The new ‘Union of Skills’ strategy: a bridge between skills, quality and assessment in Europe
Keywords:
evaluation, quality, education, training, competenciesAbstract
This article analyses the role of the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) in the process of building the so-called Union of Skills, a strategic objective of the European Union aimed at ensuring an integrated, transparent and flexible skills system. Through a critical analysis of the relevant literature, European Commission policy documents and experiences in Member States, it highlights how EQAVET is not only a tool for improving the quality of training provision, but also an assessment tool that can be used to guide and monitor public policies in the field of initial and continuing vocational education and training. The article concludes that the full exploitation of EQAVET in policy cycle processes can make a decisive contribution to the shared governance of training in Europe.
References
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Commissione europea. (2025). The Union of Skills – Comunicazione della Commissione al Parlamento europeo, al Consiglio, al CESE e al CdR (COM(2025) 90 final).
Consiglio dell’Unione europea. (2009). Raccomandazione del Parlamento europeo e del Consiglio sull’istituzione di un Quadro europeo di riferimento per la garanzia della qualità dell’istruzione e della formazione professionale (EQAVET) (2009/C 155/01).
Consiglio dell’Unione europea. (2020). Raccomandazione relativa all’istruzione e formazione professionale per la competitività sostenibile, l’equità sociale e la resilienza (2020/C 417/01).
Gatt, S. & Faurschou, K. (2016). Implementing the European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) at National Level: Some Insights from the PEN Leonardo Project. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), 3(1), 29–45.
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