Tuesday 29 May 2012

Challenges and trends in skills and career development of the European workforce


Register now for the first European Business Forum on Vocational Training dedicated to "Challenges and trends in skills and career development of the European workforce."
At the seminar Companies´approaches to skills development of both adult workers and young people will be reviewed.

Here are the 5 workshops of the Forum

Setting targets for competence development – how do companies identify skills needs
- How can good market information acquired by companies be shared with education and training providers to address immediate and future skills needs?
- What are the advantages of companies cooperating with competitors and small businesses in networks (or other fora e.g. skills councils) which address skills concerns?
- How can enterprise-education partnership and cooperation be improved to meet future skills requirements?
- What steps can be taken at EU level to ensure better fit between the skills needs of businesses and education/training provision?

The use of training in competence development - which strategies companies adopt
- Will the trend for competence development over hiring new talent continue?
- Why does formal training generally constitute the smallest percentage of competence development? Is this the most effective approach?
- Are large companies best placed to provide technical training internally or can external providers develop technical training to meet the needs of large enterprises?
- What are the main advantages and drawbacks of the identification and nursing of talent?
- How can fruitful partnerships between stakeholders be established in order to create more effective formal learning for competence development and innovation?
- What could be the role of ICT-supported learning, including the use of social media?
- What can be the role of EU?

The use of work-based learning for competence development
- Which types of skills are best dealt with in work-based learning? Why?
- Do people really learn by doing – or do they just reinvent the wheel or develop sub-optimal solutions?
- To what extent is the focus on work-based learning fueled by the economic crisis and the need to cut costs?
- What are the most important challenges associated with a competence development strategy focused on work-based learning?
- How can the HR department best support that work-based learning is effective?
- How can work-based learning be improved by the use of ICT?
- How can work-based learning be improved through cooperation with partners outside the company? Which partners? What type of cooperation?
- What can be the role of EU?

Role of companies in promoting youth employment

- What are the challenges for companies concerning transnational placements of own apprentices? And for companies considering taking on a foreign apprentice for a placement?
- How do economic incentives affect companies’ willingness to take on apprentices?
- Which factors prevent companies from taking on apprentices?
- Which are the most important challenges in the cooperation between companies and vocational schools on apprenticeships?
- What can companies do to improve the situation concerning apprenticeships?
- What can schools do?
- How best to overcome the paradoxes related to supply and demands of apprenticeship places
- Which financial incentives should be available?
- What support is needed for in-company trainers?
- What can be the role of the EU?

Role of the EU in supporting vocational education and training
- How to strengthen the engagement of companies in EU actions? What are the critical factors, the ‘to-do’ and ‘not-to-do’ aspects?
- What do companies gain from taking part in activities such as Sector Skills Alliances and under what conditions do the benefits out-weigh the costs? Examples?
- What do companies gain from hosting mobile trainees and what conditions are needed for these benefits to be felt?
- What communication channels would be most effective to reach companies and convince them to engage in international learning mobility?


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