Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice) 2018 Development during a career has to become self-evident News item 27-09-2018 | 19:59 It must become self-evident that everyone continues to develop during his or her career. That is why there is a joint action plan from employers’ and employees' organizations, educational institutions, implementing organizations and the government. The aim is that people gain more influence or control over their careers and can adapt to changes on the labor market. Minister Koolmees of Social Affairs and Employment and Minister Van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science write this to the Lower House, also on behalf of State Secretary Keijzer of Economic Affairs and Climate. Minister Koolmees: 'The labor market is changing rapidly, for example through new technologies, digitization and the energy transition. New jobs are coming, others are disappearing. To stay up to date, you need to school yourself regularly. This will give you more control over your own career. That is why the Cabinet wants to ensure a breakthrough in the area of ​​Long-term Development. ' Minister Van Engelshoven: 'Where your diploma used to be your destination, it is precisely the starting point of lifelong learning and development.' In order to gain more influence on your career, it has to become clearer which training opportunities there are. There will be more support in the form of information, career advice and coaching. The supply of education is becoming more flexible. Small companies are encouraged to also do additional training and retraining. The Cabinet will also assist in the realization of an individual learning and development budget for everyone. It is a new instrument; other countries as well have relatively little experience with it. As a first step, the government wants to develop a digital overview of individual training options and - in due course - matching financial benefits. 218 million euros will be available for this long-term investment. In some companies and sectors there are already so-called individual learning and development accounts, in the form of learning accounts, vouchers or drawing rights. These are all intended to give the employee more control over his or her development. The government is going to stimulate expansion by improving the preconditions and tax deductions. The Netherlands is doing well internationally in the field of Long-term Development. There are approximately one hundred Education and Development funds. Companies and funds spend 1.7 billion euros annually on training. But it is mainly young people and highly educated people who make use of it. Sometimes retraining also happens too late, causing people to become unemployed. The cabinet's action plan, the employers' organizations and the employees' organizations will further improve the situation. Next year the government will allocate more than 10 million euros to it. Radical change of course needed to strengthen the position of teachers News item | 11-06-2018 A strong professional association is essential for both teachers and teaching in the Netherlands. Action in the past few years to set up such an association has had too little effect. For this reason, education minister Arie Slob has decided on a radical change of course. In a letter sent to the House of Representatives last Monday he writes that plans to build a strong professional association for teachers deserve a second chance. To decide which steps should now be taken, Mr Slob has asked Alexander Rinnooy Kan to carry out an exploratory study. Before the summer, Mr Rinnooy Kan will hold a first round of talks with teachers’ unions, teachers and other stakeholders. ‘A smoothly functioning professional association is in everyone’s interests, and essential for our schools,’ he said. ‘I will do everything I can to help.’ Mr Rinnooy Kan chaired a committee appointed in 2007 by the then education minister to give an advisory opinion on measures to tackle teacher shortages and improve the position and quality of teachers. Report Mr Rinnooy Kan is expected to submit a report on further measures to strengthen the profession later in the year. A new course will be set out on the basis of this report. Mr Rinnooy Kan is familiar with the issues at stake. ‘He is the best person for this job, given his experience in dealing with complex issues and his earlier recommendations on this subject,’ said Mr Slob. Teachers are now highly organised in trade unions and in some cases specialist associations, but there is no overarching national association to represent them in matters relating to their profession and standards of quality – unlike doctors and lawyers, for example. In the past, the Onderwijscoöperatie (Teaching Cooperative) fulfilled this role. Because this organisation had little support among teachers, it was disbanded. Register of Teachers The minister has also decided to take no further action on the compulsory national Register of Teachers. ‘We won’t take the next step until we know exactly what is needed to ensure that the register has teachers’ full support,’ said Mr Slob.’ The voluntary register will continue to be available for teachers who have entered their professional development portfolios in it.’ According to the minister, the Register of Teachers had become an end in itself, when it was originally intended as a means towards a strong professional association. ‘Our efforts need to be geared to building a strong professional association,’ he said. ‘Teachers have been made to wait too long.’ Mr Rinnooy Kan shares this view. ‘The register is the support, not the main act.’ Teachers at the helm Mr Slob feels that teachers should take charge. He doesn’t plan to impose a professional association from the top down, but he wants to support teachers in setting one up. ‘Teachers’ interests should have priority. And in that case, teachers should be at the helm of this process,’ he concluded. Ministry of Education, Culture and Science: new measures in the New Year News item | 27-12-2017 On 1 January 2018 various measures targeting the education field will come into effect. Interdenominational schools From 1 January 2018 it will be easier for non-denominational public-authority primary schools and privately-run denominational or non-denominational primary schools to merge. This is a pragmatic solution for schools in areas where the number of children is in decline. Such areas will then still have a local school where children can receive teaching that ties in with their values. Futureproof education From 1 January 2018 it will be easier for primary schools to change their status from public-authority to privately-run school and vice versa. It will also be easier for a school to relocate within municipal boundaries. The new measure makes it easier for school boards to work together at regional level. This is becoming increasingly important in order to cope with declining pupil numbers in some parts of the country. Arithmetic attainment test results no longer count in pre-university education (VWO) From the 2017/2018 school year, pupils in pre-university education (VWO) will no longer need to pass the mandatory arithmetic attainment test in order to get their school-leaving certificate. This change only affects VWO pupils, as in other types of secondary education the test results did not count anyway. New deadline for secondary vocational education applications: 1 April Pupils who want to apply for a course in secondary vocational education (MBO) for the coming academic year must do so by 1 April 2018. This rule is new. Only students who have applied by this date are eligible for admission to their course of choice. A student who applies after this date may be refused admission, so it is vital that they apply on time. Students can always switch courses after their initial application. New round of the Regional Investment Fund In 2018 the Regional Investment Fund (RIF) will hold a new call for proposals for businesses that want to invest in innovative vocational education in partnership with MBO schools. Education minister Ingrid van Engelshoven has made €25 million available for this round. New level of higher education A new, separate level of education is being introduced in 2018: the associate degree. Associate degree courses are two-year courses in higher professional education. They are particularly suited to students with MBO 4 qualifications who want to study further but find a four-year bachelor’s course too daunting. The associate degree also offers opportunities for continuing professional development and training for working people and others in the context of lifelong learning. A total of 150 associate degree courses are offered at 22 government-funded institutions for higher professional education (HBO, hogescholen) and a further 60 at privately run hogescholen that do not receive government funding. Reducing the administrative burden in higher education accreditation process Quality assurance monitoring in higher education means a great deal of unnecessary paperwork for Dutch universities and institutions of higher professional education (hogescholen). Once every six years, they are scrutinised by the Netherlands-Flanders Accreditation Organisation (NAVO). Sometimes as many as 60 binders are necessary to hold all the documentation required. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven, wants to examine ways of reducing the administrative burden through a pilot project, which has just received the cabinet’s approval and will be launched in January 2018. 2017 Tuitions fees halved for first two years of teaching training News item | 07-12-2017 Tuition fees will not only be halved for students starting primary school teacher training (PABO) in the 2018/2019 academic year, but also for students starting other teacher training courses, provided they have not previously been enrolled in higher education.