On the Way to 2020: Data for Vocational Education and Training Policies. Country Statistical Overviews. Update 2013

This report provides an updated statistical overview of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in European countries. These country statistical snapshots illustrate progress on indicators selected for their policy relevance and contribution to Europe 2020 objectives. The indicators take 2010 as the baseline year and present statistical overviews for the 28 European Union Member States and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey. The overviews comprise 32 carefully selected indicators that provide relevant information about the position of each country in relation to the priorities of European VET and lifelong learning policy. Indicators are supplemented by a short commentary highlighting particularly interesting points of information for each country. The indicators provide country-based evidence on: (1) access, attractiveness, and flexibility of initial and continuous VET; (2) investment, skill developments, and labour market relevance in VET; and (3) labour market transitions and employment trends. They offer a review of progress in key areas of education and training policy in Europe. This updated version of the report incorporates new hard evidence from the European statistical system, including the latest rounds of the continuing vocational training survey and the adult education surveys, as well as most recent updates from the European Union labour force survey and the UNESCO/OECD/EUROSTAT (UOE) data collection on education. Latest data from Cedefop skills supply and demand forecasts are also considered. Data are based on international statistics enabling comparisons of countries and statistical averages for the European Union. This publication is a valuable tool to help policymakers understand and assess the situation in each European country. The following annexes are included: (1) Short description of indicators; and (2) Comparative overview of selected statistical sources. [This report is the result of a team effort, with contributions from Cedefop colleagues under the supervision of Pascaline Descy; Marco Serani coordinated the project; and Steve Bainbridge and Mircea Badescu provided valuable input and suggestions throughout. Arie Gelderblom, Marion Collewet, Lynn Gambin, and Terence Hogarth drafted the report and provided conceptual, methodological, statistical, and technical contributions to the selection, presentation, and management of various data. Assistance was also provided by Dan Dinu, Matthijs de Jong, Martina Korudova, Andrew Holden, and Rob Wilson. The work was carried out under Cedefop's service contract No AO/RPA/MSERA-ALSTI/VET Statistical overview/009/11.]