News

Date: 5-9 December 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium

This first European Vocational Skills Week will take place from 5 to 9 December 2016 with events in Brussels and parallel activities in Member States, EFTA and EU candidate countries at national, regional and local levels.

What is it about?

This is to improve the attractiveness and image of vocational education and training. We want to showcase excellence and quality and raise awareness of the wide range of opportunities.

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The IT sector has been changing rapidly over the past years and, as a consequence, so have the skills and experiences organisations are looking for in a candidate. More and more, employers are turning to certifications, internships and apprenticeships.

Hiring leaders are increasingly focused on identifying candidates with specific talents, regardless of where they were acquired. According to CompTIA’s 2015 study, HR Perceptions of IT Training and Certification, 98 percent of HR and hiring managers are willing to consider qualifications outside of university on an applicant’s resume. Almost half (42 percent), of HR and hiring managers will consider significant experience instead of a degree, while 38 percent view a certification from a reputable organisation as a viable alternative, and 35 percent hold internships and apprenticeships in equal regard

Even so, a majority of students and parents view a bachelor’s degree as a necessary credential within the IT industry. However, skills and experience are the new currency for budding careers in technology. This skill-focused alternative to traditional degrees is a pragmatic approach. It comes at a lower price tag than even public universities and translates directly to expertise used on the job. Showcasing these qualifications on a resume or cover letter also makes it easier for hiring managers to match their needs against applicants’ skills and experiences.

Read the full article on eSkills For Jobs 2016 website

NGI-NGN and ECDL Netherlands recently launched an initiative to promote ethical consciousness among IT professionals who are at the beginning of their career. The Oath is modelled on similar declarations used in other professions, with the famous Hippocratic Oath being a prime example.

At the launch of the initiative, Roy Osinga, Managing Director of ECDL Netherlands said, "The Oath, on one hand aims to contribute to professionalism. Perhaps even more important is, that it is a stimulus to act ethically. Many IT professionals have become the architects of how we live and live together. With this, we hope to introduce a form of reflection on socially conscious action."

Both organisations involved in this action—NGI-NGN and ECDL Netherlands—are responsible for delivering ECDL in the Netherlands.

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The New Skills Agenda for Europe has featured prominently in the programme for Slovakia’s term in the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The document calls for greater levels of adult education, with the inclusion of digital, entrepreneurial and transversal skills.

According to the programme, the Slovak Presidency will follow the priorities that are set out in the European Commission’s New Skills Agenda for Europe. The programme emphasises that the Presidency will have a focus on, “developing tools and services for skills and qualification and on improving their comparability”, continuing to state that, “it will also address the modernisation of higher education and digital skills.”

Slovakia began its term in the Presidency on 1 July, and will continue until the end of the year. More information can be found on the website of the Slovak Presidency.

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The European Commission has recently published a report that looked at 12 specific types of non-office jobs. The main finding is that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) profoundly affects the work tasks and skills requirements of all types of work, including jobs outside the traditional office.

The report "The impact of ICT on job quality: evidence from 12 job profiles" is the first part of a wide-ranging study which will provide comprehensive evidence regarding digital skills in the workplace. The results will feed into the Commission's work on digital skills and its new initiative the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

The 12 non-office based job profiles presented are: dairy farmer, machine operator, industrial designer, building electrician, transport clerk, car mechanic, police detective, VET teacher, property caretaker, doctor in a hospital, animator and desktop publisher.

Read the full article in e-Skills For Jobs 2016