.

Aims and targets

- Objectives of the initiative (What did the policy set out to achieve?)

- Target group

- Methods applied to reach the objective (technological and /or pedagogical)

The objectives of the initiative can be resumed in three main points:

- Gaining efficacy and efficiency in guidance provision through implementation and constant check of clear standards, measures and practises
- Increasing autonomy of citizens in establishing critical learning and labour pathways, both by competence building and ease of access
- Sponsoring innovation through systematic research on critical factors in guidance for employability and job stability/success

The end target of the system is the guidance user, although we can also consider both guidance professionals and employment/educational service managers as being targeted by the measures undertaken.
The system is implemented by understanding guidance activity as part of a value chain and acting upon the phases of that chain, considering inputs, process and outputs. Primarily is considered the intervention of the PES and its creation of public value and economic spillovers.
Up-date of instruments, improvement of registry tools, accessibility, competence-assessment and of management information supports and fluxes are part of the methodology, affecting all aspects of guidance provision (materials, contents, technology).

2. Implementation

Strategy and actions (Please describe the approach adopted to make the reform work and any actions taken.)

- Level of implementation (national, regional etc.)

- Implementation (description)

The system has a national scope and is sustained in an incremental and progressive logic. Firstly, its scope is the operation of the PES services with a test run in some of its main job and training centres. Secondly, the initiative should be generalised to the full PES network. A third step should enable the adjusted diffusion of the system to different sectors and networks, namely education and private operators. As early as step two, the standard is to be shared and discussed in a advisory forum of external participants.
Common standards and information tools are already under development.
Some key measures to undertake are:
- Set periodic updates and testing of diagnosis tools, guidance methodologies, information supports, on-line contents/tools
- Improvement of registry and information transitions that allows for interchangibility of user information while guarantying users' rights
- Improvement of accessibility by development of comprehensive e-guidance tools and the improvement of information to disabled people (paper and online) and immigrant users
- Set evaluation and update of guidance professionals' competencies, with strict standards and ethical conduct
- Development of adequate tools for the follow-up of guidance users
- Balanced score-cards for guidance management and multi-level modelling of supervised

Monitoring and evaluation

- What has been put in place for monitoring and evaluation?

- What actors are involved?

Monitoring and evaluation is primarily undertaken by the Guidance Directorate of IEFP in articulation with other network participants.
A monitoring mechanism has been established, measuring the efficacy of the planned measures affecting inputs and process as well as a system of indicators aimed at measuring impact variables.
Input variables are monitored through direct control of measures and by user enquiring.
Process/organisation variables are monitored by tools' assessment, management enquiring and technical staff enquiring.
Outputs are monitored by follow-up of PES users (with and without guidance), defining samples that have as basic statistical unit the job/training centres. Follow-up focus on job stability/success, job mobility, autonomy assessment (labour and education), educational success, labour market queuing, entrepreneurship capacities.
A balanced scorecard has been defined with all the assessment dimensions deemed relevant.
A statistical modelling process is being developed to enable research-based adjustments to guidance policy, using as a methodology multi-level analysis.

3. Outcomes

Achievements (Please describe the main outcomes/results according to the following headings. Each option can be answered - up to 50 words)

- Specific results

- Cost effectiveness

- Budget

- Innovative aspects

Specific results: only planning and tools have been developed
Cost effectiveness: progressive implementation and thigh instrument control should allow for low costs of project and improvement of present cost-result ratio in provision
Innovative aspects: Research-based approach

Success factors (What key success factors have led to or prevented success?)

- Lessons learnt

- Unintended impacts (Have there been any unintended impacts? Positive or negative?)

Strengths and weaknesses

- What areas of the policy can we learn lessons from?

- Are there still challenges ahead?

4. Additional narrative description of the policy/practice/initiative

Additional information

Name of contact

Pedro Moreno da Fonseca

Role (in policy initiative)

Organization name

IEFP

Address

Phone

Fax

E-mail

pedro.fonseca@iefp.pt

Website address

No links specified.

Documents and publications

Attached files

Links

No links specified.

This information was provided/updated by:

Pedro Moreno da Fonseca PhD

No comments by users.

ELGPN, good practice, initiative, interesting practice, policy, career management skills, access, quality, evidence-based policy, co-operation, guidance in schools, people at risk, unemployed, employed, disadvantaged groups, career information, qualifications, effectiveness, Portugal

Name of the good/interesting practice/initiative/policy

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR THE CAREER INFORMATION, GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING SERVICES IN TURKEY

Country

Turkey

I am proposing that this example will be published also in the KSLLL database

1. Background

What makes this an example of good/interesting practice/initiative/policy?

- The motivation of the initiative (What is the history/background of the policy?)

- Linkages with LLG policy priorities (Please add references to other national/EU policies or documents)

- Participants

The “Career Information, Guidance and Counseling Services Cooperation Protocol” was signed and came into force on 26th October, 2004 with participation of all related stakeholders including public authorities, social partners, and NGO’s to provide coordination and cooperation on career information, guidance and counseling services. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in 2009 with participation of the organizations in the protocol in order to update the tasks and roles defined in the protocol and define the responsibilities for the National Career Information System (CIS). The MOU has been a significant effort and outcome to enhance the communication, coordination and collaboration of all the stakeholders.
It has links with all four LLG policy priorities:
Encourage the lifelong acquisition of career management skills,
Faciliate access by all citizens to guidance services,
Develop quality assurance in guidance provision,
Encourage coordination and cooperation among the various stakeholders
Participants are:
The Ministry of National Education, PES in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security , the Undersecretariat of the State Planning Agency, The Turkish Institute of Statistics the Higher Education Council, National Qualifications Authority, the Agency for Development and Support of Small and Middle Scale Industry, the National Productivity Center, the Turkey Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges, the Confederation of Turkish Employers Unions, the Confederation Turkish of Tradesman and Artisans and the Confederation of Turkish Workers Unions

Aims and targets

- Objectives of the initiative (What did the policy set out to achieve?)

- Target group

- Methods applied to reach the objective (technological and /or pedagogical)

The main aim of the MOU is to define and contribute to the development of the roles and responsibilities of all the the related stakeholders, government, social partners, universities and non-governmental organizations in the national web based CIS. Moreover, to also support an integrative approach to all the services in Turkey.
The target group includes individuals from every age and a wide range of groups such as students, youth adults, unemployed, employment seekers, people want to change career, retired, disabled, women, dropouts etc.
Methods applied to reach the objective are face-face interviews ,meetings, workshops and the process of writing the country reports (2003,2006)

2. Implementation

Strategy and actions (Please describe the approach adopted to make the reform work and any actions taken.)

- Level of implementation (national, regional etc.)

- Implementation (description)

All the stakeholders will provide updated data periodically to the national web-based system.
Career guidance services will be carried out in a coordinated way
The stakeholders will share the materials and documents they develop.
The MOU covers the guidelines for the actions to be carried out by the stakeholders on lifelong career information, guidance and counseling services at national, local and international levels (Euroguidance, PLOTEUS etc.) and on the national web-based system to be coordinated by the Ministry of National Education. Moreover, the MOU has guidelines on how to carry on the services at the local level.

Monitoring and evaluation

- What has been put in place for monitoring and evaluation?

- What actors are involved?

At governmental level, monitoring and evaluation will be carried out by the Career Guidance Services Development Unit established under the General Directorate for Special Education Guidance and Counseling Services of the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MONE) and by Occupation Information Commission, MEDAK) under the Turkey Employment Agency; and
At local level, by Guidance and Research Centers and Provincial Directorships of the Turkey Employment Agency
The strategic plan is in the process of development by all the stakeholders has outcome indicators to be used, ie. number of personnel trained for ICT skills, number of students who used web based self-assessment tools, etc.)

3. Outcomes

Achievements (Please describe the main outcomes/results according to the following headings. Each option can be answered - up to 50 words)

- Specific results

- Cost effectiveness

- Budget

- Innovative aspects

Inter-agency cooperation.
Cooperation, coordination and collaboration at the national level.
Effective use of human resources and finances.
Sustainability of the national web-based information system.
Awareness on guidance services
Increase in the quality of the services
Right to use of career guidance services
Leading to the development of the strategic plan as a joint effort of the stakeholders
Each institution will finance its own activities itself.
Although career guidance services have been provided mostly in educational institutions previously, hereafter individuals from every part of the society will have opportunity to have information about these services and benefit from them.

Success factors (What key success factors have led to or prevented success?)

- Lessons learnt

- Unintended impacts (Have there been any unintended impacts? Positive or negative?)

The cooperation, coordination and collaboration of all stakeholders are a major success factor. Twelve public authorities, social partners and NGO’s came together and they undertook some tasks and responsibilities for providing career information, guidance and counseling services.
Lessons learnt are:
Team work
Importance of cooperation
Effective use of the resources
Use of stocked information

Strengths and weaknesses

- What areas of the policy can we learn lessons from?

- Are there still challenges ahead?

There are organizations providing career guidance services at local level. Also, structured and institutionalized career guidance providers are available. The MOU is an opportunity to further cooperation, coordination and collaboration among all the related the stakeholders. A web-based career information system has been established. A strategic plan for the career guidance services in Turkey is in the process of development.

4. Additional narrative description of the policy/practice/initiative

Additional information

Name of contact

Ruhi KILIÇ, PhD

Role (in policy initiative)

Director General for Special Education Guidance and Counseling Services of the Turkish Ministry of National Education and also National Coordinator for Turkey for ELGPN

Organization name

Directorate General for Special Education Guidance and Counseling Services of the Turkish Ministry of National Education

Address

MEB Kampusu A Blok Beşevler/ANKARA/TÜRKİYE

Phone

+90 312 212 76 14-15

Fax

+90 312 213 13 56

E-mail

ruhikilic@meb.gov.tr, orgm@meb.gov.tr

Website address

http://orgm.meb.gov.tr

Documents and publications

Attached files

Links

No links specified.

This information was provided/updated by:

Seza Karaman, ELGPN National Representative for Turkey and the Career Guidance Services Development Unit in MONE

No comments by users.

ELGPN, good practice, initiative, interesting practice, policy, career management skills, access, quality, co-operation, co-ordination, career information, Turkey

Name of the good/interesting practice/initiative/policy

Learning & Working

Country

The Netherlands

I am proposing that this example will be published also in the KSLLL database

1. Background

What makes this an example of good/interesting practice/initiative/policy?

- The motivation of the initiative (What is the history/background of the policy?)

- Linkages with LLG policy priorities (Please add references to other national/EU policies or documents)

- Participants

The project directorate Learning & Working has developed a method to successfully translate EU- and national-level goals with regards to adult learning to concrete local-level actions. Stimulating and facilitating regional cooperation between local and regional governments, public employment services like the Centre for Work and Income (CWI) and the Social Security Agency (UWV), educational institutions, employers and employees is the heart of the project and has proven to be the key to it’s success.

• The motivation of the initiative (What is the history/background of the policy?)

The interdepartemental project directorate Learning & Working is a joint project of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment with the involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Quality. It was started in 2005 to take concrete steps forward to advance adult learning.

• Linkages with LLG policy priorities (Please add references to other policies or documents)

Obviously the activities of the project directorate Learning & Working are closely connected to (the national implementation of) the Lisbon objectives on training and education, specifically the following:
- 20% of the Dutch between the ages of 25 and 64 should be following a course or educational programme in 2010. The Lisbon objectives state that 12,5% of the adult population should participate in education and training. In 2000 the Dutch percentage already exceeded this with a score of 15,6%. Therefore a more ambitious national goal was formulated for 2010.
- 50% of the working population should be highly educated in 2020.
- 80% of the Dutch working population should have a basic qualification (MBO level 2) in 2010.

• Participants

Adults in broadest sense

Aims and targets

- Objectives of the initiative (What did the policy set out to achieve?)

- Target group

- Methods applied to reach the objective (technological and /or pedagogical)

The intention of the project directorate was to take concrete actions. This was implemented and stimulated by formulating concrete objectives that were to be reached at the end of the project period, initially planned at the start of 2008. The goals and objectives from the 2005 action programme related to the intended regional infrastructure for adult learning were the following:
- Ensuring that more young people and adults combine their job or job-seeking efforts with training and education that will lead them to acquiring a vocational and educational training qualification.
- Employers and employees, education providers and local governments in the region conclude collaboration agreements (at least ten in 2005) concerning the creation of work based learning in the region.
- These collaboration agreements will result in a total of 15,000 work-based learning programmes being realized before the start of 2008. This concerns learning-working programmes aimed at integration into the labour process or at earning an occupational qualification, possibly in combination with learning the Dutch language.
- The interdepartmental project directorate for Learning & Working has resolved to realize 20,000 APL procedures (Accreditation of Prior Learning) before the start of 2008.
- Setting up easily accessible and independent contact desks for learning and working in the region is to provide employed people, job-seekers and employers with low-threshold access to career advice, assessment of competencies acquired and education opportunities.

2. Implementation

Strategy and actions (Please describe the approach adopted to make the reform work and any actions taken.)

- Level of implementation (national, regional etc.)

- Implementation (description)

When the project directorate Learning & Working was set up, it was decided that an unorthodox and dynamic approach was needed to achieve progress with adult learning. In the years before, there had been plenty of discussions, expert meetings had taken place and many policy documents were written, but very little action had been undertaken. The establishment of an interdepartemental and temporary project directorate was a change in approach. A pro-active, almost activistic, mentality focused on regional cooperation was chosen.

In the first phase of setting up an infrastructure many parties in the region (employers, employees, education providers and local governments) were consulted concerning concrete objectives. They were asked to establish these objectives in regional collaboration agreements. It started with establishing contacts with regional partners in four regions with regard to setting up such an infrastructure for APL, including career advice and services on educational opportunities. Based on the experiences gained in these four regions, similar initiatives were launched in other regions.

• Level of implementation (national, regional etc.)
Regional implementation , national driven

• Implementation (description)
Several actions were taken to encourage and involve more regional parties. Among others these steps were:
- Conduct discussions with interested parties to explore their interest in collaboration.
- Analyse existing initiatives in order to gain greater insight into the opportunities and possible bottlenecks in the process of launching extra work-based learning programmes in the region.
- Organize account management in order to support parties in finding partners and closing deals.
- Provide temporary financial contributions (subsidies) in order to stimulate and support the organizational capacity of parties.
- With regards to the project plans the account manager from the project directorate Learning & Working played various roles in the implementation ranging from support, steering and feedback up to evaluation.
- Gain more insight into and increase access to financial resources such as subsidies from the European Social Fund.
- Organize a national communication campaign in order to get individuals and employers to invest more in training and to support regional projects, make funds available to them for communication.
- Organise interactive meetings, workshops and work conferences for regional partners.
- Trace any (institutional) bottlenecks and, if possible, solve them or have them solved.
- Monitor, both quantitative and qualitative, results to distinguish successful (and unsuccessful) projects, so other projects may learn from their experiences.

Monitoring and evaluation

- What has been put in place for monitoring and evaluation?

- What actors are involved?

An adult learning infrastructure was created virtually covering the whole country. Today there are over 40 partnerships. With the number of parties involved in each of these ranging from five to sometimes fifteen, there are literally hundreds of local organizations taking part in our effort to take adult learning in the Netherlands to the next level.

3. Outcomes

Achievements (Please describe the main outcomes/results according to the following headings. Each option can be answered - up to 50 words)

- Specific results

- Cost effectiveness

- Budget

- Innovative aspects

• Specific results
See above
• Cost effectiveness
Every two years the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science carries out a big research about the external valuation of directorates. This research evaluates directorates in six areas: Transparency, understandability of communication, quality of policy, quality of employees, customer driven and consistency. On all levels the project directorate Learning & Working scores better than other directorates

• Budget
Participating monitoring is used in combination with more formal monitoring by independent agencies. In other projects or subsidies, where government officials are far more monitoring from a distance, less FTE is necessary. The way account management is designed in this project, is more expensive.

• Innovative aspects
The approach of the project directorate Learning & Working is innovative in four different ways. First, the role of national government as both partner in the region and subsidiser. Second, both on the local as the national level a break with traditional structures. Third, as a result of more cooperation between regional and national level, difficulties are made explicit far more quickly. Fourth, partner selection is based on innovative criteria, which strengthens the progress of the regional projects.

Success factors (What key success factors have led to or prevented success?)

- Lessons learnt

- Unintended impacts (Have there been any unintended impacts? Positive or negative?)

Success factors (What key success factors have led to or prevented success? Up to 200 words)
Using a whole new approach compared to the years before, the target number of work-based trajectories was easily surpassed. In terms of network, infrastructure and innovation, much more was achieved than anticipated. Only APL lagged behind, though the number of trajectories completed tripled in comparison to the years before 2005.
• Lessons learnt
Even though an important push has been given, the project directorate’s activities in relation to the whole Dutch society remain modest. External spin-off effects and as mentioned in the previous paragraph further concept-development and implementation of our experiences into new policies are all needed to give this ‘big push’ in adult learning in the Netherlands.

Unintended impacts (Have there been any unintended impacts? Positive or negative? Up to 100
words)
On top of the structural challenges we will have to deal with the impact of an economic crisis whose full scope remains to be grasped. The full package of actions by the Dutch government is still being discussed at the time of writing. It is very likely that the project directorate Learning & Working and it’s regional projects will be involved in the realisation of these actions.

Strengths and weaknesses

- What areas of the policy can we learn lessons from?

- Are there still challenges ahead?

In the Learning & Working project, no blue print was used to force the partner selection; an open intake was made possible. This bottom-up process formed the basis for composition of new partnerships in the region. Beside this innovative approach to forming new partnerships, it is obliged to involve employers or employer representatives. This enhances the sustainability for following years, when there will be no financial stimulus on cooperation. This way, companies themselves are involved in the project, which means more focus on human resource management and development.

4. Additional narrative description of the policy/practice/initiative

Additional information

Name of contact

Amnon Owed

Role (in policy initiative)

Project Advisor

Organization name

Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

Address

Anna van Hannoverstraat 4, 2595BJ The Hague

Phone

+31 70 333 5413

Fax

+31 70 3334318

E-mail

aowed@minszw.nl

Website address

http://www.leren-werken.nl

Documents and publications

- Carrying on with Learning & Working: Plan of approach 2008-2011
- Reinforcing Learning & Working: Action programme 2005-2007

Attached files

Links

No links specified.

This information was provided/updated by:

Peter van Deursen

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ELGPN, good practice, initiative, interesting practice, policy, career management skills, access, co-operation, employed, The Netherlands