Nordic Transition Conference
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NORDIC TRANSITION CONFERENCE 1st – 2nd November 1999 Oslo, May 2000 Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs Preface Transition Conference: Nordic Approaches On November 1 - 2, 1999 a conference was held in Oslo under the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs in collaboration with the OECD, named: The Transition from Initial Education to Working Life: Nordic Approaches The conference was initiated by the OECD and arranged as a follow-up event of the OECD report The Thematic Review of The Transition from School to Working Life. The objectives of the conference were to: • Arrive at a clear statement of the key features of Nordic approaches to the transition from initial education to working life • Produce a joint Royal Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs - OECD publication containing the background material for and conclusions of the conference • Give countries an opportunity to learn from one another‘s experiences through face-to-face discussion • Assist policy development in participating countries Key themes for the conference were: 1 Building effective pathways from initial education to working life 2 The Nordic approach to building safety nets for those at risk 3 Building a basis for lifelong learning in the transition phase Representatives from the 14 countries which were actively involved in the OECD Thematic Review of the Transition from School to Working Life participated at the conference. This report from the conference contains: Program of the conference Address speech by Gudmund Hernes Rapporteur‘s summary (Highlights from the conference) List of participants Background Paper Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1: Building a basis for lifelong learning in the transition phase.......................................... 35 1.1 Attempts to lay a basis for lifelong learning in the transition phase ..................................... 35 1.1.1 Reforms in the 1990s of the Nordic education systems and policy directions, which may be considered to be attempts to lay a basis for lifelong learning ............................................... 36 1.2 Initiatives to put in place forms of teaching and learning that are intended to encourage lifelong learning...................................................................................................................... 42 1.3 Transition patterns and participation rates ............................................................................. 48 1.4 Participation in part-time, weekend and holiday jobs ............................................................ 55 1.5 Impact of globalisation and internationalisation on the transition phase ............................... 57 1.6 Educational attainment of the adult population...................................................................... 58 1.7 Is there a Nordic model of transition from initial education to working life?........................ 59 Chapter 2: Is there a Nordic approach to building safety nets for those at risk?............................... 61 2.1 Explicit or implied rights to education and training in the transition phase and efforts to prevent school failure and reduce number of early leavers .................................................... 61 2.2 Policies and programmes to follow up and address the needs of young people who leave upper secondary education without having obtained a qualification ..................................... 63 2.3 The Nordic labour markets in the 1990s - impact on youth and young adults ....................... 67 2.4 Policies, labour market measures and other programmes for early school leavers and young people and young adults who are without work ..................................................................... 76 2.5 Counselling and guidance within and outside schools for young people at risk and for early school leavers.......................................................................................................................... 81 2.6 Coherence in the relationship between education, labour, income support and welfare policies in terms of reducing the incidence of early school leaving....................................... 83 Chapter 3: Building effective pathways from initial education to working life................................ 85 3.1 Building more effective pathways through structural and curricular reform ........................ 85 3.1.1 Initiatives to broaden and reduce the number of entry ports to vocational education........... 85 3.1.2 Initiatives to modularise the curriculum................................................................................ 86 3.1.3 Existing arrangements and recent initiatives to create different types of pathways from vocational education to tertiary study.................................................................................... 90 3.2 How are counselling and guidance used to assist students in their choice of pathways?...... 91 3.3 The role of employers and trade unions within the education and training systems............. 95 3.4 Models of co-operation between the classroom and working life and methods used to provide students with experience in the work place............................................................... 96 3.5 Importance of occupational qualifications............................................................................ 101 ANNEX 1.................................................................................................................................................. 102 Examples of modularised study programmes in Norway...................................................................... 102 ANNEX 2.................................................................................................................................................. 111 Examples of modularised study programmes in Finland....................................................................... 111 Studies included in the Vocational Qualification in Construction........................................................ 111 1 The Transition from Initial Education to Working Life: Nordic Approaches Oslo, 1 – 2 November 1999 Conference programme November 1 10.00 - 10.15 Welcome by Mr Jon Lilletun, Minister for Education, Research and Church Affairs 10.15 - 11.00 Key note address by Mr Gudmund Hernes, Former Minister for Education, Research and Church Affairs 11.00 - 11.30 Coffee break 11.30 - 13.00 Theme 1: Building effective pathways from initial education to working life, The Nordic approach Each of the Nordic countries gives a presentation, max 15 minutes. Reactions by non-Nordic countries: Austria, Japan, Switzerland 13.00 - 14.00 Lunch 14.00 - 15.00 Reactions to and discussion of Theme 1 in small groups 15.00 - 16.00 Theme 2: The Nordic approach to building safety nets for those at risk Each of the Nordic countries gives a presentation, max 15 minutes. Reactions by non-Nordic countries: Australia, Canada, Portugal, UK 16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break 16.30 - 18.00 Reactions to and discussion of Theme 2 by a panel from Australia, Canada, Portugal and UK 19.30 - Dinner 2 November 2 09.10 - 10.30 Questions arising from day 1; clarification, perspective sharing Introduced and facilitated by Richard Sweet, OECD 10.30 - 11.00 Coffee break 11.00 - 12.30 Theme 3: Building a basis for lifelong learning in the transition phase, The Nordic Approach. Each of the Nordic countries gives a presentation, max 15 minutes. Reactions by non-Nordic countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, United States 12.30 - 13.30 Lunch 13.30 - 14.30 Reactions to and discussion of Theme 3 in small groups 14.30 - 15.00 Coffee break 15.00 - 16.00 Small group discussions to bring together conference key messages and conclusions 16.00 - 16.30 Rapporteur‘s summary. Rapporteur; Dr Cathleen Stasz, Rand Corporation, USA 16.30 - 17.00 Final remarks by Mr Ole Briseid, Director General, Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs Social event: (Voluntary for those already present) Sunday, October 31 at 16.20: We want to arrange a short travel to Holmenkollen Ski Museum to experience some of Norway‘s famous ski traditions. Meeting point: Hotel Reception at 16.20, Sunday October 31. Objectives: The objectives of the conference will be: • To arrive at a clear statement of the key features of Nordic approaches to the transition from initial education to working life • To produce a joint Royal Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs - OECD publication containing the background material for and conclusions of the conference • To give countries an opportunity to learn from one another‘s experiences through face-to-face discussion • To assist policy development in participating countries 3 Background paper: This paper draws on the national Background Reports prepared by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden for the OECD‘s Thematic Review of the Transition from Initial Education to Working Life, as well as on the Country notes prepared for each of these countries. Conference report: After the conference a report will be produced containing the conclusions of the conference. 4 Gudmund Hernes The Transition from Initial Education to Working Life The topic for this conference is “The Transition from Initial Education to Working Life”. The reason why we can organize a conference on this topic is because of the transformation of working life. For there was a time when little special training was needed. One prepared for work by doing it – by everyday participation