'Over the years co-operation at European level within education and training has come to play a decisive role in creating the future European society… Strategies for lifelong learning and mobility are essential to promote employability, active citizenship, social inclusion and personal development. Developing a knowledge based Europe and ensuring that the European labour market is open to all is a major challenge to the vocational educational and training systems in Europe and to all actors involved'

from the Copenhagen Declaration, 29/30 November 2002

The 'Copenhagen Declaration', signed by Ministers of Education from over 30 countries from the European Union, the European Economic Area and EU candidate countries, sets out a programme for enhanced co-operation in Vocational Education and Training in Europe. The aim is to promote trust, transparency and the recognition of competences and qualifications in vocational education and training. This in turn aims to support labour mobility and life-long learning.

The Declaration is a follow-up to the Bruges Process and the EU Council resolution of 12 November 2002 on co-operation in vocational education and training. Together, the resolution and the declaration give strong and continued political endorsement to further European co-operation in vocational education and training and set out a timetable for action. This supports the objectives of developing a knowledge-based economy in Europe and promoting life-long learning.

The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland is very supportive of European co-operation in this area. The Copenhagen Declaration supports life-long learning and the main objectives of the national framework of qualifications in the key areas of the recognition of learning, increased transparency and quality assurance. In addition, the involvement of the social partners in European co-operation is welcomed as is the emphasis on bottom-up approaches to co-operation.

Priorities for European co-operation

The key priorities for action are:

a) promoting the European dimension in vocational education and training programmes. This includes the development of partnerships and collaboration between institutions in Europe so as to raise the international profile of European education and training.

b) increasing transparency, information and guidance on vocational education and training so that, for example, it is easier for all to understand what a learner has achieved and to facilitate access, transfer and recognition. This can be done by developing and rationalising integrating existing tools like Europass and the European certificate and diploma supplements.

c) recognising competences and qualifications. This involves investigating ways to promote the comparability and transferability of qualifications. Key elements are the development of reference levels, common principles for certification, and a credit transfer system for vocational education and training. Also included is support for sectoral approaches to developing competences and qualifications and co-operation on the validation of non-formal and informal learning.

d) Promoting co-operation on quality assurance. The focus is on the exchange of models and approaches to quality assurance and on the learning needs of teachers and trainers.

Follow-up
The approach taken by European Ministers is mainly bottom-up and which encompasses the European states who have signed, the EU Commission and the social partners. The initial focus of work is to be on those areas in which Europe-wide co-operation is already underway under the Bruges process i.e. on transparency, credit transfer and quality. Other areas to be addressed are non-formal learning, training of teachers and trainers in vocational education and training, guidance and policy indicators. The Ministers of Education will meet again in 2004 to review progress and decide on further action.

The Department of Education and Science and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are looking at the national approach to the follow-up to the Declaration. Prior to the Declaration, the Authority, on behalf of the two Departments, organised a consultation and briefing session on European co-operation in vocational education and training with representatives from the education and training sector, the social partners and government agencies responsible for enterprise development.