Implementing lifelong learning strategies in Europe : Progress report on the follow-up to the Council resolution of 2002 EU and EFTA/EEA countries

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Education and Culture


Brussels, 17.12.2003









Implementing lifelong learning strategies in Europe:

Progress report on the follow-up to the Council resolution of 2002


EU and EFTA/EEA countries








Drawn up by the European Commission with the assistance of the European Centre
for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)




Contact persons: Roger O’Keeffe (Roger.O’Keeffe@cec.eu.int), Michael Adams
(jma@cedefop.eu.int) and Luce Pépin (Luce.Pepin@cec.eu.int)

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Contents

A.
Introduction....................................................................................................................................4
B.
General Conclusions and Trends..................................................................................................6
LLL a guiding principle growing in importance ..............................................................................6
- highlighted themes......................................................................................................................6
- underdeveloped themes ..............................................................................................................7
- typology of LLL concepts ...........................................................................................................7
Basic competencies ..........................................................................................................................8
Learning and the workplace; the role of the social partners .............................................................8
Financing lifelong learning; public-private partnerships ..................................................................8
Facilitating access.............................................................................................................................9
Information and guidance.................................................................................................................9
Qualifications and validation of acquired competencies ...............................................................10
Creating a cradle-to-grave learning culture – some missing links..................................................10
European dimension .......................................................................................................................10
C.
Detailed analysis of national contributions ................................................................................12
I. General Framework......................................................................................................................12
Legislative framework (Q1) ...........................................................................................................12
- non-governmental actors..........................................................................................................13
- decentralised structures serving the individual........................................................................13
Coordination between Ministries (Q2) ...........................................................................................14
II. Building up partnerships ............................................................................................................15
Local-level partnerships (Q3) .........................................................................................................15
Participation of social partners (Q4)...............................................................................................16
Role of education and training establishments in promoting LLL (Q5) .........................................17
- combining work and learning ..................................................................................................17
- schools and initial training ......................................................................................................17
- higher education.......................................................................................................................18
- adult education.........................................................................................................................18
III. Insight into the demand for learning........................................................................................19
Access to basic skills for all as a foundation (Q6)..........................................................................19
- early childhood care and development.....................................................................................19
- basic skills; literacy..................................................................................................................19
- specific groups .........................................................................................................................20
ICT skills (Q7)................................................................................................................................20
- targets and priorities reflecting diverse national situations.....................................................20
- pedagogy of ICT .......................................................................................................................21
- ICT as a tool for access to learning .........................................................................................21
- teachers and trainers................................................................................................................21
Promoting LLL in the workplace (Q8) ...........................................................................................22
Incentives for companies to invest in LLL (Q9)............................................................................22
Teachers, trainers (Q10) .................................................................................................................23
IV. Adequate resourcing ..................................................................................................................24
Government targets for investment in human resources (Q11) ......................................................24
New or re-directed funding for new priority sectors (Q12) ............................................................24
- second-chance access to basic education.................................................................................24
Stimulating private investment in education (Q13) ........................................................................25
Public-private partnerships (Q14)...................................................................................................26
V. Facilitating access to learning opportunities .............................................................................27
Barriers to access to learning, social inclusion (QQ15, 16)............................................................27
- social inclusion.........................................................................................................................27
- immigrant and ethnic groups ..................................................................................................27
- gender equality.........................................................................................................................28
- prisoners and ex-offenders .......................................................................................................28
- access to ICT ............................................................................................................................28
- adults lacking basic competencies ...........................................................................................28

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Young people (Q17) .......................................................................................................................29
Ageing population (Q18)................................................................................................................29
Guidance (Q19) ..............................................................................................................................30
VI. Creating a learning culture .......................................................................................................31
Measures to promote a learning culture (Q20) ...............................................................................31
The life-wide dimension of LLL (Q21)..........................................................................................32
VII. Striving for excellence ..............................................................................................................33
Improving the quality of lifelong learning provision (Q22) ...........................................................33
Review of policies and assessment of the links to other policy fields (Q23) .................................34
Annex.............................................................................................................................................32




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Implementing lifelong learning strategies in Europe:
Progress report on the follow-up to the Council resolution of 2002 on
lifelong learning


A. Introduction

1. Since the European Year of Lifelong Learning (1996), when the Council first adopted
conclusions on the subject1, the idea of lifelong learning (LLL) has grown considerably in
importance both at Community and at national level. It is a key element of the new
economic and social strategy adopted in March 2000 by the European Council for the
decade to 2010. It is also the guiding principle of the resulting programme of work on the
concrete objectives of education and training systems2 [(“Education and Training 2010”)]
which now constitutes the single comprehensive framework for Community cooperation
in this field. Other international developments, notably the adoption of lifelong learning
as the guiding theme of the work of the OECD on education since 1996, have also
contributed to promoting the idea. There is now growing evidence that awareness of the
importance of LLL is penetrating public opinion, as evidenced by the Eurobarometer
survey of January/February 20033.
2. In November 2001 the Commission presented a Communication Making a European
area of lifelong learning a reality4, which led to the adoption of a Council resolution on
lifelong learning on 27 June 20025. In March 2003 the Commission sent a questionnaire
(see annex) to EU Member States, EEA/EFTA and acceding and candidate countries on
the follow-up to this Resolution and to its Communication. The purpose of the
questionnaire was to facilitate the preparation of a progress report on this issue by taking
stock of initiatives in participating countries for the further development of coherent and
comprehensive LLL strategies. The conclusions set out in this report are an integral part
of the interim report on the follow-up of the Work Programme on the Concrete Objectives
of Education and Training Systems, which is to be presented in time for the Spring 2004
European Council.
3. This document, drawn up with the assistance of the European Centre for the Development
of Vocational Training (Cedefop), gives an overview of the replies of the EU and
EEA/EFTA countries. The results of the analysis of the replies from the acceding and
candidate countries are set out in a separate document6 drawn up at the Commission’s
request by the European Training Foundation (ETF). The analysis of replies also took
account of the national employment action plans (NAPs), the guidelines for which
include the development of comprehensive and coherent strategies for lifelong learning.
The conclusions drawn from the NAPs are set out in the Joint Employment Report 20027.

1 Council conclusions of 20 December 1996 on a strategy for lifelong learning, OJ C7/1997
2 OJ C142/2002
3 Lifelong learning: citizens’ views (European Commission/Cedefop). Office for official Publications
of the European Communities, 2003
4 COM(2002) 678 final (November 2001)
5 OJ C163/2002
6 http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/2010/lll_en.html
7 COM (2002) 621 final , Supporting document SEC (2002) 1204

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4. While following the structure of the questionnaire (which itself was based on the six
building blocks identified in the Commission Communication), this document attempts to
give an overview of the current position in the countries surveyed. Rather than
exhaustively cataloguing all the measures and initiatives identified, it highlights what
appear to be the salient points and trends which emerge from the collective analysis of
replies.
5. Moreover, the amount of detail in replies varied considerably, from fewer than 15 to over
150 pages, making it difficult to assess the situation in all countries on a comparable
basis. The broad conclusions are thus necessarily tentative. Notwithstanding the
differences in national situations in regard to issues like the degree of development of
adult education systems, integration of education and vocational training or the degree of
centralisation or decentralisation of systems, it was considered worth while to set them in
a European context. Exchange of good practice could be promoted by drawing attention
to some practices or innovations which could be seen as exemplary or worthy of
consideration by other countries. Approaches which have been tried in one country may
not be applicable without some adjustment to the circumstances of another, but they can
yield lessons which are relevant when the necessary adjustments are made.
6. It is appropriate to mention briefly here some developments at European level. In March
2003 the Commission set up PLOTEUS, an internet Portal on Learning Opportunities
Throughout Europe. This was part of its response to the request from the European
Council (Lisbon 2000 and Stockholm 2001) that it and the Member States should set up a
Europe-wide service providing information on jobs and learning opportunities. In April
2003 it launched the R3L initiative linking 120 learning regions with a view to
exchanging know-how and developing methods of promoting LLL at regional level. In
March 2002, the social partners (UNICE/UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC) adopted a
common framework of actions for the lifelong development of competencies and
qualifications, as a contribution to the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. In March
2003, the social partners produced a first annual progress report setting out the first steps
taken in relation to the implementation of the framework of actions.

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B.
General Conclusions and Trends
LLL a guiding principle growing in importance
1. From an examination of the replies, it is evident that evolution towards a comprehensive
lifelong learning (LLL) strategy is a gradual process and that, in the time elapsed since
the Resolution and the evaluation of NAPs for 2002, countries’ contributions could not be
assessed solely in terms of progress since then. This is all the more so because countries’
replies do not always clearly distinguish between measures taken in the last year or two
and others which have been in existence for some time previously. The present document
is therefore a snapshot of work in progress, rather than an attempt at a precise
measurement of what has changed since the Council Resolution. It confirms the
conclusion resulting from the examination of NAPs that countries are making progress,
even if at different speeds and from different starting positions. Strategies vary in their
coherence and their comprehensiveness, and there is still some way to go before one
could speak of all countries having a well-developed LLL culture with wide public
acceptance and participation. Given the variety of initiatives and the fact that some
countries appear to be well-advanced, exchanges of good practice especially regarding the
definition and implementation of coherent and comprehensive strategies would be a
useful instrument to integrate into further work
2. The education and training policies of Member States, in general terms, increasingly
reflect a concern for lifelong learning and interpret LLL in a broad context covering all
types of learning, in all types of places, with all types of instruments and all types of
pedagogical approaches. They see LLL as being addressed to the whole population, while
generally placing a particular emphasis on the special needs of specific target groups.
However, while the principle of lifelong and lifewide learning is accepted in all Member
States, there is considerable variation in the extent to which it is integrated in practice into
some or all components of the learning system. A particular coordination effort is
required where responsibility for different components of the LLL chain is divided
between ministries or levels of government.
3. Much legislation in the Member States takes account of LLL considerations and
priorities, but there appears to be little or no legislation specifically on LLL as such.
Policy documents and strategies on LLL are more frequent. The overall impression
emerging from countries’ replies is that, for many, the LLL idea is increasingly
penetrating policy formulation and implementation. It is being taken into account as a
principle underlying various separate education and training policy reforms, even if it
could not yet be described as the basis of a comprehensive new national strategy in all
countries.
- highlighted themes
4. Themes which are given a good deal of attention in the reports are:
a) LLL as an issue concerning the population as a whole, though the main focus is
on initial education and the working population;
b) the importance attached to basic competencies, whether acquired during initial
education or through second-chance opportunities;
c) the role – including shared financial responsibility – of multiple stakeholders
(national, regional and local public bodies, social partners, civil society), in
promoting a LLL culture centred on the individual: financing is discussed mainly
in terms not of investment targets but rather of shared responsibility;

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d) the removal of obstacles and the development of multiple pathways to further
learning, often linked to two issues: formal recognition of competencies however
acquired, and guidance and information systems to help the individual negotiate
these pathways;
e) the development of educational and training staff, to enable them to fulfil a
changed and wider variety of roles than at present and use new pedagogical
instruments effectively;
- underdeveloped themes
5. The following themes receive rather less attention than might have been expected:
a) early childhood learning – including the family environment and parents’
education – to which only a small number of countries refer;
b) the importance of basic schooling in developing a LLL ethos, though some
countries refer to the need to adapt teacher training accordingly;
c) the potential for the workplace to be an inherently learning-oriented environment,
rather than a place where theoretical knowledge is applied in practice;
d) targets for investment in LLL expressed in budgetary terms;
e) the role of collective bargaining and public-private partnerships in increasing
participation in LLL;
f) learning, including language learning, as the key to life in the wider European
environment.
- typology of LLL concepts
6. Attempting to identify a broad categorisation of LLL cultures and structures in Member
States is a hazardous exercise, and to classify individual countries accordingly is even
more so. However, at the risk of oversimplification, and recognising that there is some
overlap, one can put forward a few models in relation to which countries may try to
identify their present position:
a) a well-developed cradle-to-grave culture of LLL, with wide public acceptance
and high participation rates, covering not only work-related training but also
personal development and active citizenship, served by developed public and/or
civil-society or informal systems, with a learning-promoting organisation of work
complemented by private participation in recreational learning;
b) a largely employability-related approach, building on a solid initial training
and focusing mainly on continuing training to adapt to changing production
processes and structures, with a strong participation by both the public sector and
industry; workplace training complemented by recognised legal or collectively-
negotiated rights to education and training leave; personal further development
regarded largely as a private affair;
c) a more recent espousal of lifelong learning which is tied into a modernisation
of society and the economy and seeks to change traditional assumptions about the
division of life into distinct phases of learning, working and retirement; largely
driven by public initiatives but supported by the social partners;
d) a social-inclusion approach which mainly targets those whose initial experience
of education and training has been unsatisfactory or inadequate, certainly in
relation to the modern world, and which seeks to re-engage them with a learning
experience which may, especially at the initial stages, focus on personal
development and bringing them up to a level of personal and basic skills which

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they should ideally have reached on completion of their initial education; public
bodies to the fore, civil-society adult education organisations also involved.
Basic competencies
7. There is surprisingly little reference to the development of a lifelong learning ethos
through basic schooling. Many reports highlight how LLL entails necessary changes in
teacher training, with the emphasis shifting to seeing the teacher as a coach for
independent learning whose first task is to create an awareness of the need for a lifelong
commitment to learning. However, while this is an important development, its impact
will inevitably be long-term.
8. Literacy and numeracy programmes are mentioned in many replies, and a prominent
place is accorded to accompanying support measures to help people recognise their
educational deficits and be motivated to follow courses. Given the general raising of
educational standards and achievements in most Member States, many measures are
concerned with adults with no, or only low-level, qualifications who risk being left
behind. These measures involve accessing formal initial education programmes or
specific vocational or general adult education in various formal and informal settings.
Learning and the workplace; the role of the social partners
9. There are many references to the role of the social partners, particularly in committees
and partnerships relating to initial and continuing vocational education and training.
There is, however, relatively little reference to their role in stimulating participation
and innovation in LLL, in spite of the European-level common framework referred to in
paragraph A.6 above. Thus, while initiatives by public bodies are well-reported, there is
little or no information on LLL initiatives originating from within the workplace. Familiar
concepts such as the learning organisation or l’organisation qualifiante du travail are
noteworthy for their absence. However, The combination of education and training with
work in various models of alternance is an important factor in developing the LLL reflex.
Replies from several countries suggest that education and training systems are
increasingly evolving towards such a dual approach, placing a growing emphasis on
work-related practice and employability.
10. Some measures explicitly link workplace learning to demographic trends, including the
ageing of the workforce in individual firms and the desirability of transferring knowledge
to younger workers and facilitating retraining of older workers, sometimes as a means of
avoiding early retirement.
Financing lifelong learning; public-private partnerships
11. Generally, there is an emphasis on getting quality for the money already being spent
rather than on new funding. Recognition of the responsibility of the state for funding
initial (including second-chance) education and training seems general, but the messages
on how continuing education and training should be financed are less clear. Overall, the
reports indicate acceptance of access free of charge to basic and further education
programmes for adults who have inadequate educational qualifications. For continuing
training, particularly at the higher competence level, the responsibility of employers and
the individual is highlighted. There are differences in relation to the financing of higher
education, although this is not a theme covered directly in many of the reports. Discussion
on student fees and support systems in many countries should perhaps be placed within an
LLL framework, as its outcome is clearly likely to have an impact on access to learning
opportunities.




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12. Although the questionnaire refers to public-private partnerships, the reports do not
suggest that there has recently been either a substantial increase in, or a major role
for, private-sector investment in education and training institutions. On the other
hand, there is acceptance that learning must be paid for by public authorities, employers
and the individual. Tax relief on educational expenditure for both companies and
individuals is the mechanism most commonly mentioned.
13. Given that the benefits from lifelong learning accrue to the individual, to employers and
to society at large, the question of who should pay for what is an important but complex
issue raised by many Member States. Multipartite inputs from government, employers,
trade unions and civil-society organisations to policy formulation are accepted as
essential, and replies demonstrate recognition of the importance of a sense of shared
ownership by the social partners, for example in designing and implementing dual-
system approaches. In some instances this shared ownership entails the emergence of
regional and/or sectoral knowledge clusters, facilitating technology transfer and
innovation. There is some limited evidence of shared responsibility for learning through
collective bargaining agreements which, at industry or local level, can help to respond
better to local conditions and promote a learning-promoting environment.
Facilitating access
14. Individual rights including second-chance opportunities are referred to in many replies.
All countries speak of removing barriers to learning and improving access for
various at-risk groups, particularly for those affected by social or geographic
disadvantage (immigrants or ethnic groups, urban or rural environments) and for those
who have not completed basic education. Of the more specific target groups, the one
which is most mentioned and very often in an urgent context, is that of migrants, ethnic
minorities, refugees and asylum seekers. Only one country refers to validating the
competencies of members of these groups who have qualifications from their country of
origin as a way of integrating them into the host society and economy. Many responses
indicate that schools and other educational institutions should be much more open to their
local communities and to each other.
15. In regard to gender inequality the emphasis is as much on what has been achieved, e.g.
increased female participation rates in higher education and vocational training, as on
what remains to be done. Overcoming sex-stereotyping of ICT, scientific and
technical careers seems to be the main outstanding issue identified. None of the
reports comments on the problem of underperformance by males in school, although this
is often the first step towards self-exclusion from gainful employment and further
learning.
16. Many countries refer to the economy’s need for developing ICT skills in schools and the
wider population, but it is difficult to discern clear trends in terms of targets and
priorities. The fact that they are at different stages of progress in this area, for example as
regards the numbers of individuals, schools and other organisations having access to PCs
and the Internet, reinforces the differences of emphasis which they place on aspects of
ICT. Nevertheless, a theme common to many countries’ replies is the key role of teachers
and trainers and how to improve ICT-based pedagogy.
Information and guidance
17. Information, guidance and counselling, (including outreach measures for those least likely
to participate spontaneously in LLL) are identified by quite a few countries as essential to
ensure that rights and opportunities are availed of, especially in a system which places the
individual at the centre of the learning process. Many of the reports deal with new
guidance initiatives, geared to specific target groups. Whereas guidance was previously
seen as being essentially to help young people make the transition from education to

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working life, there is now some evidence of an increased awareness of the fact that it
must be permanently available, lifelong and lifewide. However, there seems to be some
way to go before one can speak of a coherent lifelong guidance system being widely
available throughout the Union for those at work as well as those in education.
18. Education and training fairs and other measures to raise awareness and provide
information on courses available are widespread, though they mainly target school
leavers. On a positive note, adult learners’ weeks and similar promotional activities seem
to be growing more widespread. In some cases, such activities include bringing the
message of LLL and “taster classes” to people outside the traditional learning
environment (pubs, clubs, museums etc.) in order to reach those who might not regard
themselves as concerned by it.
Qualifications and validation of acquired competencies
19. Quite a few countries have begun to establish systems for validation of non-formal
and informal learning in the context of removing barriers to further learning. Key
components to providing incentives to LLL include flexible qualification structures which
not only integrate the different streams and levels of general education and learning, but
also those of vocational and technical education and training. Different approaches exist,
but common factors critical to promoting LLL include the opportunity for systematic
identification of competencies however acquired, their validation in terms of
transferability to other situations and the creation of opportunities for certification or for
admission to further learning leading to new qualifications.
Creating a cradle-to-grave learning culture – some missing links
20. Early childhood care has often been associated more with releasing mothers back into the
workforce than with the child’s development. In only a small number of replies to the
questionnaire, however, is a strong emphasis on pre-school care and early childhood
development explicitly linked to the creation of a learning culture. The importance of
parents and learning in the family environment receives only passing mention, as does the
question of parents’ education.
21. Young people in general are not automatically identified as a specific target group
for specific LLL policy measures, apart from tackling issues like early school leaving or
literacy. Equally surprisingly, very few activities specifically geared to older age groups
and particularly those over 65 are mentioned. The idea of learning as a significant
component of an active ageing strategy, though well-established in some societies and
known to yield benefits in terms of both well-being and care costs, receives very little
attention in the replies.
European dimension
22. Despite the absence of a specific reference to the European dimension in the
questionnaire, several respondents refer to the need for a European context in relation to
frameworks for formal, informal and non-formal qualifications, while the value of
European programmes in developing co-operation with neighbouring countries is also
mentioned. Many countries do refer, in their answers to specific questions, to
international best practice and standards, the organisation of meetings involving other
(particularly neighbouring) countries, etc. Possibly because of the links to the Lisbon
agenda and concurrent work under the work programme on objectives, responding
countries seem willing to take some steps in the direction of benchmarking and setting
clear targets, more often in terms of participation or attainment rates rather than
investment levels.


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