European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 16 February 1975 |
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
| Headquarters | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Agency executives |
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| Key document | |
| Website | cedefop |
The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) is an agency of the European Union.
Established in 1975, Cedefop is located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Cedefop is the acronym of its French title, Centre Européen pour le Développement de la Formation Professionnelle. Cedefop supports development of European vocational education and training (VET) policies and contributes to their implementation.
Cedefop works closely with the European Commission, governments, representatives of employers and trade unions, researchers and practitioners in vocational education and training (VET), with the aim of strengthening European cooperation. It provides the evidence on which to base European vocational education and training policy and identifies trends in and challenges for VET. The agency also brings together policy-makers, social partners, researchers and practitioners to share ideas and debate the best ways to improve European VET policies. The issues it covers span guidance and counselling; training for older workers; forecasting the demand and supply of skills; the recognition and validation of learning that takes place outside the education system; and the development of qualification frameworks.
Against a background of social changes and economic problems in the mid-1970s, Cedefop emerged as a consensus among Member States of the then European Economic Community (EEC) over the need to improve vocational education and training (VET). Although education had been a research field since the early 1960s, the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a trend towards more focused and systematic research into VET. West Germany set up its Federal Institute for Vocational Training Research (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildungsforschung) in 1969. In France, the Centre d’études et de recherches sur les qualifications (CEREQ) was set up in 1970. Three years later, Italy also set up a vocational training institute, the Istituto per lo sviluppo della formazione professionale dei lavoratori (ISFOL).
In 1970, the EEC’s Economic and Social Committee set up a study group to examine education and training in the then six EEC Member States. The committee proposed establishing a European institute for vocational training research and guidance, largely based on the West German model.
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