Lisbon, Bruges, Copenhagen: Milestones Towards a European Vocational Education and Training Sector—A Critical Survey of the Current Situation

Abstract

The Baltic states, as newer members of the European Union (EU), have been involved in the process of developing vocational education and training (VET) that was initiated by the Lisbon Council in 2000 and built upon by the 2002 Copenhagen Declaration. This chapter contributes to a collection of readings that provide information about the reform and development of VET in these countries in light of this European activity. The chapter acknowledges the role of the Lisbon Council and the Copenhagen Declaration in giving emphasis to VET through a series of initiatives designed to foster a Euopean VET sector. It provides an explanation of the key elements of the Copenhagen Declaration, which aims to develop increased cooperation in the area of VET in order to ‘promote trust, the transparency and recognition of qualifications, the establishment of a foundation for increased mobility and the facilitation of lifelong learning’. The authors provide a critical survey of the current situation in the EU, highlighting challenges, such as the need to increase the level and quality of mobility in VET, the shortage of qualified teaching and training staff, and a stagnant rate of participation in lifelong learning. A survey of the current state of play in the Baltic states follows, briefly outlining a number of reforms to the VET systems of the region begun in the early 1990s, and highlighting the problems still to be addressed, such as the negative image of VET. It is concluded that the new member states, including those of the Baltic region, have made considerable progress in developing their VET systems in line with European standards.