Education and Division of Labour

Middle- and Long-Term Prospectives in European Technical and Vocational Education

The Steering Committee for the Plan Europe 2000, Project 1: Education, invited the working group to analyse the problems of technical and vocational education projected over the next 30 years, both at se­ condary school and at university level. This report summarises the findings of approximately two years' research and discussion by the group, coordinated by the undersigned. It is in fact a combined report, although one chapter - the eighth­ is devoted specifically to university problems. This we consider to be amply justified by the nature of the subjects discussed: it is difficult to make a clear-cut distinction between solutions on the secondary level and solutions on the post-secondary level, especially when they are projected into the future. The group organised its work as follows: it consulted the literature to the extent possible and sought replies to a comprehensive analytical questionnaire from a wide sample of experts in different countries (the composition of the sample is described in the opening section of Appendix A); it arranged many meetings with qualified persons for discussions, as well as visits by individuals or small groups to training institutions in several European countries to meet experts in this field and it took part in national and international congresses and conferen­ ces on technical and/or vocational training and associated problems.