Live&Learn Issue 9

ISSUE // 09

April 2008

NEWS, VIEWS AND INITIATIVES FROM ACROSS THE ETF COMMUNITY

EU Science Commissioner: Good education key to innovation

Moving calls for mutual benefit Egypt Special: A woman with manpower ETF bent on fighting corruption

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Letter from the editor LEARNING TO INNOVATE Innovation and learning are two essential elements of successful education reform strategies.

Innovation and learning combine to create a virtuous cycle in which increased knowledge and understanding creates insights for how learning can be applied in new ways. At the same time, applying knowledge in new ways creates new knowledge.

adapt to and take advantage of the opportunities available in the global economy.

The ability to develop and apply new knowledge is critical to the contemporary economy. It is an outcome of improvements in human capital. The more human capital that an economy can draw on, the more likely it is that it can

The skills and competencies that individuals need to be effective in labour are changing. In many cases, the specific skills are hard to predict. Education communities interested in providing the skills that are useful for individuals in the

CONTENTS

Making use of human capital means an effective relationship between education on the one hand and the economy on the other. How the economy and the education sector can relate is at the heart of many current policy discussions.

economy are finding it harder to identify the competencies people need. Similarly, economic sectors themselves are finding it difficult to identify the skills required and, in many cases, even the occupations that are expected to be in demand.

The skill sets and occupations that were the hallmark of the industrial economy are a diminishing element in the relationship between education and the economy.

In the absence of predictability, the need is for skills that people can use in many different contexts and build on over time – skills that enable people to both specialise and broaden their capabilities.

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Science is a great communication tool and can be more effective than politics

Small loans to farmers

Moving calls for mutual benefit

A woman with “Manpower”

THE ETF HELPS TRANSITION AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF THEIR HUMAN RESOURCES THROUGH THE REFORM OF EDUCATION, TRAINING AND LABOUR MARKET SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS POLICY.

www.etf.europa.eu Cover Photo: European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik.

Please recycle this magazine when you finish with it.

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This need is increasingly being addressed by a stronger emphasis on entrepreneurial related skill sets that are based on the ability of individuals to adapt to different contexts and to learn to learn.

These capabilities provide individuals with very strong foundations for meeting the requirements of ongoing learning.

Similarly just as there are new skill needs there are new requirements for how these skills can be developed by individuals and provided by educational institutions. Modernising education and training systems is about solving this problem. In response education and training

15 Egyptian Observatory steps into adulthood

systems are increasingly moving towards the use of frameworks.

These frameworks aim to discover different ways for people – whatever their age or circumstances – to achieve their economic, social and personal potential through participation in learning. They provide tools that can be used by providers to innovate and develop new opportunities for learning.

The frameworks offer possibilities for increasing the number of learning opportunities in an education system, developing new content suitable for the new economy and offering learning opportunities to broader groups of people. This includes exploring ways in which learning

16 Christmas shopping for reform ideas

17 A digital map of MEDA

gained outside of education programmes can be recognised by the education sector, or how to make pathways in education so that people are able to build on what they have already achieved to access more learning.

One of the most interesting features of current reform strategies is seeing how frameworks lead to the design of diverse solutions in different contexts. This diversity among innovations creates increased opportunities for learning by providing many examples that can be shared between different systems.

Muriel Dunbar, ETF Director

18 ETF bent on fighting corruption

20 Education is an essential tool in shaping the new South Africa

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Fernando Heller Quinterio, ETF Nick Holdsworth, International Correspondents in Education Ard Jongsma, International Correspondents in Education

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Commissioner Potočnik demonstrates the link between science and music

Photo: ETF/EUP Images

Photo: ETF/EUP Images

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WE NEED TO PROMOTE CREATIVITY FROM THE EARLY STAGES OF LIFE

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SCIENCE CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN POLITICS

European Commissioner Janez Potočnik on scientific cooperation and creativity The EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Slovenian Janez Potočnik, began his career as an economist but very soon entered politics, one of his confessed “passions”. A member of Commission President José Manuel Barroso´s College of Commissioners since 2004, he underlines the EU´s political commitment to the partner countries and advocates an even stronger cooperation with them in the field of research. Live and Learn spoke to him about innovation and creativity and how these principles can benefit the EU´s future strategy.

In 2009, the “European Year on Creativity and Innovation through Education”, the EU will create new opportunities in the field of science and research for the partner

countries, with a special focus on the future Member States, Potočnik says.

“What we try to do in our research policy is to reinforce the European Research Area (ERA) and to strengthen cooperation across the borders of the existing Union. So we are also working with countries that have a European prospective (for example the Western Balkans and Turkey) and those that have a high research potential like Israel.

The fact that some of the Western Balkans could become new members of the EU is an important factor, but not the only one in our strategy”.

Cooperation with the partner countries is “essential” for the

European Commission and Brussels “is preparing a new strategy for the future” with a brand new and flexible approach, taking into consideration “the new political reality in the EU”, he states.

Framework programme “Cooperation is essential. It is in the interest of the EU and the rest of the world that the scientific base in these countries improves. In our new Framework Programme (FP), the European Commission has substantially changed the approach to international cooperation: we would like very much to associate as many countries as possible to the FP. We now have 27 member and 11 associated states and we

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cooperation between countries that have been at war but scientific cooperation never stopped. This is so because science benefits everyone. Science has no frontiers; like music, and sometimes it is a great communication tool, even more effective than politics.”

Considering the huge differences among these countries and between them and the EU, cooperation is not always easy.

“We must find the right balance”, Potočnik explains.

“Education is the core of everything.

You cannot do something you do not know and you can not innovate if you do not possess the right knowledge.

If you asked a company today why they chose to invest in Europe, the USA or China their reply would probably depend on whether the knowledge they need exists there or not. The basis for everything is the right knowledge which you either possess or you don’t. That is why education is the basis of all the policies we have done so far in the EU.”

“Very often we have an interest in cooperating but actually there is no possibility because of many existing problems on the ground. Even if we open up the EU programmes completely, they can not participate equally because of the different levels on both sides. We need to find a kind of approach through which we stimulate their research capacities. It means that the countries receiving EU support have to recognize capacity building in research as one of their priorities.”

Creativity But even if Potočnik describes himself as “a mild perfectionist” (“and a bit of a workaholic”), he also likes to relax with,music, one of his hobbies: “Music and science are interrelated because they are the final result of creativity”, he says.

“The concept of creativity is interesting because either you stimulate creativity from the very beginning, from kindergarten until the end of your life, or you will kill it in a way. We need to promote creativity from the early stages of life. Science has always been related to culture and openness. We have seen in the past cases of

Education –the Commissioner saysis a “basic element” to foster creativity and innovation, because “without a good education, no achievement is possible”.

Brain drain In spite of the efforts being made by the EU, the number of European scientists that leave Europe to pursue their careers in the USA or Japan remains high. The question is: how can the EU stop this brain drain?

“The first question we should try to answer is: do we think that we have in the EU enough knowledge capacities compared to the needs that we have? Well, I think here the answer will be no. But if you ask the Americans or the Japanese you will come to the same answer.

Everybody is competing globally for the knowledge of their people. The EU is also involved in that battle for knowledge. It is a trend that is part of our life. If you look to the number of people that are educated in science, you will find that the figures globally

are much higher in China than in Europe, that is true. China produces around 600.000 young scientists per year, India around 300.000 and Europe 100.000, but the trend in Europe is increasing. The increasing demand is based on the awareness of the importance of knowledge for the future of our life and also for the competitiveness of the EU markets.”

Fernando Heller Quinterio, ETF

Photo: ETF/EUP Images

have good examples of cooperation with Turkey or the Western Balkans.

Bosnia and Herzegovina asked for associated membership and is a very good model too. What does it mean? It means that if you pay the fee for cooperation you also get the benefits from it. The leitmotiv for cooperation is: equal rights and equal obligations. We are preparing a new international cooperation strategy with these countries. From the EU point of view there is a clear interest to step up the process.”

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JANEZ POTOČNIK: THE “HUMAN FACE” OF SCIENCE Janez Potočnik (Slovenia, March 1958) is the expert putting a human face on science to make it more understandable for everyone.

A quick look at his official webpage demonstrates his way of connecting with his audience. Texts like “A Stem Cell Story”, a short example of how science can fight diseases like diabetes are evidence of this. “I try to gather some fun ways to discover science…enjoy!”, he says. Potočnik, Slovenia’s former Minister for European Affairs, has a Ph.D. in Economics and headed the negotiating team for the Accession of his country to the EU between 1998 and 2004.

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WE NEED TO CREATE A NEW GENERATION OF EXPERTS

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SMALL LOANS TO FARMERS Poverty Reduction in Kyrgyzstan KOCHKOR, KYRGYZSTAN – Bank manager Ulan Kydyraliev knows how to tackle rural poverty in this remote mountainous region four hours drive from Bishkek: give farmers small loans.

Photo: ETF/N. Holdsworth

A key stakeholder in a pioneering ETF-backed poverty reduction scheme, Mr Kydyraliev, 44, understands that it is not as simple as merely throwing money at the problem.

His loans come with a catch – the farmers have to sign up to take short but intensive agricultural skills development courses that include drawing up business plans.

Taught through a novel outreach programme developed at a vocational education and training school, the five-month long courses are designed to equip small farmers to move beyond subsistence and into profit.

“We now have very few good agricultural and veterinary specialists in this region – after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ‘kholkoz’ collective farm system many of the best left,” he said.

into two training groups involved in arable and livestock farming – is a safe bet, he admitted.

The students were all farmers with some experience and a bank consultant helped them to create tailored business plans.

Teaching new veterinary techniques, optimum livestock feeding schedules, superior crop development or basic food processing and marketing techniques can bring swift and substantial benefits.

“We need to create a new generation of experts. We are pleased with the results – the farmers have increased their profits and we have had no defaults in repayments.”

“The project helps these people improve their farming techniques and businesses,” Mr Kydyraliev, Kochor branch manager of state Ail Bank said.

Business plans

The loans were small – a maximum of 20,000 Som (400 Euro) – and although no special terms were given, the 15% interest charged compares very favourably with rates of up to 32% charged by commercial banks for similar unsecured credit.

Providing credit lines to participants in the project – launched last year in a pilot involving 32 students divided

As a stakeholder in an 80,000 Euro project that involved a foreign donor, regional administration officials,

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Not so that of Kochkor’s VET school No 15, lead institution for the project.

Eduarda Castel Branco, the ETF’s Mozambique-born expert responsible for the three-country poverty reduction project – which has been running since early 2007 in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan – credits it with breaking the mould.

“VET schools have a very strange mission in post-Soviet countries,” Ms Castel Branco, a fluent Russian speaker, said.

“They are more about social assistance than education. Passive, not participatory, their main function is to train young people according to state orders under outdated curricula with little or nothing for the wider population.”

Rural poverty At a time when demand for skills-based, flexible market responsive training has probably never been greater in emerging economies such as Kyrgyzstan’s, VET schools are crying out to be used as open centres for learning.

Addressing that challenge – as a way of tackling the wider issues of rural poverty – is a key component of the ETF project.

Although Mr Tilemishov, 62, formally retired as head of school No. 15 last December (2007), he continues to lead the poverty reduction project.

With 18 years experience as a school principal – and before that as boss of a local state freight truck repair and maintenance depot and a stint as a regional Communist party political instructor – Mr Tilemishov, who also farms a three hectare plot of land himself, brings a wealth of experience and local connections to the job.

“Until this project came along we did not think about what professional skills might be needed beyond the training we provided. We did not think about whether they would be in demand,” he admitted.

All that changed when, with central government VET agency approval, school No. 15 began working with the ETF. A student-centred approach meant that Mr Tilemishov and his staff had to design the modular-based curriculum around the demands of the students, not the school.

Group seminars

quality cereal crops, effective ways to fatten up livestock or produce rich, creamy milk.

The results are impressive. Average incomes have more than doubled to 70 Euro a month.

A few dozen better educated farmers earning more money in a region with a population of 59,000 – nearly half of which are involved in agriculture – may not sound like much, but the Kochkor scheme can become an agent for change.

Peer review seminars with the graduates of the Tajik and Kazakh projects and Kyrgyzstan’s still strong system of clan and village social assistance will help spread the new techniques.

And a further 60 students will be trained this year.

“We would like to see such training groups in every village,” said Roza Adysheva, deputy head of the regional administration “This sort of training could be organised by our own government structures; if such an approach were applied across the country it would have a major impact on the Kyrgyz economy.”

So they took the lessons to the learners and provided largely practical training down on the farm for their busy students. Traditional ‘talk and chalk’ classes were ditched in favour of group seminars run as question-and-answer and discussion sessions.

“Responding to local needs and local questions cannot be done without changes in the VET school approach too,” said Ms Castel Branco, whose work has involved her in education and training projects in countries as diverse as Russia, Jordan, Benin, Angola and Togo.

The learning curve was perhaps even steeper for the VET school teachers than for the small farmers.

In this the ETF was fortunate in finding a VET school head with the experience, drive and attitude that was an exact fit.

The course addressed crucial issues, such as how to swiftly run a blood test on an animal to determine its health, methods for growing top

“We took advice from the student group and changed the study plan accordingly. That had never happened before,” Mr Tilemishov said.

Nick Holdsworth, ICE

Photo: ETF/N. Holdsworth

village government heads, adult learners and a key regional VET school, the bank role is probably the most traditional one.

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Ulan Kydyraliev, Kochor branch manager of state Ail Bank

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MUCH MORE CAN BE DONE TO INCREASE MIGRANT SKILLS

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MOVING CALLS FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT

Photo: ETF/A.Ramella

Migration as a tool for development

The potential of migrants is underused

Photo: Hossam el-Hamalawy

ETF Migration project coordinator Natalia Popova

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These white spots in the migration debate lie perfectly within the remit of the work of the European Training Foundation. In the last two years it has therefore allocated increasing resources to contribute to this topical theme.

In 2006, a chapter of the ETF Yearbook reviewed relevant literature. This was followed by a research project studying the relationship between human resources development and migration policies.

The project studied selected migration trends of four countries Albania, Egypt, Moldova and Tunisia, concluding, in the words of its project coordinator Natalia Popova, “that although economic arguments remain the most important push factor, much more can be done to increase the benefit of migrants’ skills to their home countries.”

Natalia Popova worked on the project with a large number of ETF staff, including Francesco Panzica, Jesús Alquezar Ummuhan Bardak, Elena Carrero Perez, ETF country manager for Egypt and other ETF country managers.

Mutual benefit ETF work on migration passed another milestone when an

international conference discussed the results of this study in Turin in January 2008. The agenda of the conference was set to discuss the need to better harness the skills of migrants who return to their home countries.

The interest in the subject was reflected by the high level of delegates at the conference which included Egypt’s Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdel Hadi whose ministry has intensified relations with the ETF on all fronts in 2007.

She said that there was a need to “intensify the dialogue between sending and receiving countries, not just to curb migration, but also to find ways of achieving mutual benefit.”

With that she moved the debate towards bilateral agreements between European countries and sending countries to steer migration into directions through which the highest level of mutual benefit can be achieved.

Aisha Abdel Hadi quoted recent agreements between Egypt and Italy that can be used as a model for other countries to base negotiations on.

urgent need of qualified workers in building and manufacturing.

In northern Europe, the picture is quite different, with public policies encouraging the immigration of workers in high-skill fields of employment while discouraging other kinds of immigration. As the situation is today, however, such labour shortages in high-skill work environments are unlikely to be easily mitigated through migration.

As the ETF research shows, the reality is that the potential of migrants is still gravely underused.

By and large, highly skilled migrants continue to be employed in low-skill jobs.

Paradox Several delegates commented on the paradox of our striving for free movement of capital while restricting the movement of labour.

Commenting from the audience, Sukhdev Sharma of the European Economic and Social Committee called for a wholesale reconsideration of the role of migration in development.

Skills dynamics Extremely large youth cohorts have resulted in a surplus of labour in many countries in North Africa and the Middle East. At the same time, there is a significant labour shortage in many countries in Europe whose population is rapidly ageing.

Controlled migration offers potential for mutual benefit, but political sensitivity surrounding the issue of migration still stifles constructive dialogue in this area.

The skills shortage is also quite different in different EU countries.

Some of the southern European countries face shortages in low-skill jobs as exemplified by Italy which in

Photo: ETF/A.Ramella

The migration debate in the European Union tends to focus on security, culture, religion and integration. If education is taken into the equation at all, it is often limited to the need for equal access and opportunities for first and second generation migrant communities within the European Union. Very little is said or written about the role that education and training at home play in the decisions and performance of migrants and potential migrants.

Equally little is known about how the skills of returning migrants are used in their home countries.

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Sukhdev Sharma of the European Economic and Social Committee

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Photo: ILO/J. Maillard

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“Can we not use migration as a tool for development,” he asked. “Can we not use and train migrant workers – and not just those from our neighbouring countries, but also from those we aim to help develop, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa?”

these may account for a sizeable part of incoming foreign currency in some countries, there are much further reaching long-term benefits to be gained from migration.

Not disagreeing, Richard Black of the University of Sussex responded that there are already millions of people helping development through migration. In other words, migration supports development per sé.

During an ETF visit to Tirana some years ago, Education Minister Genc Pollo said that he was not afraid of brain drain. “Educated people who leave Albania provide a strong motivation for those who stay behind to engage in education and training,” he said in 2005.

In fact, the different countries also seem to have differing views on the benefits and threats of migration.

Some, for example, lament the results of brain drain, while others prefer to refer to phrases such as “brain circulation” and even “brain gain”. Remittances are also often brought into the equation. But while

Development tool

In Turin, Kosta Barjaba of the Albanian Ministry of Labour echoed Pollo’s comments in a strong address during which he said: “Migration is a source of economic, social and human development for Albania. It is an economic factor on

a par with trade and foreign investment.”

He did, however, acknowledge the core message of the work of the ETF when he said: “For us the gains are worth the losses, but we can still become much better at using this financial and social capital.”

The debate repeatedly veered towards the potential for migration management as exemplified by the bilateral agreements signed between Italy and surrounding countries, but also quoted by Moldovan Deputy Miniter Sergiu Sainciuc whose Ministry of Economy and Trade is engaged in continuing bilateral negotiations with a large number of countries.

Many agreements that aim at steering migration through legal channels are already in place

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Migration management proved a hot topic during the debate. Not everyone believed that the current focus on limiting migration would be effective in the long run.

“Economic theory tells us that migration is a natural process from regions with underused labour towards regions with labour demand,” said Richard Black.

“Perhaps governments should address the constraints, rather than trying to make happen what already happens anyway.”

In the afternoon panel discussion in Turin, Richard Black made a strong point when he referred back to the paradox, saying that a “schizophrenia” still haunted the migration debate in the EU. “The ETF research sheds light on a number of issues,” he said. “The one that stands out most is that migrants have high expectations before they leave for an EU country.

They travel and then get severely

underemployed. Many return disillusioned. The study documents this, but it doesn’t document why they don’t get the jobs they are qualified for. Are their skills not recognised? Or are they simply discriminated against?”

These are indeed important questions and in her powerful closing note of the panel discussion, ETF Director Muriel Dunbar picked up them, saying that if we do nothing at all to improve the situation of people migrating into and out of the EU, “a lot of individual dreams will continue to be shattered.”

With that she responded to repeated calls to remember that “win-win” in migration issues should not just pertain to sending and receiving countries, but also to the individual undertaking the important step of moving away from home to a far away and uncertain future. Thus, in this field we need “win-win-win” situations.

“We will continue to explore the issue and to push for taking human resources development into the equation when migration is discussed,” Muriel Dunbar said, quoting areas such as skills recognition and social inclusion as possible focal points. “We will also continue to ensure that migration is taken into account in education and training policies in our partner countries.”

In parallel, activities have already been launched in Ukraine where the ETF has carried out a similar study at the request of DG Justice.

Activities in the pipeline include an Egyptian sectoral skill needs analysis that is cofunded by the Italian Trust Fund, a cross-country analysis carried out in cooperation with the World Bank on the basis of the results of the initial project, and a new study that will look at migration from Tajikistan.

Ard Jongsma, ICE

The ETF project

The work shows that in the four studied countries an overwhelmingly large group of people aged between 18 and 40 consider moving abroad.

However, fewer than half of these are ever likely to be in a position to emigrate by acquiring the finances needed to move, sufficient knowledge of the destination country’s language and culture, and the necessary documents. Those that do migrate, typically do so to gain financial benefit.

Having a job in their home country is no deterrent at all. Virtually regardless of their educational attainment and skills, they tend to end up in jobs that are well below their education level. And

when they return they are welcomed with insufficient opportunities to harness what experience they have gathered abroad. Many become self-employed or even employers.

One of the key conclusions of the project is that more must be done in the sending countries to align education and training to the actual needs of the labour market. Migration should be focussed on areas where there are skills shortages and at the same time the learning benefits of working and living abroad need to be systematically captured.

Photo: ILO/J. Maillard

During the course of 2006 and 2007, the European Training Foundation carried out some groundbreaking research into the links between migration, education and work in Albania, Egypt, Moldova and Tunisia.

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EGYPT SPECIAL

by Ard Jongsma, ICE

A WOMAN WITH “MANPOWER” Photo: ETF/A. Ramella

Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Emigration Aisha Abdel Hadi visits the ETF On 25 January, Aisha Abdel Hadi, Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Emigration, visited the European Training Foundation in Turin to attend the presentation of the first results of its work on migration. Chair of the Supreme Council of Human Resources Development, Aisha Abdel Hadi has become one of the ETF’s most appreciated allies in Egyptian education and training reforms.

The migration seminar was not the sole purpose of her visit. Aisha Abdel Hadi closely follows a raft of ETF activities in Egypt.

“I have also come to discuss the national qualifications framework project,” she says. “At this exact moment in time, we are comparing Egyptian skills and their development to international standards. The NQF project is instrumental for this.”

But the migration seminar presented an opportunity to visit Turin. Egypt was one of the first four countries covered by the project and the minister has already endorsed specific follow-up activities.

“The Egyptian Government is trying to extend a helping hand to Egyptian workers abroad and those who want to apply for migration. We can turn employment abroad into an active asset for Egypt by encouraging legal migration. Formal agreements between Egypt and destination countries – such as the one recently reached with Italy – allow us to better manage migration and indeed to capitalise on it.”

Egypt intends to follow up on these agreements with supportive activities that can help to improve

the conditions for Egyptians that are abroad already.

“We want to open new labour offices in countries where we do not have these and we want to step up the fight against illegal migration through media campaigns.”

A key question that was repeatedly asked at the Turin conference was whether migration should be perceived as a threat or as an opportunity.

“Migration is a natural human phenomenon,” says Aisha Abdel Hadi. “People will always move from one place to another to follow labour opportunities and for Egyptian citizens this freedom of movement is a constitutional right.

Migration is generally only considered a threat if it is illegal. It can be an opportunity if it is organised in such a way that it offers benefits to both the receiving and sending countries.”

One clear conclusion of the first results of ETF work in migration is that much more can be done to convert the skills of returning migrants into a benefit for the sending countries. Aisha Abdel Hadi recognises this need but stresses that Egypt is already trying to

generate added value from migration through a number of existing initiatives.

“Egypt’s strategy for gaining as much as possible from returning migrants is primarily to boost relations with them while they are abroad. We should further develop these initiatives. One Egyptian tool is the Technology and Scientific Research Academy which organises events to benefit from Egyptian ex-patriate experts.”

“Also, the Egyptian Experts Friends Association organises conferences twice a year where Egyptian ex-patriate experts share their experiences with peers that remain in the country.”

In Egypt, the ETF work on migration will be followed up by a sectoral skill needs analysis that is cofunded by the Italian Trust Fund.

FIND OUT MORE @ http://www.emigration.gov.eg/ Index.aspx http://www.asrt.sci.eg/

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EGYPT SPECIAL

Photo: ETF/A. Ramella

COUNTRY PROFILE: EGYPT In just seven years, Egypt has moved from the periphery of ETF activities to the very centre. Today the ETF runs its own programmes in the country, helps the European Commission and the national authorities with their large reform programmes, and works closely with other important donors that are active in Egypt, such as the World Bank.

In 1999, initial ETF involvement was not uncomplicated.

“Egypt is a big country,” says country manager Elena Carrero Perez, who now works on activities in the country with a large team of ETF colleagues.

“A big country with big donors and even within the Commission it wasn’t always clear who would be responsible for what in Egypt. We had to find our own niche.”

“So in 2000 we started our acquaintance with Egypt through a multi-country study on small- and medium-sized enterprises. That was our entry point but the real work only started when the Commission asked us to help design the 33 million euro MEDA TVET Reform Programme.

We did identification work for the entire sector and prepared several proposals. The Commission picked one, for which we then carried out a feasibility study and the actual design of the complete project.”

In these years, the ETF still didn’t have its own activities in Egypt but its counterpart, the Ministry of International Cooperation, began to enquire about ETF support to policy development. At the request of the European Commission, this resulted

in a policy statement for education and training reform, jointly prepared with the World Bank, which was eventually adopted by the Egyptian Supreme Council for Human Resources Development and the Government of Egypt in 2002.

Turnaround In 2003 and 2004, a new road was opened again with a request from the Commission to produce a study on labour market policies in Egypt. But the real turnaround came in 2006 and 2007, when the ETF started its current line of activities in Egypt.

“We continued our work for the Commission through impact assessments of the TVET Reform Programme which by then had grown considerably in size because the Egyptians had doubled the funds, but we also started our own activities.”

These were launched in 2006 with the establishment of the Observatory.

This project has gone from strength to strength in the last two years.

“The problem in Egypt is the fragmentation and lack of clear leadership,” says Elena Carrero

Perez with authority. “This means that in a country like this, bottom-up change tends to work better. We got the different authorities to work together under the Information and Decision Support Center and to my knowledge this was the first time that such a broad range of stakeholders – private partners, authorities, statistical agencies – were brought together in Egypt.”

“Of course it was an experiment.

We didn’t know if it would work and initially the prospects were not good, but since 2007 the support has been overwhelming. In one or two years the Observatory is already expected to be fully sustainable, but we will continue our support to 2009. The credit for this, however, is not with us, but firmly with the Egyptians.

They felt they needed it and they got the ball rolling.”

The success of the approach used for the establishment of the Observatory encouraged the ETF to commence activities in other key areas in a similar fashion. A national qualifications framework (NQF) project was launched based on a task force of an equally diverse composition. It is a huge

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EGYPT SPECIAL

undertaking for which the task force, under the guidance of the Ministry of Manpower, has now prepared a concept note and action plan. Both the Observatory and the NQF project are heavily supported by the Italian Trust Fund.

group on career guidance, we received letters from both the ministries of education and manpower asking us to work with a task force on this issue too. This work is ongoing, with planned pilots, expert visits and workshops for 2008.”

Career guidance

Finally, the ETF started its work on migration in 2006 and here too, Egypt was one of the four partner countries to participate in the initial studies. (See elsewhere in this issue.)

Recently, work in career guidance took off as a spin-off of the ETF-managed regional Education and Training for Employment programme (ETE).

“Building on the enthusiasm of the Egyptian partners in the MEDA-ETE

“This too was all new for us and therefore not always easy. So far, this has been a plain research

project and we haven’t done many of those at the ETF yet. In the end, however, it was this work that broke the ice with the Ministry of Manpower and this eventually led to the excellent relationship we now have with that ministry and Minister Aisha Abdel Hadi herself who also happens to chair the Supreme Council for Human Resources Development.”

The work on migration will be taken into a new phase in 2008 when a skills needs analysis will be carried out in Egypt with the support of the Italian authorities and potentially of other donors.

Photo: ETF/T. Cristofari

Expert profile: Elena Carrero Perez Elena Carrero Perez is the ETF country manager who led the rapid expansion of the agency’s Egypt programme.

Today, she works with as many as nine different ETF project teams on developments throughout the country that draw representatives of all Egyptian stakeholder groups into the works of the authorities. (See facing page.)

After finishing her studies in English philology, Elena Carrero Perez started her career in the Spanish civil service at the Ministry of Education, for whom she first worked in Murcia – directly with students, teachers, and schools – and later back in Madrid to cover in-service training. She headed the ministry’s information office at the time of thorough Spanish education reforms. During her last years in Spain she was the Deputy Director of International Cooperation.

She came to the ETF in late 1995.

“I’m one of the veterans,” she says. “One of those who worked in Turin almost from the outset but still, until today, on secondment from the Spanish authorities.”

She entered the ETF with considerable experience in management and education but not the expert profile that characterises many among the agency’s staff today.

“In Turin I started out in the Strategy Unit where I worked on horizontal topics such as continuing training and monitoring and evaluation until 1999. In that unit, we were pioneering the development of thematic expertise that would later become so important for the ETF.” In 1998 Elena Carrero Perez joined the task force that started the preparations for ETF involvement in the MEDA countries and when the MEDA Department started to operate in 1999, she joined with a portfolio of five countries: Malta, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and Israel.

“Initially, Egypt was one of the lower profile countries in that group,” she says. “The accession countries took up most of my time, but that had all changed when I returned from maternity leave in 2000 and Turkey, Cyprus and Malta had become accession countries.

Suddenly the focus of my work was on Egypt.”

The agency’s own activities in Egypt didn’t really kick off until later though. Elena Carrero Perez’s first job was to help the Commission to design its large vocational education and training reform programme in the country.

“There was another gap in my work as a country manager when I became the deputy head of the MEDA Department and acting head while the head of department was on maternity leave. When, in January 2006, the geographical delineation of ETF departments was removed and countries were brought together under one Operations Department, I picked up my work with Egypt again.”

By then, Egypt had become a clear priority country in the work of the ETF, with a multitude of examples of all types of work that the agency carries out.

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EGYPT SPECIAL

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EGYPT NEEDS A STRONGER LINK BETWEEN EDUCATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET

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EGYPTIAN OBSERVATORY STEPS INTO ADULTHOOD Tourism and construction to be explored in future In December 2005, the ETF launched the Egyptian Education, Training and Employment Observatory project. In the two years that have passed, the Observatory has navigated through turbulent waters towards full recognition among all key partners in education and training in the country. It moved from the drawing board to a pilot phase focusing on the greater Cairo region and the textile industry in the region of Garabiya Governorate. It is now ready for new challenges.

“It also serves employers and business leaders with a tool for investment and the government with a tool to reach the country’s developmental aims. It is a collaborative effort. The teamworking spirit makes me look upon this initiative with optimism and full of enthusiasm.”

Elena Carrero Perez, Country Manager for Egypt at the ETF, spoke very highly of the Observatory’s achievements so far, thanked the people involved and congratulated the Information and Decision Support Centere who had, she said, “ensured the move from project to agency”.

She also said that she was pleased to see that “the ownership was firmly within Egypt”.

This was confirmed throughout the conference, which was held entirely in Arabic and characterised by

unusually intense participation from both the national media and the entire audience.

Speaking of new challenges, Steering Board member Eng Anis Zachari of the Egyptian Federation of Construction and Building Contractors, considered tourism or construction as possible future areas to explore.

“Both are very labour intensive,” he said. “They guarantee a quick return of investments in labour market research.

But there are also strong calls to add forecasting to our work now.”

Dr Ali Moussa, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Cairo, went as far as comparing the

Observatory to a guide dog for the blind. Zachari quite liked this metaphoric reference to the difficulty that education in Egypt has had to keep up with the needs of society.

Wearing a different hat, Zachari is also the Head of the Sector Training and Development Department of Egypt’s largest construction firm, the Arab Contractors Company. “[Egyptian companies] still cannot tap the enormous potential for qualified people this country has but doesn’t exploit,” he said. “We need a stronger link between education and the labour market and the Observatory is playing a pivotal role in this process.”

Photo: David Dennis

“Pioneering mechanisms that help to analyse labour data, the Observatory has really begun to fulfil its obligation to the Egyptian labour market and the broader society,” said Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Migration Aisha Abdel Hadi at the opening of the Observatory’s second conference in Cairo in December 2007.

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Bagrat Yesayan (left) and Victor Tvircun take notes from their Danish hosts q

Photo: ETF/A. Jongsma

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FOR REFORM IDEAS Schools focus on efficiency Being a small country is no impediment to the development of a world-class vocational education system.

This may well be the most important lesson learned by two high level delegations from Armenia and Moldova that visited Denmark in mid-December last year to acquaint themselves with the tiny Scandinavian country’s renowned dual training system.

Travelling in the framework of the ETF’s policy learning activities, the group included Education Minister Victor Tvircun from Moldova and Deputy Minister Bagrat Yesayan from Armenia, who travelled together with 12 of their advisers, departmental directors and heads of department.

On the first day of the visit, both launched eagerly into questions directed at their Danish hosts, with Bagrat Yesayan immediately puzzled about the extent to which Danish vocational education is a private or a public affair – the answer being both: they are semi-private.

Moldovan minister Victor Tvircun wanted to know more about the technical equipment at the vocational colleges, whose students spend around one-third of their training time at the school benches and around two-thirds in apprenticeships.

“How can all this equipment be used efficiently, when the students are only there one-third of the time?” he wanted to know.

With that he had got to the heart of Danish policies in school autonomy and financing that ran like a thread through the entire study visit.

Schools receive funds per student, with overheads being the smallest part of the budget and the bulk payable as a grant which is regulated annually by the government for each of the 120 or so training areas.

“You can bet that the schools focus on efficiency,” answered ETF Governing Board Member Olaf Østerlund, who is the Danish Director General responsible for VET. He implied that having a large budget in an expensive country does not necessarily equal unlimited wealth and that also in Denmark, schools have to plan their logistics very carefully to make optimal use of the resources available.

When finally the total grant for one of the larger training colleges was tabled, it took some time to get the 500 million Danish kroner converted into (almost 100 million) US dollars and more time for this figure to sink in. It is the annual budget of Aalborg

Technical College which the group will visit on Thursday.

A small group of the ministers and their aides went on to pay a visit to Danish Education Minister Bertel Haarder. With 14 years under his belt, Bertel Haarder is probably the longest serving education minister in Europe today. Addressing his colleagues, he particularly stressed the challenges of his government’s very ambitious aims to keep 85% of young people in education after the compulsory years by 2010 and 95% by 2015.

“The last 20% is a very difficult but crucial section to address,” he said.

The four-day visit to Denmark took the group past the trade unions and employers’ federation, both of whom have crucial votes in Danish vocational education. The group also met the Chair of the Education Committee of the Danish Parliament.

A. Jongsma, ICE

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Photo: ILO/J. Maillard

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COMPANIES MUST DEVELOP TIES WITH PARTNERS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Photo: ETF/A. Ramella

A DIGITAL MAP OF MEDA ETF studies the contribution of ICT companies to education and training reforms Companies are already into ICT. Soon we’ll be into ICT too: information and communication technologies must be better integrated into reforms if their benefits are to reach more than just a select group of professionals. How will we get to know ICT? ETF’s joint project with ELIG on the contribution of ICT companies to education and training reforms in North Africa and the Middle East will be published this summer.

From September to December 2007, the ETF’s Ulrike Damyanovic spent more than three months in the ETF office in Brussels to look at the work of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG) and its effects on the region.

ELIG is an open consortium which brings together leading ICT companies and e-learning content providers such as IBM, Intel, Cisco and many others who seek to promote e-learning throughout Europe.

For her work Ms Damyanovic interviewed key people in 18 companies and a range of Commission services. She then took these results to two partner countries, Jordan and Morocco, to gather further thoughts.

“I focused on four issues,” she says. “First, I wanted to map the services currently offered by these companies. Second, I wanted to know more about the role of public-private partnerships in their operations. Third, obviously, I wanted to find out how e-learning and ICT improve education and training in the region. And finally, I wanted to map the challenges for the region.”

“Interviewees generally agreed that new learning solutions need to address the whole environment,” says Ms Damyanovic, “not just teachers.”

Her work is still in full swing, but some initial findings have already emerged.

Lending strong support to the study is the fact that by and large companies and target countries seem to be in agreement. They were also united in their verdict on what was needed for ICT to play a bigger role in education and training.

“Companies provide e-learning solutions for all levels of education,” Ms Damyanovic says, “but many of their activities in higher education and vocational education and training are still at pilot level. The main targets so far have been teachers. This highlights an emphasis on teacher training and on ICT applications for very specific areas.”

She found that although public-private partnerships are emerging, they are still in their infancy. On the other hand, companies are extremely well aware of the importance of involving local partners in product development and marketing.

Combined with the conclusion that end beneficiaries must be constantly involved, this means that companies will now have to develop stronger ties with partners in other education and training sectors.

“Local language tools, cultural awareness, new pedagogical concepts and coordination among stakeholders,” says Ms Damyanovic.

The report is expected to become available before the summer.

Dissemination seminars are already envisaged for Egypt and Tunisia later this autumn.

A. Jongsma, ICE

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WHETHER YOU NAME IT GOOD GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY OR CORRUPTION MATTERS LITTLE

ETF BENT ON FIGHTING CORRUPTION

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How to address issues of transparency more effectively Corruption in education is not an easy thing to put a finger on. But neither is it easy to put a finger on who is doing what in the fight against it. A global approach is too much for any organisation and those that do address the issue tend to limit their efforts to specific parts of the problem, a single country or at best a region.

Brainstorming on transparency and corruption

Photo: ETF/J. Anstey

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The ETF’s Pasi Sahlberg wants institutions to be responsible for their own transparency q

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TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY ARE BECOMING CRUCIAL ISSUES Photo: ETF/M. Arnó

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Bringing them together to generate a value that is larger than the sum of their individual efforts is the kind of challenge in which the ETF has proven its worth and this is exactly what former World Bank expert Pasi Sahlberg set out to do when he arrived at the ETF in June 2007.

The first results of this work emerged at a meeting organised in Turin in January during which a small group of experts discussed the options for more effectively addressing good governance and transparency and for a more cooperative approach among those involved in combating corruption.

“Whether you name it good governance, transparency or corruption matters little,” says Pasi Sahlberg. “The fact of the matter is that when you open educational boundaries, trust and transparency are becoming increasingly crucial issues. It is difficult to get employers and educators in one country or even one sector to accept mutual recognition if they do not trust the integrity of their counterparts.”

The initial aim of the meeting was just to map who is doing what and how can they work together, Pasi Sahlberg says.

“We wanted to achieve a common understanding of the issues, not just among international organisations and NGOs, but also among educators and students.”

The group called for more data to be produced but that may prove easier said than done. Corruption is crime and crime is notoriously difficult to produce reliable statistics about.

Still, participants were optimistic about the possibilities if tested tools were to be used, such as anonymous questionnaires.

But the meeting went beyond just that, arguing also that changing the perspective on corruption could help reach a solution. In this field, the accused – individuals, institutions, countries – tend to turn around and demand proof of their wrongdoing.

That is very difficult to produce without intimate local knowledge.

Pasi Sahlberg thinks that the question should be reversed.

“We should perhaps come to a situation where it becomes the responsibility of institutions or countries to prove that they have clean hands,” he says, and if credibility can be converted into participation in wider international initiatives, such as the European Higher Education Area, this might well prove to be effective.

The response from the field has been very positive with all participants recommending a broader follow-up meeting which the ETF has accepted to convene in the early autumn of this year.

A. Jongsma, ICE

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SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION IS IN A STATE OF TRANSITION

“ EDUCATION IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL IN SHAPING THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA A review of education in the post-apartheid era Live & Learn spoke with Milena Corradini, ETF country manager for Armenia and project manager for women and jobs, on her return from South Africa, where she worked as ETF advisor in a mission coordinated by the OECD to review the education policies in the post apartheid era. In spite of a remarkable growth of 5% of GDP in recent years, there are still high levels of inequality within the society and this situation is worsening rapidly with serious consequences for stability and security. Economic growth has not followed the increase in employment, which, in particular in some provinces remains very low.

With an overall population of 47.9 million people, South Africa has a national HIV prevalence rate of 11%.

“Much needs to be done. There is still a long way to go in order to modernize the country”, she says.

What are the most urgent problems that South Africa has to face?

“Fighting criminality should be one of the top priorities. Violence and criminality in urban areas can be as dangerous as HIV-Aids. In this context, schools can play a very important role because you can treat criminality but you also need

concrete actions in order to prevent it from the very early ages. There is also an urgent need to keep those 10 % of children who are very difficult to reach at school until they complete primary school, because at compulsory school level drop out rates are very high.

Despite the efforts being made so far, much more needs to be done.

People need more than nice leaflets to read about how to fight criminality, they need concrete solutions”.

In the era of post apartheid South Africa is it possible to change things in the short term?

“Of course you need time to be able to operate profound changes, and the South African Government has made a lot of efforts in order to ensure full enrolment at primary school level. They have also set up a governing board in all schools, which is made up of parents, teachers and the principal. This can be the first move to start changing things. But, of course, more time is needed: thirteen years (after the end of apartheid) is a very short period of time to be able to rebuild an education system which reflected the racial composition of the society.”

During your mission in the country you had the opportunity to talk to experts, teachers, pupils and ordinary citizens. What is your impression about this new South Africa?

“We are very conscious that the South African education system is still in a state of historical transition from a very difficult past towards an education system responsive to the social, cultural, political and economic circumstances of the 21st century. The transition from the apartheid regime was an epoch-making one not just for the country but for the world at large”.

Are teachers in South Africa prepared and motivated to tackle the challenge of transforming their society through education?

“Despite the difficulties, there is an appetite for learning and professional development among teachers. This is the basis of everything because without a well motivated, skilled and committed teaching force, in the future the whole system will be undermined. We should not forget that in shaping the new South Africa, education is seen by the local leaders as pivotal to the whole process of change”.

Live&Learn

In many cases, education and economic wealth are related. In this context, are social disparities in South Africa an additional burden?

“The social inequality can create additional obstacles to the implementation of reforms. In this case, the country could look at what the European Union has done in order to promote economic and social cohesion1. The European system can be a model for analysis, reflection and inspiration.”

“Let us look again at the EU. The process of enlargement in Europe was designed to promote economic and social cohesion to alleviate regional disparities. That is what South Africa should do: allocate money to the poorest regions in order to find a balance.

One has to reflect about the problems and say: what can we do to develop this region? If we don’t have enough resources, then let us take them from the developed ones. However this allocation of

funds should be based on sound plans for socio-economic growth at provincial level defining also the contribution that human resources can play in achieving the targeted objectives.”

Fernando Heller Quinterio, ETF

Milena Corradini (6th from left) with the OECD mission in South Africa q

Photo: ETF

What can be done to reduce inequalities in a country with

such different provinces as Western Cape (the richest one) and Eastern Cape (the poorest)?

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The policy for economic and social cohesion: Maastricht Treaty 1992 The European Union’s economic and social cohesion policy: reducing structural disparities between EU regions, foster balanced development throughout the EU and promote real equal opportunities for all through the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund.

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Publications Highlights 2007. This edition of the ETF Highlights describes a selection of activities carried out in 2007. Paper copies will be available in English from May 2008.

Electronic versions in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Arabic can be downloaded from our website from June.

Transition from Education to Work in EU Neighbouring Countries. The results of an ETF Innovation and Learning Project implemented in 2006-7 in Ukraine, Serbia and Egypt. The project’s objective was to develop two tools for analysing the transition from education to work in ETF partner countries in order to better understand the links between the education and training of young people and their labour market integration. Paper and electronic versions will be available in English from June 2008.

The challenge of Policy Implementation: Comparative Analysis of VET School Reforms in Albania, Kosovo and Turkey.

The objective of this report is to show the ETF peer learning instrument as a very powerful learning tool. It is based on the ETF peer review project of 2007 which focused on the impact of VET

policies on schools in three countries – Albania, Kosovo and Turkey. Paper and electronic versions will be available in English from June 2008.

Impact Assessment Studies and their Implication in Policy Learning. This study describes two evaluation projects with a common aim: to assess two publicly-funded training initiatives in Russia and Morocco. Despite being in such different countries the initiatives were remarkably similar and the report presents findings which can be used in similar activities in other countries. Paper and electronic versions will be available in English from June 2008.

The Impact of the Third Phase of the Tempus Programme (Tempus III) on Higher Education Developments in the Tempus Partner Countries. This comparative report summarises the findings of seven regional impact studies which were carried out in an attempt to gauge the impact of the Tempus programme on higher education systems, institutions and individuals in the partner countries. Paper copies in English will be available from June 2008 while electronic versions in English, French, Russian and Arabic can be downloaded from the tempus website (ec.europa.eu/tempus).

Photo: ETF

LOOK OUT FOR… Events Third MEDA-ETE Annual Forum.

Turin, Italy. 14-15 April 2008. The annual forum is the most important date in the MEDA-ETE calendar.

By bringing all the constituent networks together, it provides a framework for cooperation at the highest level and the chance for all the participants to meet and bring each other up-to-date on their work over the past twelve months.

Seminar on the latest developments in VET in Armenia.

Armenia, 7-8 May 2008.

The proposed title of the event is Youths and skills: the contribution of vocational education and training. The objective is to discuss the progress made so far in the reform of vocational education and training in Armenia. The seminar will also look at the plans for future development of the education system to address the issue of youths and skills and to come up with concrete recommendations.

ETF Governing Board. Turin, Italy.

10 June 2008. The Governing Board is responsible for adopting the draft annual work programme of the ETF and its budget, subject to the approval of the European Parliament in the context of the overall European Union budget. The Governing Board convenes twice a year, normally in Turin.

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For information on our activities, job and tendering activities please visit our website: www.etf.europa.eu For other enquiries please contact: ETF Communication Unit European Training Foundation Villa Gualino Viale Settimio Severo, 65 I – 10133 Torino T +39 011 630 2222 F +39 011 630 2200 E info@etf.europa.eu

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