This document outlines the agenda for a two-day symposium on quality assurance of vocational education and training (VET) work-based learning partnerships. Day one will include welcoming remarks and introductions, followed by a presentation on forecasting skills needs and testimony from an apprentice. Participants will then break into working groups to discuss key issues before concluding for the day. Day two will follow a similar format with topics on lifelong learning perspectives, teacher and trainer skills, and working groups. The seminar aims to identify common challenges and draw lessons around quality assurance in VET work-based learning. Brief biographies are provided for several speakers and presenters.

1. Symposium
on learning from sectoral
approaches to quality
assurance of VET
work-based learning partnerships
& the role of quality assurance
Programme

2. Day 1: 24 November 2014
13:00-14:00 Arrival and registration (Buffet lunch)
14:00-14:15
Welcome and strategic importance of the Seminar:
Joao Santos, Deputy Head of Unit responsible for vocational training and
adult education - European Commission DG Education and Culture
14:15-15:00
Introduction to the Seminar - objectives, content, working methodology:
Sean Feerick, Director - EQAVET Secretariat
Main messages and results of the EQAVET Sectoral Seminars 2011-2013:
Giorgio Allulli and Kim Faurschou - EQAVET experts
15:00-15:45
TOPIC 1:
Forecasting the needs for skills
• Pieter de Jong, EU Liaison Officer – Wetsus, Centre of Excellence for
Sustainable Water Technology, Netherlands
• Testimony – apprentice: Johnney Eilander, The Netherlands
Questions to presenters on issues arising from the presentations
15:45-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-17:30
Workshop 1 – three working groups
Working group 1 (Room D); Working group 2 (Room C); Working Group 3
(Room E)
The groups reflect on key issues emerging from topic 1
» 60 minutes - small group discussions
» 30 minutes - plenary discussion to identify common issues and
challenges
17:30-17:45 Conclusions from day 1

3. Venue
The International Auditorium
International Trade Union House
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, No. 5 / 2
B-1210 Brussels
Day 2: 25 November 2014
9:00-9:15 Recap of day 1 and presentation of day 2 programme
9:15-10:00
TOPIC 2:
Work-based learning in a lifelong learning perspective
• Maria Grazia Veronesi, ESEV (Construction Workers College), Veneto
Region - Saperi costruttivi project, Italy
• Testimony - LLL employee: Ghenade Sinica Laurentiu, Romania
Questions to presenters on issues arising from the presentations
10:00-11:30
Workshop 2 – three working groups
Working Group 1 (Room D); Working group 2 (Room C); 4 Working Group 3
(Room E)
The groups reflect on key issues emerging from topic 2
» 60 minutes - small group discussions
» 30 minutes - plenary discussion to identify common issues and challenges
11:30-11:45 Coffee break
11:45-13:30
TOPIC 3:
Teacher and trainer skills
• Hæge Nore, Associate professor at the Department of Vocational Teacher
Training - Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
• Testimony – vocational teacher and trainer: Ole Christian Drabløs, Nor-way
Questions to presenters on issues arising from the presentations
13:30-14:30 Lunch
14:30-16:00
Workshop 3 – three working groups
Working group 1 (Room D); Working group 2 (Room C); Working Group 3
(Room E)
The groups reflect on key issues emerging from topic 3
» 60 minutes - small group discussions
» 30 minutes - plenary discussion to identify common issues and challenges
16:00-16:30 Plenary discussion
16:30-17:00
Summary, lessons learned and main conclusions of the Seminar
Closing session

4. Ole Christian Drabløs (born 1964) is an operational technician in the furniture and wood industries, and a vocational teacher and trainer in Norway. For three years he was the general manager of an apprenticeship training office. He has extensive experience of industrial management and leadership across all industries, including furniture, mechanical engineering, the packaging industry as well as the operation and maintenance of infrastructure (roads). Ole Christian was involved in the development of new curricula in the technical and industrial educational programme in Norwegian VET from 2005-2008. He was also a Norwegian representative in a Leonardo project 1996- 1999: EQS (European Quality Standard in VET). His current position is Q-HSE manager in MESTA.
OLE CHRISTIAN DRABLØS
Maria Grazia Veronesi has been dealing with vocational training since 1999, collaborating as a freelance with various vocational training centres in the Veneto Region. She has also been working at ESEV (Ente Scuola Edile Veronese – Construction Workers College) since 2001, dealing with planning, course coordination, teaching strategies and techniques and employment services.
Her activities include vocational training (initial VET, apprenticeship, vocational training for adults, refresher courses, qualification courses). She planned and coordinated the creation of the 7 Construction Schools in the Veneto with special attention to experimental systemic action to create tools to support the processes of identification, validation and certification of both formal and informal skills with financial aid from the Veneto Region.
MARIA GRAZIA VERONESI
Kim Faurschou (born 1957) is Director of Faco, an independent private consulting company based in the International Sciencepark in Odense, Denmark. He has worked at the University of Southern Denmark for many years as associate professor and since the late 1990s has been involved in quality assurance and development within vocational and adult education and training. He was one of the experts who supported the development of the current European quality assurance framework and has contributed to this process for more than ten years. He has worked as a researcher, process consultant, and evaluator, and especially as critical friend for The European Commission, ENQA-VET, CEDEFOP, European Training Foundation, Nordic Council of Ministers and a number of projects, ministries and organisations in EU countries and Mexico. Currently, he is working with the CEDEFOP study on Quality Assurance & Certification in VET, as quality expert for EQAVET and the QALLL project Quality at Provider Level (Folkuniversitet, Sweden), Networking for Quality (Ballymun Job Centre, Ireland), in the development of a quality assessment system for VET in Norway and in developing a system for quality measurement in work-based learning in Sweden.
KIM FAURSCHOU
Hæge Nore (born 1950) is an associate professor at the Department of Vocational Teacher Training, Oslo, and at Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway. For many years she has been involved in the training of trainers within various sectors/trades. She was one of two editors of multimedia training resources for trainers in 2010.
Since 2011, she has been involved in a research project on Quality in VET, funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training. The research includes both school-based and work-based VET in Norway as well as the trade examinations. She is also a member of a research group – Measuring Competence Development in VET (MECVET), funded by the Norwegian Research Council. MECVET is a design project which is developing and testing a large-scale tool for assessment and improvement in VET. Teachers, trainers and apprenticeship training offices are involved in the project.
HÆGE NORE
Dr. Giorgio Allulli was born in 1950 and took a master’s degree in philosophy at Rome University.
At present he is working as an independent expert, supporting many European and Italian organisations and EQAVET (the European network for VET quality assurance). His principal professional interest is the evaluation of education and training systems. He is a member of the scientific board of many educational magazines and author of many books and articles on this topic.
He has been research-director in ISFOL (the Italian National Agency for VET); coordinator of the Italian Quality Assurance National Reference Point for VET; Vice-Chairperson of ENQA-VET; Professor of “European training policies for human resources” at Rome University (Faculty of Sociology); Consultant to the Prime Minister’s Office on the integration of education and training systems; consultant to the principal national and international institutions (Italian Parliament, OECD, CEDEFOP, etc.).
GIORGIO ALLULLI
Ghenade Sinica Laurentiu was born in Romania, where he started his career in the contruction industry, frequently working abroad. In 2001 he arrived in Verona on a friend’s advice. There he was hired by a contruction firm for which he worked until 2005 as a construction worker. In 2006 he started working independently and has collaborated since then with many contruction firms in Verona on various contracts.
He has attended training courses at ESEV and qualified as crew chief. With this qualification he obtained a place on a project in the Veneto Region, experimenting with the identification and validation of skills through experience which enable applicants to achieve a place on the above course through the transfer of credits.
GHENADE SINICA LAURENTIU
Pieter de Jong is EU Liaison Officer for Wetsus and WaterCampus Leeuwarden in Brussels. This is a unique innovation ecosystem focusing on Water Technology.. Wetsus and WaterCampus are members of ERRIN, the EIP on Water and of the technology platforms WssTP, SusChem and TP Ocean. De Jong is an environmental engineer from the Wageningen University. After working for the government (RVO, Court of Justice, Amsterdam) and in the private sector (touring club ANWB and IT companies), he moved to Brussels in 2009. In his first year he worked for Neth-ER, representing Dutch research and academic institutes (TNO and NUFFIC), as well as the Netherlands Association of VET Colleges (MBO Raad) in Brussels. Since 2010 De Jong has been actively involved in finding solutions to the societal challenges associated with water, energy, food and raw materials. As Working Group Leader for Water in ERRIN, taskforce member of the EIP on Water and co-leader of the Working Group on Resource Recovery within WssTP, he has considerable connections in the European Research Area. Wetsus aims to become the European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology.
PIETER DE JONG
Johnney Eilander is currently working at the Hydrowashr . He studied environmental sciences/water management at the Nordwin College in Leeuwarden. In his third year he was apprenticed to the solar boat team of his school, which became a hobby.
During his fourth year of study he completed an internship at the Hydrowashr, where his main job was to find a way to clean the air in the machine. At the end of this internship, the CEO of the company (Jan Melein) hired him to continue his job as an analyst/researcher.
JOHNNEY EILANDER