EQAVET in the Netherlands A step by step approach

Transcription

1 EQAVET in the Netherlands A step by step approach March,

2 Inhoud 1 Quality Assurance National Reference Point in the Netherlands NCP EQAVET Aim For whom? Responsibilities How do we work? Members EQAVET advisory group Ministry of Education Culture & Science MBO Raad Job student organization MBO SBB Social partners AOB Social partners FNV The Dutch Inspectorale of Education NRTO VNO NCW MKB Nederland Communication strategy the involvement of stakeholders in EQAVET a step by step approach Advisory group EQAVET bringing together stakeholders Bringing together stakeholders network meetings informing & inspiring & exchange consultation & involvement harvesting results Website Publications

3 1 Quality Assurance National Reference Point in the Netherlands NCP EQAVET In the Netherlands the National Reference Point for EQAVET is assigned to the CINOP International Agency. 1.1 Aim The EQAVET (European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for VET) National Coordination Point is the link between European policy developments, national policy and national practice. An important task is to bring together, inform and activate the various stakeholders and parties. The European reference framework is intended to contribute to European vocational education and training. The framework stimulates transparency with respect to policy developments in vocational education between the Member States, with the aim of promoting mutual trust, the mobility of employees and students, and lifelong learning. CINOP International Agency was designated EQAVET National Coordination Point (NCP) by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The NCP represents the Netherlands in the European EQAVET network and in the Netherlands it is pivotal for the European reference framework for quality assurance in vocational education and training. The NCP EQAVET has been established for the period from 1 April 2010 to at least 31 December For whom? Vocational and adult education is the target group of the EQAVET NCP. As such, we focus on both systems and institutions: governmentfunded education providers (ROCs, AOCs and vocational schools) and non-funded educational institutions. CINOP International Agency, is an independent organisation that on the initiative of national and European government implements international projects focusing on senior secondary vocational education and represents the Netherlands in the European context in areas such as lifelong guidance, quality assurance and ECVET. Our ambition is connected learning and Europe ; to make an active contribution to the development of strategies and the transfer of knowledge for lifelong learning; to connect the European and national context; to connect themes such as key competences for lifelong learning, qualification structures, study credits, Europass, mobility, quality assurance, career development, social inclusion and new skills for new jobs; and to connect the Europe 2020 strategy, the Education and Training 2020 work programme and the Bruges Communiqué 2010 (focusing on vocational education 2020) and the national MBO (senior secondary vocational education) Action Plan policy documents, Bedrijven naar de top ( Businesses to the Top ) and the National Reform Programme. 3

4 1.3 Responsibilities The Dutch National Reference Point EQAVET is light construct. The following tasks and responsibilities have been assigned: disseminating information on EQAVET from Europe; coordinating exchanges and participation in research, studies and conferences; preparing action plans and reports relating to quality assurance in the Netherlands; preparing Dutch representation in the formal European networks; promoting the implementation and development of quality assurance. As National Coordination Point, EQAVET supported by the EQAVET Advisory Group Advice Group comprising Colo, JOB, MBO2015 process management, the MBO Council (MBO Raad), NRTO, social partners, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Education Inspectorate CINOP International Agency forms the link between the national field and the European EQAVET network. 1.4 How do we work? The NCP EQAVET functions as a linking pin between European policy development, national policy and the national practices. An important task is to bring together, inform and activate the different stakeholders and actors. In order to realise this we work with an advisory group EQAVET representing important stakeholders and actors within VET. Through the advisory group we inform and involve the stakeholders in the development and implementation of EQAVET in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands EQAVET is mainly used as a tool to support the development of Quality Assurance. The Netherlands has a well-developed Quality Assurance system, which of course does not mean there is no room for improvements. Therefore the EQAVET framework is used as a mean to identify areas for improvement and further learning together with stakeholders. The role of the National Coordination point is to organise and facilitate the advisory group meetings, to organise follow up and to link to European good practices. 4

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6 Aims, objectives and place of advisory group EQAVET: Inform and involve stakeholders regarding EQAVET. Members of the advisory group are being informed about European and national developments regarding EQAVET and Quality Assurance. Members get the opportunity to give their opinion and get the opportunity to set priorities regarding the implementation of EQAVET in the Netherlands. Through the advisory group members are involved with and have the opportunity to contribute to the activities of the NCP EQAVET. The advisory group is chaired by a representative of the ministry of Education, Culture & Science. The following stakeholders are represented in the advisory group: - Ministry of Education, Culture & Science. - Associations of public & private VET providers MBO Raad & NRTO - Students the student organisation in VET job - Teachers, employees AOB & FNV - Companies - MKB Nederland & VNO NCW - Inspectorate of Education - VET programme management MBO15 - Link between labour market & education SBB - NCP EQAVET 1.5 Members EQAVET advisory group In the following paragraph a short introduction to all stakeholders that are represented in the advisory group can be found. For more information about the Dutch VET system please visit Ministry of Education Culture & Science The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is the and also chairs the advisory group. Within the ministry the department for Vocational Education and Training is responsible for VET policy and Quality Assurance in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science works to create a smart, skilled and creative environment in the Netherlands. Its mission is to ensure that everyone gets a good education and is prepaired for responsibility and independance. The Ministry also wants people to enjoy the arts, and aims to create the right conditions for teachers, artists and researchers to do their work MBO Raad The 'MBO Raad' is the Netherlands Association of VET Colleges. The association represents all government-funded colleges for secondary vocational education and training and adult education in the Netherlands. 6

7 On behalf of its members, the MBO Raad promotes the collective interests of the sector, supports common activities of the colleges and acts as an employers organisation. The association negotiates labour conditions for the sector with the trade unions and signs collective labour agreements. The MBO Raad plays a major role in the remodelling of vocational education to competence-based vocational education and training Job student organization Job is an organisation that represents the interests of students in Vocational Education and Training. The organisation consists of a student board (chosen yearly) and policy and project officers. Job is also responsible for performing a national student satisfactory survey (job monitor) measuring student satisfaction in VET on different aspects of the educational system MBO15 In 2011 the Dutch minister for Education, Culture and Science presented the new action plan for VET (actieplan MBO Focus op Vakmanschap ). In order to help VET schools implement this policy the Ministry has introduced program management MBO 15. Their task is to support the goals as stated within the action plan for VET. Quality is one of their areas of expertise. (The former organization was called MBO 2010 and focused on the implementation of competence based learning in the Netherlands) SBB In 2012 the new organisation SBB was formed. (SBB is formerly known as COLO)SBB stands for foundation cooperation VET and industry. Industry and education together form this foundation. The SBB forms advices regarding issues on the education and labour market. Main areas of expertise: the qualification structure, exams, apprenticeships and effectiveness and labour market relevance of VET training courses Social partners AOB The Algemene Onderwijsbond (General Union of Education) is the largest trade union in the Dutch education sector. It looks after the interests of all personnel in the education sector (membership is open to teachers, administrative and ancillary staff), ranging from pre-primary education to higher vocational education. Workers at universities are not organised through AOb. Currently, the AOb has approximately 82,000 members. A total number of nearly 340,000 people are employed in the Dutch education sector; 130,000 of whom belong to one union or another. The AOb organises approximately 60% of the trade unionists in the education sector. The AOb is politically independent. It is member of the Dutch Trade Union Confederation FNV. The AOB has a double objective: to preserve and to improve the salaries and working conditions of all personnel in the education sector and to improve the quality 7

8 of education and promote professionalism. ( Social partners FNV The FNV is an organization of unions that represents the interests of employees and social benefit claimants. The focal points of the FNV are employment and income, two aspects which cover a very broad area. Income may be derived from work, but also from social benefits. Equality, solidarity, freedom of speech, justice and sustainability are the FNV s core principles. FNV and unions Comprising nineteen unions jointly representing the interests of about 1.4 million members, the FNV, acting on behalf of their interests, is by far the largest and strongest trade union confederation in the Netherlands. ( The Dutch Inspectorale of Education The Dutch Inspectorate of Education is responsible for the inspection and review of schools and educational institutions: assessing the quality of education offered in schools reporting publicly on the quality of individual institutions reporting publicly on the educational system as a whole encouraging schools to maintain and improve the education they offer providing information for policy development supplying reliable information on education NRTO The NRTO, Dutch Council of Training and Education, is the umbrella trade association of all private training and education agencies in The Netherlands. The NRTO promotes the interests of private providers of training and education. Companies as well as other trade associations can join the NRTO. At present the NRTO represents nearly 200 members with a combined turnover of around 800 million and over students and participants per annum. The NRTO has an important role in promoting private training and education in the Netherlands and is the natural interlocutor for political parties, ministries, associations for state-funded education, NGO s and the media. The NRTO stimulates accredited and recognized high-quality, flexible and diverse education and training courses based on equal and open competition with other providers. The NRTO is a member of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (known as VNONCW), the largest employers organization in The Netherlands. 8

9 VNO NCW MKB Nederland These organisations are distant members. The Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (known as VNO-NCW) is the largest employers organisation in the Netherlands. VNO-NCW represents the common interests of Dutch business, both at home and abroad and provides a variety of services for its members. The Royal Association MKB-Nederland is the largest entrepreneurs organisation in the Netherlands. Some 120 branch organisations and 250 regional and local entrepreneurs fellowships are affiliated to this umbrella organisation. All in all, MKB-Nederland promotes the interests of some entrepreneurs. 9

10 2 Communication strategy the involvement of stakeholders in EQAVET In this chapter an overview of the main ways of communication that have been used by the NCP EQAVET in the Netherlands. 2.1 a step by step approach The Dutch coordination point EQAVET was established in Together with the advisory group a step by step approach was chosen to implement EQAVET and informing and involving the Dutch VET sector about EQAVET. In 2010 the keywords were informing, inspiring, exchanging and activating. For 2011 the focus changed to involving, where in 2012 action plays a key role. These key words play a central role in how we work and the kind activities that we organize and the communication strategy we developed. As stated above when we talk about the implementation of EQAVET we don t speak about the 1to1 implementation of the framework, but we look at areas for improvement and further learning in order to improve Quality Assurance in Dutch VET. 2.2 Advisory group EQAVET bringing together stakeholders As stated above one of the important means of communication with stakeholders is the advisory group EQAVET. The committee meets approximately three times each year. When it comes to our communication strategy the advisory group is our main platform to involve stakeholders in EQAVET and Quality Assurance. Specific for the advisory group the following key words can categorize our step by step approach: : focus on exchange : set priorities : follow up on priorities set Step 1: Exploring themes First consultation in the advisory group in sessions, liaise with the represented organisations. Step 2: Main focus Agreement on main focus in the advisory group to set the scene for the consultation process. Step 3 Consultation event (Quality TIME) Involved organisations working in VET delivered comments on the themes and added themes and ideas for implementation.

11 Step 4 Deciding on the themes The result from the survey under VET providers and the consultation event were integrated and the themes were identified by the advisory group. Step 5 Planning next actions Each member of the advisory group and the NCP EQAVET took out action points to their own agenda and organisations. The advisory group agreed to meet 3 times a year to monitor the progress. Tools used during the process: - Background documents: For the Quality TIME event the advisory group prepared a background document exploring and identifying priority themes, providing background information on these themes. The themes were all introduced following the same structure: general background information, the implementation of plan do check act cycle and areas for further discussion - Survey report: an report showing the results of an inventory regarding the status of Quality Assurance in Dutch VET - Reports of the consultations event, websites, newsflashes, leaflets, minutes of the meeting 2.3 Bringing together stakeholders network meetings Following the overall communication strategy the network meetings also follow a step by step approach informing & inspiring & exchange In 2010 meetings were mainly focusing on informing and inspiring participants. An important goal in 2010 was to bring together different actors in VET by organising meetings. These meetings in 2010 were low profile, about informing participants about European policy developments and EQAVET. During the first meeting European example projects were used to show European possibilities, to show the added value of working at a European basis on Quality Assurance, to inspire people and last but not least to inform them about the developments at policy level, from CQAF t & ENQAVET to EQAVET. Also through organizing this meeting we brought together employees involved in Quality Assurance and employees involved in internationalization (policy) within VET. Target group meetings 2010: Open invitation to all interested and involved in Quality Assurance or internationalisation in the VET sector. Actual participants mainly VET provider level, participants representing centres of expertise and policy makers. 11

12 consultation & involvement In 2011 one important big conference took place. Goal: to bring together stakeholders and experts on Quality Assurance in order form them to exchange and provide input on the priorities and themes of importance for Quality Assurance in VET in the Netherlands as set by the advisory group on EQAVET. In other words an important step to consult and involve all stakeholders in the process, to identify and exchange on areas for further improvement and to stimulate participants to start improvements themselves, to get involved. In order to realize these goals the open space method was used. The open space method is characterized by an initial lack of agenda. After a short introduction by the advisory group introducing the central question participants were invited to define the agenda and the topics for discussion. The group created the agenda by posting their topics on the wall. In three rounds participants were invited to create their own path and make their own choices based on the agenda that is now on the wall. Participants that brought in a topic were also responsible for reporting back. In this way it was possible to collect and report back on the results of the conference. With this way of working participants can set their own agenda, make their own choices and really get involved and feel owner of the topics on the agenda. With so many different stakeholders involved it provided them the opportunity to exchange views with other stakeholders on the topics that are of importance to themselves harvesting results For 2012 the main focus will be implementing improvements and harvesting results. In the end of 2012 a large conference is planned to realize this goal. 2.4 Website Part of our communication plan is website ( This website is an important platform for disseminating information to our stakeholders. The website provides: - Information about EQAVET, news about European developments, the EQAVET network, national and project developments - Inspiration (European) good practices on Quality Assurance, interviews with experts, information about Quality Assurance in other countries 12

13 2.5 Publications Another way of informing VET sector about (European) developments in Quality Assurance are our publications. - Hard copy & downloadable - Electronic newsletters (twice per year) In this way it is possible to attract and inform a broad target group. We also disseminate information that is available from European 13