A European skills framework: cross-national equivalence of vocational qualifications

About the project

Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, £115,000, 2006–2007.

The European Union (EU) decisions to phase in a system of comparing vocational qualifications raised important questions of interpretation, validity and use of the framework comparator. Both the Nuffield review of 14–19 qualifications in England and Wales and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s revised framework for vocational qualifications aimed to better integrate vocational and academic systems. At the same time, the EU debated a vocational qualification framework to govern the operation of Zones of Mutual Trust (ZMTs), within which member countries can recognise the equivalence of national qualifications, and develop a European qualification system. Simultaneously at national level with growing migration of labour there was a pressing need for criteria to assess and compare ‘skills and qualifications’ from elsewhere in Europe.

The project objectives were to: 

  • Describe the significance of different terminology such as ‘training’, ‘occupation’, ‘vocational education‘, ‘competence’, ‘practical or industrial knowledge’, ‘applied theoretical knowledge’, ‘skill’, ‘labour’, ‘job’, ‘trade’ and ‘skilled worker’
  • Develop and apply transnational categories for analysing ‘skills and qualifications’ in terms of divisions of labour, both horizontal in relation to other qualified labour and vertical in relation to employment status
  • Examine, compare and contrast differences in the bases of particular ‘skills and qualifications’ in Germany, France, England and the Netherlands on the basis of these categories and in terms of the way they are imparted through the vocational education system and deployed in practice in the workplace
  • Identify the problems such differences pose to integration within an EU framework and, in particular to the English qualification framework
  • Explore the difficulties entailed in assessing skills and qualifications in cross-national contexts in and between our four countries and the means by which these are overcome
  • Propose criteria for evaluating them cross-nationally

 The research involved case study work in England, the Netherlands, Germany and France at macro and micro levels and in transnational situations, working with partners in France (Philippe Méhaut), the Netherlands (Anneke Westerhuis) and Germany (Georg Hanf) who are recognised experts in the field.

Outputs included a book, journal articles, guidance criteria for comparability and a guide for user groups and policymakers on conceptual divergences.

Contact

For further information, email Professor Linda Clarke at [email protected].

Outputs

  • Clarke, L., Winch, C. and Brockmann, M., (2013) Aptidoes e Qualificacoes Transnacionais: Um Estudo de Quatro Profisses em Quatro Paises no Contexto do Quadro Europeu de Qualficacoes (QEQ) in Ensino Profissional  Lisbon, Fundacao Francisco Manuel dos Santos
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2011) Europäische Qualifikationen und unterschiedliche Kompetenzkonzepte in ed. Fischer, M., Becker, M. and Spöttl, G.,  Kompetenzdiagnostik in der beruflichen Bildung – Probleme und Perspektiven, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
  • Clarke, L., (2011) Trade? Job? Or Occupation?: the development of occupational labour markets for bricklaying and lorry driving, chapter 7 in Brockmann, M., Clarke, L., Hanf, G., Méhaut, P., Westerhuis, A., Winch, C., (2011) Knowledge, Skills, Competence in the European Labour Market: What’s in a Qualfication? Oxford, Routledge
  • Clarke, L. and Westerhuis, A., (2011) Zones of mutual trust, chapter 9 in Brockmann, M., Clarke, L., Hanf, G., Méhaut, P., Westerhuis, A., Winch, C., (2011) Knowledge, Skills, Competence in the European Labour Market: What’s in a Qualfication? Oxford, Routledge
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L., Winch, C., Hanf, G., Méhaut, P. and Westerhuis, A., (2011) Knowledge, Skills, Competence in the European Labour Market: What’s in a Vocational Qualification? Oxford, Routledge
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2009) Competence and competency in the EQF and in competence-based VET systems: different conceptions and realities in England, France, the Netherlands and Germany in special issue of Journal of European Industrial Training on ‘European approaches to competence’ guest edited by Winterton, J., Vol 33, No 8/9, pp 787–799
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2009), Difficulties in Recognising Vocational Skills and Qualifications across Europe, in Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, Vol. 16, No. 1, March, pp. 97–109
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2008) Länderübergreifende Gleichwertigkeit beruflicher Fertigkeiten und Qualifikationen, in Berufsbildung in Wissenschaft und Praxis, Zeitschrift des Bundesinstituts für Berufssbildung, 5
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L., Méhaut, P. and Winch, C., (2008), Competence-Based Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Europe: the cases of England and France Vocations and Learning, 1/3, 227–244
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2008) Can performance-related learning outcomes have standards? in Journal of European Industrial Training, 32, 2/3, 99–113
  • Brockmann, M., Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2008) Knowledge, Skills, Competence: European divergences in vocational education and training – the English, German and Dutch cases, in Oxford Review of Education Vol. 34, No. 5, October, pp. 547–567
  • Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2007) Vocational Education: conceptual differences between Britain and Germany, in J. Beichel and K. Fees (eds) Bildung oder outcome?: Leitideen der standardisierten Schule im Diskurs, Herbolzheim: Centaurus Verlag pp75–90
  • Clarke, L. and Winch, C., (2006) A European Skills Framework? – but what are skills? Anglo-Saxon versus German concepts, Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 19. No. 3, July, pp. 255–269

Conference papers

  • Skilled versus Qualified Labour: Convergence and Divergence in Vocational Education and Training in Britain and Germany in the 1970s, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to German Historical Institute ConferenceEuropean Societies of Work in Transformation: Comparative and Transnational Perspectives on Great Britain, Sweden and West Germany during the Seventies, 26–28 November 2009
  • From Trade and Job to Occupation: the changing status of the European bricklayer paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to Industrial Relations in Europe Conference, Istanbul, 22–24 July 2009
  • The Apprenticeship Framework in England: a new beginning or a continuing sham? paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) conference, University of Cardiff, 1–3 July 2009
  • The Apprenticeship Framework in England: a new beginning or a continuing sham?, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to Researching Work and Learning Conference, University of Roskilde, 28 June – 1 July 2009
  • European systems of vocational education and training (VET) - convergence or divergence?: The cases of England, France, the Netherlands and Germany, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) conference, Workshop ‘Politics of Skill Formation’, University of Lisbon, 15–18 April 2009
  • From Trade and Job to Occupation: the changing status of the European bricklayer, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh, 6–8 April 2009
  • Zones of Mutual Trust? Qualifications, occupations and skills – the cases of England, France, Netherlands and Germany, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to Industrial Relations in Europe Conference (IREC), University of Greenwich, 23–25 June 2008
  • Symposium paper: Convergence or divergence in competence-based VET systems: occupational families of trust and mistrust in England, France, the Netherlands and Germany, paper presented with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to 9thInternational Conference on Human Resource Development, Symposium on European approaches to competence, Lille, 21–23 May 2008
  • Zones of Mutual Trust? Qualifications, occupations and skills – the cases of England, France, Netherlands and German paper with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to International Labour Process Conference, Dublin 18–20 March 2008
  • Apprenticeship in England – Scope for Expansion?, paper with M. Brockmann and C. Winch to INAP (Network on Innovative Apprenticeship) conference, Vienna, 1–2 February 2008
  • Cross-National Equivalence of Vocational Qualifications and Skills, with M. Brockmann, C. Winch and European research partners, Nuffield Review seminar, 8 January 2007
  • Cross-National Equivalence of Vocational Qualifications and Skills, with M. Brockmann, C. Winch and European research partners, Symposium proposal accepted (involving 4 national papers plus a synthesis paper, European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Ghent, 19–21 September 2007
  • Cross-National Equivalence of Vocational Qualifications and Skills, with M. Brockmann, C. Winch and European research partners, Symposium (involving 4 national papers plus a synthesis paper, Bundesinstut für Berufsbildung conference, Düsseldorf, 12 September 2007
  • Competence-based VET in Europe: the cases of England and France, with Michaela Brockmann and Chris Winch, Journées Internationales de Sociologie du Travail (JIST) conference, London, 20–22 June 2007
  • Knowledge, Skills, Competence: European divergences in vocational education and training (VET) – the English, German and Dutch cases, with Michaela Brockmann and Christopher Winch, paper presented to International Labour Process Conference, Amsterdam, 2–4 April 2007
  • A European Skills Framework? – but what are skills: Anglo-Saxon versus German concepts, paper presented to the Second International Conference on Training, Employability and Employment, Monash University Centre, Prato, Italy, 22–23 September 2005

Invited speakers

  • Problems of Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Competence in the European Labour Market, Solidar conference Achieving decent work and quality jobs through effective industrial relations, information and training of workers, in the European Parliament, Brussels, 21 September 2011
  • How learning outcomes based sectoral approaches support European co-operation and solutions; strengthening excellence and relevance. Presentation of good practices/projects, The Role of Social Partners in Implementing European Tools and Principles: increasing the relevance of education and training to the labour market, CEDEFOP Conference, European Parliament, Brussels, 24–25 November 2011
  • Trust or Mistrust? A case study approach to European qualifications and skills, with Michaela Brockmann and Christopher Winch, Comparative Employment Relations and Governance group seminar, 22 April 2010
  • European systems of vocational education and training (VET) – the cases of England, France, Netherlands and Germany, Science Community Representing Education (SCORE) Annual Conference, Royal Society, 26 February 2010
  • Zones of Mutual Trust? Qualifications, occupations and skills – the cases of England, France, Netherlands and Germany, presentation with Michaela Brockmann to Westminster Business School staff seminar, 11 November 2008
  • Cross-national equivalence of qualifications  and skills, Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education & Training, invited seminar, Nuffield Foundation, 8 January 2008
  • Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung conference, 12 September 2007