PURPOSE: the adoption of “Key Competences for lifelong learning – A European Reference Framework”.

PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council (2006/0962/EC) on key competences for lifelong learning.

CONTENT: in 2000, the European Council meeting in Lisbon concluded that a European framework should be established in order to define the provision of new basic skills in the form of lifelong learning. As globalisation continues to confront the European Union with new challenges each citizen will need a wide range of key competences to adapt flexibly to a rapidly changing and highly interconnected world. Since 2000 a number of Community initiatives have been adopted to help meet the needs outlined above.

The purpose of this Recommendation is to adopt “Key Competences for lifelong learning – A European Reference framework”. The Recommendation and the Reference Framework define “competences” as: “a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and the development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment.”

The Recommendation, accompanied by the Reference Framework, should contribute towards the development of quality, future oriented education and training tailored to the needs of European society. It has been developed in order to support and supplement actions at a national level by ensuring that their initial education and training systems offer all young people the means to develop key skills to a level that equips them for adult life. It should also be able to allow adults to form a basis for further learning and working life. In essence, the framework, will act as a common European reference framework to be used by policy makers, education and training providers, the social partners and learners themselves.

The Recommendation:

Based on the above, the Recommendation invites the Member States to develop the provisions set out in the Reference Framework for all, or as part of, their lifelong learning strategies. By applying the Recommendation the Member States will endeavour to:

offer all young people the means to develop skills that equips them for adult life and which forms a basis for further learning and working life; make the necessary provisions for those who, due to educational disadvantages caused by personal, social, cultural or economic circumstances, need particular support to fulfil their educational potential; help adults develop and update their key competences throughout their lives; offer an appropriate infrastructure for continuing education and adult training; achieve coherence in adult education and training for individual citizens and offering a close link with employment policy, social policy, cultural policy, innovation policy and other policies affecting young people.

Key Competences for lifelong learning – a European reference framework:

The main aims of the Reference Framework are to:

identify and define the key competences necessary for personal fulfilment, active citizenship, social cohesion and employability in a knowledge society; support the work of the Member States to ensure that by the end of initial education and training young people have developed the key competences to a level that equips them for adult life and which forms a basis for further learning and working life. Adults should be able to develop and update their key competences throughout their lives; provide a European level reference tool for policy makers, education providers, employers and learners themselves to facilitate national and European level efforts towards commonly agreed objectives; provide a framework for further action at Community level both within the Education and Training 2010 work programme and within the Community Education and Training Programme.

The framework identifies eight key competences. They are:

1) Communication in the mother tongue : Defined as an ability to communicate in the mother tongue and to express and interpret concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinion in both oral and written form and to interact linguistically in an appropriate way in a full range of contexts.

2) Communication in foreign languages : Defined as an ability to communicate in a foreign language – broadly similar to that of communicating in the mother tongue. It is based on the ability to understand, express and interpret concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions in both oral and written form. It recognises that an individual’s level of proficiency will vary between the four dimensions of listening, speaking, reading and writing and between the different languages.

3) Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology : Defined as the ability to develop and apply mathematical thinking in order to solve a range of problems in everyday situations. Competence in science refers to the ability and willingness to use the body of knowledge and methodology employed to explain the natural world, in order to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions.

4) Digital competence : Defined as an ability to use the confident and critical use of Information Society technology (IST) for work, leisure and communication. It is underpinned by basic skills in ICT; the use of computers to retrieve, assess, store, produce, present and exchange information and to communicate and participate in collaborative networks via the Internet.

5) Learning to learn: Defined as the ability to pursue and persist in learning and to organise one’s own learning.

6) Social and civic competences: Defined as equipping individual to participate in an effective and constructive way in social and working life in increasingly diverse society. To encourage individuals to participate in civic life, based o n knowledge of social and political concepts and structures and a commitment to active and democratic participation.

7) Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship : Defined as the ability to turn ideas into actions. It includes creativity, innovation and risk-taking as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.

8) Cultural awareness and expression: Defined as the ability to appreciate the importance of creative expression, experiences and emotions in a range of media, including music, performing arts, literature and the visual arts.

03650/1/2006

SP(2006)4772

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report by Helga TRÜPEL (Greens/EFA, DE) and made some amendments to the Commission’s proposal. (Please see the summary of 21/06/2006.)

T6-0365/2006

Debate in Parliament

A6-0262/2006

A6-0262/2006

The committee adopted the report by Helga TRÜPEL (Greens/EFA, DE) broadly approving the proposed recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning, subject to a number of amendments under the 1st reading of the codecision procedure:

- in the light of the Lisbon strategy, MEPs stressed the need for equal opportunities and "the achievement of an average employment rate for the EU of 70% overall and of at least 60% among women";

- emphasis should be placed on combating illiteracy, loss of literacy, digital illiteracy and innumeracy;

- Member States were urged to promote access to further training through legislative measures on study leave and to ensure proper educational opportunities for those returning to work after a long break or taking up employment following retraining;

- the introduction to the Annex was expanded to mention the main aims of the proposed reference framework. It also emphasised that people with low basic skills, early school leavers, the long-term unemployed, older people, migrants and people with disabilities needed particular support to fulfil their educational potential. Another amendment to the introduction stressed that the key competences should be seen as "guidelines" for the necessary skills in today's society and that it was not possible to master every skill referred to;

- the concepts on which civic competence is based should include justice and equality as well as democracy, citizenship and civil rights;

- the designation of Competence 7 (Entrepreneurship) should be expanded to include "Sense of initiative";

- the designation of Competence 8 (Cultural expression) should be expanded to include "cultural awareness", i.e. an awareness of local, national and European cultural heritage and their place in the world.

CDR0031/2006

PE370.195

PE372.210

Pending the opinion of the European Parliament at first reading, the Council agreed on a general approach to the proposed Recommendation on “Key Competences for lifelong learning”.

The proposed Recommendation responds to a mandate given by the 2000 Lisbon Council and reiterated in the “Education and Training 2010” work programme, which called for further action to improve basic skills and to strengthen the European dimension in education. Work is to focus on identifying basic as well as traditional skills and to allow them to become better integrated on a lifelong basis. Basic skills should be made available for everyone, including those with special needs, school drop-outs and adult learners.

The draft Recommendation seeks to establish a European reference framework to define the basic skills which all citizens need to acquire, through lifelong learning, personal fulfilment and in order to improve their employment chances in a modern knowledge-based economy. The key competences (basic skills) are:

- Communication in the mother tongue;

- Communication in foreign languages;

- Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology;

- Digital competence; and

- Learning to learn.

2729

CES0754/2006

PE371.748

PE370.125

PE371.967

2710

PURPOSE: To present a European reference tool on key skills through lifelong learning.

PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: The mandate for this proposal can be traced back to the 2000 Lisbon European Council. The heads of government recognised that in order for the EU to adapt to the challenges of globalisation and in order to shift the EU towards a knowledge-based economy every citizen must be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in the information society. The heads of government therefore called for the establishment of a European framework which would define the new basic skills that needed to be provided through lifelong learning, namely IT skills, foreign languages, a technological culture, entrepreneurship and social skills. The mandate to enact a European framework for the learning of key skills within the context of a knowledge-based economy was developed in the “Education and Training 2010” work programme (ET2010). The proposed Recommendation is linked to ET2010 in that it seeks to present a European reference tool for key competences and how they can be accessed by all of the EU’s citizens through lifelong learning. In this context the Commission suggest that the term “competences” refers to a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes. More concretely speaking, the objectives of the Recommendation are to:

- Identify and define the key competences necessary for personal fulfilment, social cohesion and employability in a knowledge society.

- Support Member States’ work to guarantee that young people are equipped with certain key skills by the time their initial training and education has been completed and to support Member State’s policies guaranteeing adults the ability to develop and update key skills throughout their lives.

- Provide a European level reference tool for policy makers, educational providers, employers and earners to facilitate national and European efforts towards commonly agreed objectives.

- Provide a framework for further action at Community level both within the Education and Training 2010 work programme and within the Community Education and Training programmes.

The reference tool is outlined in Annex form to the Recommendation and is entitled “Key Competences for Lifelong Learning – A European Reference Framework”. Eight key skills or competences are identified. They are:

- Communication in the mother tongue;

- Communication in foreign languages;

- Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology;

- Digital competence;

- Learning to learn;

- Interpersonal, intercultural and social competences and civic competence;

- Entrepreneurship; and

- Cultural expression.

According to the Commission this proposal fulfils both the subsidiarity and proportionality principles in that the key competences are to be acquired by all citizens thereby creating a political commitment for reforms that can not be achieved by solely relying on the Community education and training programmes. Implementation of the reference framework is entirely up to the Member States. Lastly, the proposal has no budgetary implication for the Community budget.

COM(2005)0548
EUR-Lex

This Staff Working Document is Annexed to the Commission Communication on Modernising Education and Training in Europe and is a draft joint progress report on the implementation of the “Education and Training 2010 work programme”. It is a comprehensive, all encompassing report, covering a number of diverse and wide-ranging issues relating to all aspects of education. The subjects under discussion include primary education, life-long learning and to the impact of the Bologna Process on higher education in Europe. The Paper charts progress in implementing the Education and Training Programme since 2004 and provides an update of the 2003 Commission Staff Working Paper covering the first two years of implementation. Each of the 32 countries participating in the work programme submitted a national report. They were based on a structure devised by the Commission in which concise information was requested and included, for example, the relationship between national policies and the Lisbon Agenda.

As a starting point, the document refers to the Lisbon Declaration in which the EU’s heads of state declared that Europe must renew its competitiveness, increase its growth and productivity, strengthen social cohesions and place a strong emphasis on knowledge, innovation and the optimisation of human capital. Clearly, education in all aspects, whether primary, secondary, higher or life-long plays a pivotal role in the relationship between innovation and competitiveness and the EU’s desire to establish itself as the most dynamic, knowledge based economy in the world. However, if these ambitions are to be realised, urgent educational reforms are a must. Indeed the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy, carried out in 2005, reinforced the reform message. In order to examine these and other issues, the Paper has been organised through the analysis of cross-country national reports, which are outlined in Sections 2-7. Specifically,

- Section 2 examines the growing relationship between the Lisbon strategy and national education training policies.

- Section 3 gives an overview of Member States’ priorities for reform and investment. It also takes stock of a country’s effort to increase the efficiency of investments and to monitor how effective their education/training systems are.

- Section 4 assesses Member States’ progress in adopting and implementing national strategies for lifelong learning taking account of the 2006 deadline set in the Interim Report. Both the coherence and competence of the strategies are discussed and national progress in relation to key lifelong learning objectives is reported. Also discussed are the challenges and obstacles faced by those wishing to pursue lifelong learning.

- Section 5 addresses higher education reform – both in relation to the Bologna Process and to the 2010 Education and Training programme.

- Section 6 examines how the Member Stats are improving the quality and attractiveness of VET, through the implementation of tools developed under the Copenhagen process.

- Section 7 concerns the European dimension of education and training both in terms of mobility and the kind of policies being implemented to promote student, pupil and teacher mobility. Also under scrutiny is what impact Europe has on national curricula at primary and secondary school level and in teacher education.

- Section 8 reports on the implementation of the 2010 Education and Training programme at a European level whilst at the same time making note of developments in the broader framework of the mid-term Lisbon strategy review.

The Commission stresses that the picture emerging from the cross-country analysis is not a comprehensive overview of the huge diversity and complexity of national situations. Rather, it seeks to provide a synthetic account of the main priorities, concerns, areas of progress and results still to be achieved.

SEC(2005)1415
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: To present a European reference tool on key skills through lifelong learning.

PROPOSED ACT: Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: The mandate for this proposal can be traced back to the 2000 Lisbon European Council. The heads of government recognised that in order for the EU to adapt to the challenges of globalisation and in order to shift the EU towards a knowledge-based economy every citizen must be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in the information society. The heads of government therefore called for the establishment of a European framework which would define the new basic skills that needed to be provided through lifelong learning, namely IT skills, foreign languages, a technological culture, entrepreneurship and social skills. The mandate to enact a European framework for the learning of key skills within the context of a knowledge-based economy was developed in the “Education and Training 2010” work programme (ET2010). The proposed Recommendation is linked to ET2010 in that it seeks to present a European reference tool for key competences and how they can be accessed by all of the EU’s citizens through lifelong learning. In this context the Commission suggest that the term “competences” refers to a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes. More concretely speaking, the objectives of the Recommendation are to:

- Identify and define the key competences necessary for personal fulfilment, social cohesion and employability in a knowledge society.

- Support Member States’ work to guarantee that young people are equipped with certain key skills by the time their initial training and education has been completed and to support Member State’s policies guaranteeing adults the ability to develop and update key skills throughout their lives.

- Provide a European level reference tool for policy makers, educational providers, employers and earners to facilitate national and European efforts towards commonly agreed objectives.

- Provide a framework for further action at Community level both within the Education and Training 2010 work programme and within the Community Education and Training programmes.

The reference tool is outlined in Annex form to the Recommendation and is entitled “Key Competences for Lifelong Learning – A European Reference Framework”. Eight key skills or competences are identified. They are:

- Communication in the mother tongue;

- Communication in foreign languages;

- Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology;

- Digital competence;

- Learning to learn;

- Interpersonal, intercultural and social competences and civic competence;

- Entrepreneurship; and

- Cultural expression.

According to the Commission this proposal fulfils both the subsidiarity and proportionality principles in that the key competences are to be acquired by all citizens thereby creating a political commitment for reforms that can not be achieved by solely relying on the Community education and training programmes. Implementation of the reference framework is entirely up to the Member States. Lastly, the proposal has no budgetary implication for the Community budget.

COM(2005)0548
EUR-Lex