| Description: |
Presentation by Colo, the Association of the 17 National Centres of Expertise on Vocational Education, Training and the Labour Market in the Netherlands.
The Centres of Expertise have the legal task to develop and maintain the national qualification structure for VET. Social partners and educational institutes are involved in the development and description of the qualifications, based on competencies. Competencies are the sum of knowledge, skills and attitude that are needed for the job, in society or for further study. It is a flexible qualification structure with the needs of the labour market used as a basis.
The attractiveness of the Dutch system is that all qualifications are described in the same way, using the same set of 25 competences. This framework is also used by the Dutch employment services. Together they make use of a common language to match personal profiles with available jobs. The qualification files are used for developing curricula, describing learning outcomes for work placement, providing vocational guidance and developing examinations. They also serve as a base for accreditation of prior learning and for filling the Europass Certificate Supplements (CS). This is the supplement to a VET diploma/certificate, like the Diploma Supplement is for higher education.
The aim of the CS is to provide information on the content of the vocational training, on national level but also across borders to improve communication.
In the workshop the Dutch qualification structure will be presented. At the same time we will illustrate how the content of the qualification files is used to create the Certificate Supplements.
The advantages of the multiple use of the CS will be discussed as well as best practices, for example within professional recognition. All European member states must have the CS EQF proof in 2012. The CS can be used to show the NLQF-VET-level in relation to EQF. In addition the results of an enquiry about the use of the CS within Europe will be shared.
The CS is a perfect tool to make skills transparent. It is a product of the EU as a follow up of the Copenhagen Declaration. |