[EMC-LM 2nd convention] European policies on education and training for employment and innovation by Koen Nomden and Maria Palladino. 19 February 2021

1. European policies on education and training for
employment and innovation
Koen NOMDEN DG EMPL
Maria PALLADINO DG EAC

2. Latest policy initiatives
• European Skills Agenda (1 July 2020)
• Building on: Green Deal, Digital Strategy and Industrial and
SME Strategies
• Digital Education Action Plan (30 September 2020)
• European Education Area (30 September 2020)

3. • 50% of adults take part in learning
• 30% of low-qualified adults take part
in learning
• 20% of unemployed people with a
recent learning experience
• 70% of adults have at least basic
digital skills
Skills Agenda –
quantitative objectives

4. Skills Agenda - BUILDING BLOCKS
1. A Pact for Skills including
upscaling sectoral Blueprints
2. Strengthening skills intelligence
3. National Skills Strategies and Public
Employment Services
4. Recommendation on VET
5. European Universities
6. Skills to support twin transitions
7. STEM graduates, entrepreneurial
and transversal skills
8. Skills for Life
9. Individual learning accounts
10. Micro-credentials
11. Europass
12. Framework to unlock Member
States’ and private investments
in skills
Joining
forces
Tools for
lifelong
learning
Skilling
for a job
Unlocking
investment

5. Strengthening skills
intelligence
Develop new skills
intelligence
Support
Member
States to
establish or
improve
National Skills
Information
Systems
Action
2
Present it
in user friendly
and tailored
formats

6. • Share of employed graduates should
be at least 82%
• 60% of recent graduates from VET
benefit from work-based learning
experiences during their training
• 8% of learners in VET benefit from
learning mobility abroad
VET OBJECTIVES

7. 1. Common labour market trends: digital & green transformation,
new forms of work, more frequent job transitions…
2. Systematic gaps in adult learning participation:
strong dependency on employer support
3. Growing interest & many lessons learned in the Member
States about strengthening individual demand for training
7
The case for exploring ILAs at EU level:

8. • My Profile
• CV editor
• Cover letter editor
• My Library
1
e-Portfolio
• Reflect on your
skills
• Document your
skills
• Self-assessment
tools
2
My Skills
The new Europass
• Career goals
• Learning goals
• Mobility
3
My Interests
4
Opportunities
• Jobs
• Courses
• Skills intelligence
• Other information

9. UNLOCKING INVESTMENT
Public
funds
Private
funds

10. European Education Area and European Research Area communications (30 September 2020)
▪ Milestone 2021: co-creation of a Higher Education Transformation Agenda, based on a broad consultation of
stakeholders and MS;
▪ Aim: Empower universities in Europe to develop common R&I strategies, creating critical mass to deliver on
Europe’s challenges, facilitating the sharing of capacities and resources through collaborative settings;
▪ Key issues to be addressed:
(i) the key priorities of the higher education sector in transformation, including recovery from the impact of COVID-
19; and
(ii) the role of Member States and the Union to support these transformations (e.g. policy, or legislative or investment
actions).
▪ Focus areas:
− Innovation in HEIs, linked to research, and in student-centred learning and teaching and more flexible and
modular learning and career pathways;
− Digital and green readiness and resilience to support HEIs to build, reinforce and strengthen digital and
green capacity and tools;
− Inclusion to ensure accessible HEI, open to a diverse student and researcher body, and offering more
opportunities for lifelong learning;
− Connectivity among HEIs, and with their surrounding ecosystems and society.
European policies regarding education and training for
employment and innovation (from the HE perspective)

11. Policy framework and guidance to support innovation
development of HEIs
HESS
HEInnovate
Entrepreneurial Potential and
Innovation Competences course
assessment tool
Innovationin HEIs
UniversityBusiness
Cooperation initiatives
• University Business
Forum and Thematic
University Business
Forum
• Knowledge Alliances
EnhancingLabourMarket Relevance and
Outcomes of Higher Education
Help governments and higher education institutions (HEIs)
enhance the employment outcomes of graduates by better
aligning higher education provision and labour markets.
LMRO
Partnership
Initiative
University
Business
Cooperation
initiatives
Higher education for
smart specialisation
To understand and support
HEIs to align their functions
of human
capital development with
smart specialisation
priorities

13. Online self-reflection
tool.
- 1300 HEIs use the
tool;
- more than 20.000
surveys completed
9 CountryReports completed,
4 Country Reports ongoing
(Greece, Sweden, Lithuania,
Slovenia)
Policy
learning
network
The HEInnovate framework
www.heinnovate.eu

14. Partnerships for
innovation…
Alliances for Innovation
Lot 1: Alliances
for Education
and Enterprises
Lot 2: Alliances for
Sectoral Cooperation
on Skills
Forward-Looking Partnerships
Large scale projects which
aim to identify,develop
and test innovative policy
approaches
…strengthening Europe’s
innovation capacity
Developing entrepreneurial
mind-sets and new skills
Erasmus 2021 – 2027: Alliance for Innovation replacing the Knowledge
Alliances
The overall Erasmus budget for 2021-2027 is € 26,5 bn
– double than the last programme period!
Alliances for Innovation:
For the lot 1 “Alliance for Innovation”: € 30 Millions
For the lot 2 “Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on
Skills”:
€ 31 Millions

15. For more info you can contact:
maria.palladino@ec.europa.eu
koen.nomden@ec.europa.eu