This document discusses vocational education and training (VET) in Europe. It argues that while international learning mobility is important, internationalizing education may have a greater impact on quality in VET. It also states that mobility alone does not guarantee better quality - VET programs need to incorporate international experiences into their curriculum design. The document then describes a quality assessment tool developed in the Netherlands called the Quality and Impact Scan that helps VET institutions evaluate and improve their internationalization efforts and ensure mobility experiences have a lasting impact.

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…in vocational education
and training…
Mobility, quality
and impact…
I
nternational learning mobility
for all is important, but
internationalisation of education
might have more impact on quality in
Vocational Education and Training
(VET). The Dutch National Agency for
the Lifelong Learning Programme
developed a unique tool to connect
mobility and internationalisation
of education.
We want youth to move
Following the report of the High Level
Forum on Mobility and the consultation
by the green paper on Mobility for
Youngsters, a lot of attention is given
to why mobility is important: how many
in the near and distant future should
go abroad to learn; what funding
modalities could be created; and
which legal obstacles for mobility
should be removed. Because of an
ageing population in Europe,
companies are facing a battle for
talented craftsmen as skill champions
will go job hunting throughout Europe.
Don’t we all want the best skilled
workers to build our houses and
offices, produce our food and give
education and healthcare? In most
countries, no-one minds that the
construction worker is from another
country – eg. from Poland or the
teacher from Croatia – as long as the
job is done properly. The best football
club teams are multinational. The
individual returning home after a
learning stay in another country has
at least three kinds of experience:
professional development, improved
communication skills, and has felt,
seen and heard differences and simi-
larities between their own and other
countries in profession, work and life.
‘We live to do our work, they work
to have a life.’ It is commonly
accepted that everyone should have
the opportunity to spend some time
abroad to learn. Mainstreaming
mobility requires an active policy
from training providers, companies,
sectorial and national bodies and
authorities. Financial support could
be done by funding in the European
Lifelong Learning Programme, in
national mobility programmes, and in
sectorial training and development
funds; contributions might be
expected from companies, the
participants themselves and their
parents. It can also be facilitated by
portability of national study grants,
removing legal obstacles, trans-
parency in recognition, classification
of training courses, and quality
assurance of training providers and
learning companies with trainees.
We have ways to boost and
value mobility
The European package of tools and
frameworks in VET consist of:
Europass to record your personal
portfolio; the European principles for
the identification and validation of
prior learning, even outside the formal
system or in another country; the
European Qualification Framework for
Lifelong Learning (relation to national
qualification frameworks and sectorial
qualification frameworks); the
European Credit system for Vocational
Education and Training; and the
European Quality Assurance Reference
Framework. This is the package to
make the boost in mobility possible.
Learning outcomes will be assessed
in mutual trust to recognise learning
experiences across different countries
and different types of institutions.
But for impact, mobility is
not everything
Firstly, mobility and mobility schemes
are not the same. Although policy
focuses on boosting mobility by
official programmes, it may be that
youngsters will go abroad anyway,
whatever policy is developed.
Mobility statistics show that mobility
programmes with European and
national funds support only a part of
the total mobility flow. Youngsters
spend time studying or have a work
placement abroad even without a
grant. VET colleges also organise
mobility outside the well-known
mobility programmes such as
Leonardo da Vinci.
Secondly, quality in mobility is not
to be taken for granted. Too often
international work placements are
organised where the needs of trainees
and companies do not sufficiently
match what a company or trainee can
offer. There is a clear need to create
a transnational mobility infrastructure.
Tools to find mobility partners, tools
to do the matching, networks of
sustainable partnerships for mobility
between training providers and
companies, training for those who
organise and monitor mobility and for
international instructors on the work
floor, mobility coaches addressing
companies and individuals – the
European Quality Charter for Mobility
is only a start.
Thirdly, there is no guarantee that
transnational mobility leads to impact
or a better quality of VET system. It is
quite common that VET colleges
organise mobility without making the
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3. 19
training courses internationally
oriented. VET colleges that redesign
training courses based on interna-
tional mobility experiences show best
practices, but this is only the good
exceptions and not mainstream. Even
in a country like Finland, where the
mobility percentage in VET is more
than 6%, a vast majority is without
international mobility. The European
Year of Social Inclusion could come
up with a ‘mobility for all’ slogan, but
in VET it should be investigated
whether international mobility is only
for the elite.
Mobility, quality and impact
Leonardo da Vinci has for years given
its attention to the quality of interna-
tional mobility. In order to guarantee
and enhance this quality, the Dutch
National Agency has developed, tested
and implemented, since 2003, a
quality instrument to give international
mobility a permanent place within a
VET college and to embed mobility in
an internationalisation policy for all.
The instrument called Quality and
Impact Scan is based on the EFQM
Excellence Model and the related
Dutch INK approach. The European
Foundation for Quality Management
model for excellence is based on the
assumption that every establishment
strives to be amongst the best, to
excel in its own market segment of
activity. However, this does not just
happen. A prerequisite is that one
obtains an insight into the present
position and gets an idea of the
weak and strong points of the
organisation and where there is
room for improvement.
The INK model comprises five stages
of development that an organisation
may currently be in. Most important
in this model is to discern growth
and development of the organisation,
a school, company or consortium
of partners.
The five stages of development are:
Stage 1: Activity-oriented
Everyone tries to carry out their work
as well as possible in their own
working situation. The organisation is
open to international traineeships
and/or exchanges and works on
preparing these. If there are any
complaints, the organisation tries to
remedy these and everyone carries
out their tasks with due diligence.
Stage 2: Process-oriented
The primary processes are controlled.
The separate process steps are
identified. Tasks, responsibilities and
powers are laid down. Adjustments
are made on the basis of performance
indicators and processes are
improved on the basis of any
irregularities discerned. Difficulties
and ideals are observed and shared.
Communication is coordinated and
all activities are monitored.
Stage 3: System-oriented
At all levels there are systematic
efforts to improve the organisation as
a whole. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
is applied in primary, support and
control processes. There is insight
into international mobility, which is
integrated in the organisation’s
general policy. Activities and tasks
are planned and coordinated and
policy is focused on preventing rather
than settling problems.
Stage 4: Chain-oriented
Together with partners in the
production chain (domestic partners,
foreign partners, colleagues, sectorial
organisations and enterprises within
the sector), the emphasis is on
obtaining maximum added value.
The most suitable partner to carry
out a particular task is determined.
Dissemination and exchange of
experience and material play an
important role. Innovation and
extension of projects in the future
are of primary importance. This
stage is characterised by chain
management and a focus on
possibilities for improvement.
Stage 5: Transformation-oriented
The strategy is designed to be among
the top institutions through bench-
marking (performance comparison
between organisations). On the basis
of a long-term vision, adjustments are
made to start up new activities,
structure or adapt the establishment
for this purpose, and recalibrate
cooperation with partners accordingly.
Mobility is not considered as a one-off
task that is repetitive. Mobility is part
of a longer-term policy plan for
internationalisation and a quality
assurance system. A school or
company is offered a set of questions
to see in what ways management
supports the policy, if enough and
competent staff are available, whether
a manual for organising mobility is
developed and updated, and whether
the preparation modules and work
programmes for the placement abroad
are in place. The entire exercise
reaches out to scan for international
competencies in the regular training
course – the qualification dossier.
This has a large impact because
those students who do not go abroad
are trained with an international
orientation. They will get to learn how
to work in a company that operates
across borders or serve international
customers in a restaurant, hairdressers
shop, train or hospital. It stretches
out to incoming mobility like bilingual
training courses for foreign students,
and even further out to mobility
partners in the other countries to
discuss the accreditation of the work
placement abroad and create a
long-term sustainable partnership for
mobility and innovation.
Nowadays, throughout Europe mobility
organisers in VET colleges, universities
and companies discover the value and
practical use of this instrument.
Dr Siegfried Willems
NA LLP National Agency Lifelong
Learning Programme, Director
Leonardo da Vinci Programme, Head
of Euroguidance, The Netherlands
CINOP
PO Box 1585
5200 BPs-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 736 800 762
Fax: +31 736 123 425
willems@leonardodavinci.nl
www.leonardodavinci.nl
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