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The Intequal project examined approaches to vocational education and training (VET) in seven European countries. Intequal is an acronym for the French phrase "integrer les qualifications." The study focused on the following: functioning of integrated qualifications in the context of the educational system and the social and economic framework of the countries in question; educational issues implied in the schemes of integrated qualification in relation to the learning process, validation of competencies, and individual guidance; and transfer of qualitative innovation into mainstream VET and across national systems through pilot projects under the Leonardo program. Three types of recent transformations of VET were identified: schemes related to integrated systems of general and vocational qualification that fall under overall legislation on education; schemes operating within a more diversified system of courses and institutions under the authority of various educational and professional bodies; and schemes based on the dual system of vocational education and qualifying for the vocational stream of higher education. It was concluded that, although the prospect of transferable solutions adopted from one country to another does not appear to make sense at present, three forms of mutual enrichment are worth considering: exploring the possibility of modeling, identifying common questions, and taking into account the phase of application where innovation occurs. (MN)

The proportion of individuals with little training varies greatly among European countries. Throughout Europe, nonparticipation in the labor market and unemployment seem relatively synonymous. Three degrees of labor market openness with regard to individuals with low levels of training are apparent throughout Europe: (1) in Portugal, skill acquisition occurs through channels other than a formalized training and certification system and the labor market remains relatively open to low-skilled people; (2) in Sweden, France, and the Netherlands, the labor market is becoming increasingly closed to low-skilled individuals; and (3) in the United Kingdom, labor force nonparticipation and unemployment tend to be higher among low-skilled individuals but their ability to enter the labor market has remained relatively stable. Young people (ages 25-29) with little training are especially vulnerable to nonparticipation in the labor market. The argument that women without training tend to remain at home and invest themselves in extraprofessional activities has not been totally verified. When everyone exiting a country's educational system obtains a certificate that allows labor market access, the lack of a certificate ends up being even more stigmatizing for those unable to attain even this minimum standard. One path worth exploring throughout Europe is that of accompanying low-skilled individuals who experience difficulty during the process of labor market entry to allow them to acquire a certain experience and strengthen their training during the process. (MN)