1. Funded by the European Union
within the ERASMUS+
Programme
Putting benchmarking into practice
2. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Structure
This presentation will
• Introduce the CIGN project
• Report on the latest EU policy and actions on skills
identification
• Link to a second presentation on national policies and
actions on skills identification
3. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Project aim
Bringing the worlds of education, employment
and training together
Further professionalization of staff of Higher Education
Institutions
Promoting more effective use of information technologies
by HEIs
4. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Partner institutions
Artevelde University College Ghent, Belgium
Stuttgart Media University, Germany
Linköping University, Sweden
Ryerson University, Canada
University of the West of Scotland, UK
5. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
What is CIGN
Transnational network involving HEIs specialised in the Cross
Media Design and Production sector
There are three main areas of activity:
• Identification of sectoral gaps and new competences needed (year 1,
Report 1A & 1B)
• Development of new curricula, learning methodologies and blended
learning materials (year 2)
• Improving assessment and quality enhancement of the learning
programmes (year 3)
6. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Project phases
1. Research (October 2014 – February 2015)
2. Course identification (April – July 2015)
3. Course development (July 2015 – March 2016)
4. Field testing (March – April 2016)
5. Implementation May 2016 (continuous)
6. Evaluation(September – November 2016)
7. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Expected outcome
The CIGN Project will produce…
• on-line and on-site theory and practice based course modules
addressing the skills-sets for cross-media design and production sector
• intensive programs for teaching and admin staff
The CIGN Project will enable…
• a sustainable network for professionalization and capacity building
• a continuing working relationship between education, industry and
social partners
• a catalyst for young entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation
8. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Current state of the project
Secondary research of policy documents on EU and national
level completed
• Report 1A describes recent evolution of EU-policy in identifying
skills gaps in cross-media design and production in the creative
industries
• Report 1B describes how national skills gaps are identified in the
creative industries in the participating countries
• The above research will inform future module development
• www.cign-education.eu
9. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Some general observations distilled from report 1A…
• Increasingly vital link between shifting technological trends,
labour market activity and the skills demands.
• New functional and professional profiles are often already (long)
in existence before the related skills are formally defined by
official bodies.
• The question of up-skilling the workforce became central and
acute when Europe’s economic competitiveness became at risk.
10. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Some general observations…
• Today, even after years of recession and at a time the market is
picking up again, it is clear that it is not possible to predict the
future (skills) precisely.
• Broad trends continue, in particular the shift towards a more
knowledge-based, automated and service-oriented economy.
• The media design and production sector (= dynamic sector)
was/is in a constant need of up- or reskilling.
11. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Specific…
• Transformation of the skills portfolio as the print sector evolved
into the Creative Industries.
• Establishment of various councils to come to a more structural
and concerted approach in assessing skills needs.
• EU efforts to introduce a more standardized, uniform and
systematic approach in data gathering on future skills need in the
EU.
12. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Specific…
• There has been a shift in the objectives of identifying future
(technical) skills need for manpower planning to more general
assessment of skills need to inform all labour market participants.
• Most countries have some kind of national data collection system
to monitor the labour market and the required skills but they vary
greatly in levels of sophistication, organization and detail.
• The national systems cannot exchange information, but all have
one common objective: to improve the match between labour
demand and supply.
13. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Specific…
• EU Commission supports the setting up of European and
National Sector Skills Councils designed to anticipate the need
for skills in specific sectors more effectively and achieve a better
match between skills and labour market needs.
• Only very recently the specialized HEIs and their international
networks have been more actively and systematically involved in
this process.
• Regarding the sector of print media design and production, the
International Circle has been invited to represent the HEIs.
14. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Conclusions
• The implementation of policy recommendations and action plans
still remains the most difficult point.
• There are a number of European Commission‘s programmes or
funds which provide support for a range of actions related to
anticipation of skill needs and to the transfer of results into
policy and practice.
e.g. Erasmus+
• promotes the establishment of sector skills alliances
• aims at delivering transnational VET curricula and joint degrees
• Supports capacity building and networking of HEIs
15. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
EU policy in the area of skills identification
Conclusions
• As HEIs and other training institutions are gearing up to better
respond to the skills demands from industry and to the personal
preference of students for new media applications, the supply of
formal qualifications is also rising rapidly.
• The development of new (online!) training programmes takes
more time and resources than made available through EU-
funding.
• But when the available qualifications lag too far behind,
companies react quickly and take the lead in developing further
training of their staff themselves.
16. Luk Bouters / IC 2015 /Calipoly
Key messages
Some organisations such as Cedefop has begun to fill the
need for skill needs anticipation on a continuous basis.
Demands for generic and key /core skills will remain a
significant feature.
Education is not just about employment and jobs.
It is about giving people a real chance of influencing and
shaping their lives: education remains the best investment in
yourself.
Editor's Notes
Given its grandiose title, the aims of the project have to be very ambitious. And indeed they are.
Structural changes rock our society and economies and creates a constant demand for new competences and functional profiles
Structural changes rock our society and economies and creates a constant demand for new competences and functional profiles
They do not speak to each other, no common language
As noted earlier, the old fashioned idea of mechanistic “manpower planning” has been rejected. But this does not mean that it is not important still to try to anticipate the way things are changing. However, such work should be regarded as providing broad guidance rather than precise predictions. As emphasised in the introduction, it is notable that the USA , one of the most market orientated economies in the world, devotes more resources to skills anticipation activity than anywhere else. This is not based on the idea of trying to predict precisely where training efforts should be focused. Rather, the aim is to provide detailed LMI, including forecasts, to all labour market participants (potential students, as well as education and training providers) to ensure that they are well informed about the choices they face. It is left to individuals and education and training institutions to make their own choices and decisions rather than imposing things from the top down.
As noted earlier, the old fashioned idea of mechanistic “manpower planning” has been rejected. But this does not mean that it is not important still to try to anticipate the way things are changing. However, such work should be regarded as providing broad guidance rather than precise predictions. As emphasised in the introduction, it is notable that the USA , one of the most market orientated economies in the world, devotes more resources to skills anticipation activity than anywhere else. This is not based on the idea of trying to predict precisely where training efforts should be focused. Rather, the aim is to provide detailed LMI, including forecasts, to all labour market participants (potential students, as well as education and training providers) to ensure that they are well informed about the choices they face. It is left to individuals and education and training institutions to make their own choices and decisions rather than imposing things from the top down.
Evolation: from technical skills to more generic skills, but still only from a company pointof view . But people are not only going to university because they can to be ready for work, for a company, they would like to develop themselves als a person, Now more: attuning the aspirations and objctives of a company with the personal development aspirations of the employee
