New in VET: January to December 2009
November 2009
„Qualifications into a new framework?!“
Estonian Qualifications Authority held an international conference as part of the ESF Program “Development of professional qualifications system”. The conference gave a comprehensive view of the development of the Estonian Qualifications System. Among the presenters were Mr. Mike Coles from Great Britain, who gave an overview of the European Qualifictions System, Mrs Slava Pevec Grm from Cedefop, who summarized the progress of all the member states in adopting EQF. Mr. Olav Aarna and Mrs. Katrin Kerem, Members of the Management Board of the Estonian Qualifications Authority, spoke about the Estonian Qualifications System, Mrs Külli All from the Ministry of Education and Research reflected on the system from the VET point of view and Mrs Aune Valk, an expert on Bologna process, from the point of view of the Higher Education.
In conclusion, Mrs Tiia Randma from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed the importance of cooperation and taking into account the interests of all the stakeholders. Agreements are not always easy to reach, but it is very important to have a solid foundation.
In conclusion, Mrs Tiia Randma from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed the importance of cooperation and taking into account the interests of all the stakeholders. Agreements are not always easy to reach, but it is very important to have a solid foundation.
Information seminar „Green skills and sustainable development“
On November 12, 2009 Foundation Innove and Refernet Estonia held an information seminar „Green skills and sustainable development“. Merle Kink from Foundation Innove gave a general introduction to green economy and green skills and spoke about pan-European initiatives in this field. Henry Kattago from the Ministry of Economics and Communications shared information on development plans in Estonia on its way to green economy and also shared the expectations on VET graduates in relation to the shift to the green economy. These expectations were mainly in core competences. The last speaker Aare Baumer contemplated if green ideology is a life ring for all the problems, illustrating his presentation with examples of green initiatives from the whole specter, from permaculture to extremely luxurious villas. Kersti Raudsepp from Foundation Innove gave an overview of Cedefop initiatives and conferences in 2009 in VET and lifelong learning.
September 2009
Adult education development plan ratified
The government of Estonia ratified the „Development plan of Adult Education in 2009-2013“ and its implementation plan. The development plan is based on changes in the economy and the labour market. Its objective is to increase the opportunities for lifelong learning and offer the adults more opportunities for professional and vocational training. In addition to continuous training (including retraining) the development plan emphasizes adults as an important target group in formal education. Many of the activities are connected with private institutions and reorganizing the landscape of continuous training. As a result, it is expected to provide as many people as possible with opportunities to acquire one level higher qualification or formal education.
New VET system development plan approved
On September 10, 2009 the Government of Estonia approved the Development plan for the Estonian VET system for 2009- 2013. The main reason for compiling the new development plan is to set common strategic basis, objectives, activities and resources for sustainable development of the Estonian VET system.
August 2009
Training vouchers for employers
In August Enterprise Estonia commenced the receipt of applications for the training vouchers designed for micro and small companies. The training voucher is the grant for specific purposes for the purchase of the professional in-service training, the objective of which is to improve the competitiveness of the micro and small companies through better access to the training service. With the training voucher, micro and small companies can purchase the training service from the state training institutions and companies enlisted as eligible service providers. The maximum amount of the grant is 15 000 kroons per final recipient within one year. The training voucher is financed by the European Social Fund.
July 2009
New Labour Law
The new Employment Contracts Act entered into force on 1 July 2009, except for the sections entailing additional costs to the state budget, which will enter into force on 1 January 2010.
The new law replaces a number of previous legal acts with one complete text, enabling the employer and employee to understand their rights and obligations better. The new Employment Contracts Act embodies the principles of flexicurity.
June 2009
Information seminar on EU policy progress and the new publication
On June 9th, Refernet Estonia held its second information seminar in Tallinn. The new publication „Kopenhaagenist Bordeaux’ni. Kutseõppe areng Euroopas 2002-2008“ (From Copenhagen to Bordeaux. The development of VET in Europe 2002-2008) was presented to over 50 participants. Matti Kyro, Refernet partner from the Finnish National Board of Education made a presentation on measures taken by EU member states to alleviate the present financial crisis. The presentation was based on ReferNet reports, submitted to Cedefop in May 2009.
May 2009
Labour Market Board and the Unemployment Insurance Fund merged
The LabourMarket Board and the Unemployment Insurance Fund became a single public law agency as of 1 May 2009. As a result, all the operations concerning the labour market were gathered under a single organisation. The new joint agency continues to operate under the name of the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, which will be providing the same labour market services and benefits. The Fund will be run by the state and the representatives of employers and employees.
Validation of non-formal and informal learning legalized
On May 7th, the Government approved the changes to the Vocational Education Institutions Act. These changes deal with creating a legal basis for applying the principles of Prior Learning and Work Exprerience (Varaseme õppe- ja töökogemuse arvestamine- VÕTA). The more specific application will be enforced in the new VET standard. The changes will also make it possible to link the types and curricula of VET to the new qualification framework enforced in the appendix of the Professions Act.
April 2009
EKEÜ (Estonian VET promotion organization) - 10 years old!
April 14-16 Estonian VET promotion organization celebrated its 10th anniversary by holding a joint seminar with the VET and Adult Department of the Ministry of Education and Research in Kuressaare, the capital of the largest island in Estonia. The main topic under discussion was the new development plan for the VET system in Estonia for 2009- 2013.
VET promotion organization, which unites VET school directors, staff and officials working in VET related governmental and non-governmental organizations, is the main partner of the Ministry of Education and research in VET policy making in Estonia.
March 2009
Supporting VET in Cyprus - a new project started
Foundation Innove was approved and became involved with partners from Germany (ICON-INSTITUTE GmbH & Co) and Ireland (Project Management Group) in a consortium which implements a project “Support to VET, Labour Market and LLL Systems in the Northern Part of Cyprus” (EuropeAid 125925/C/SER/CY). The main aims of the project are to assist the Turkish Cypriot Community (TCC) in improving the quality and effectiveness of its VET system, support the TCC in building up and implementing a VET reform strategy in partnership with relevant stakeholders and to support the economic and human resource development in the TCC, including enhancing the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups. The partners regularaly send experts to the region with specific tasks. The duration of the project is 3 years.
Adult learning magazine published
In March 2009 “Õpitrepp” (Study ladder), a tri-annual magazine promoting adult learning was first published by Association of Estonian Adult Educators Andras. The articles will be targeted to the adult learner as well as the specialist, working in the field of adult learning. The magazine will be published for 3 years (9 issues in total) and funded from an ESF programme “Promoting Adult Education”.
February 2009
"Policies and Practices in Lifelong Learning"
In February 2009 Foundation for Lifelong Learning Development Innove became a partner of the project “Policies and Practices in Lifelong Learning” (PAPILL). It is a project funded by the EC under LLP, Transversal programme, Key Activity 1: Policy cooperation and innovation.
Project reference 147777-LLP-2008-BG-KA1-KA1NLLS
The project intents to raise awareness on the importance of transnational cooperation and shared experience in policy planning and policy implementation. Through the project outcomes will be given an opportunity for policy makers, researchers, educators and social partners to find informational resources related to different Lifelong learning Strategies , policy practices and projects, and to transfer available good practises in different context.
In addition, international experience from 9 countries (BG,LT,PL, DE,EE,EL,TK,RO,LT) is presented in terms of levels of coordination, coherence of specific national priorities, financial support, cross-references to ESF, relations to Copenhagen declaration tools , stakeholders cooperation, etc. In addition, International experience will be examined in order to identify priorities, underlying assumptions, obstacles overcome, obstacles lasting, stimuli and inhibitors, and other factors of specific importance in both phases of the policy cycle
For more information, please visit http://eupractices.eu/en/info/7.
