Some issues for debates

Amongst the most significant reforms of these systems in view of enhancing vocational education and training throughout life, the most important one is the professionalisation of higher education.

Higher education in France evolved along two different and opposite paths. A highly selective system of vocational but still rather academic, excellence schools (the so-called “grandes écoles”) produces the top executive, scientists, managers that the country needs, mainly in the private sector. An academic system within the universities delivers more general education and diploma, preparing more often for public careers (civil servants, teachers,….) or regulated professions (health, law, accounting,…).

This two-fold system is now evolving under the pressure of internal and international competition, and of reorganising towards new european standards. So that universities have opened new vocational courses at almost every level giving their students real opportunities in the private sector. At the same time the “grandes écoles” deliver more and more academic diploma (masters and doctorates), in cooperation with universities, in order to meet the needs for high ranking and sharp knowledge wanted by firms. These two systems that were fully separated are now evolving in similar directions, but in very different ways : especially the recruiting methods through very selective exams on the one end, or more diverse methods on the other. But universities are becoming more vocational, while vocational excellence schools (Grandes Ecoles) are becoming more research oriented. And both systems are reorganising within the frame of 3/5/8 new european standards.

Recently, the Lycées des Métiers (Trade High Schools) have been run on an experimental basis, aiming at enlarging the educational and training offer of the teaching establishments of the ministry of education. These trade high schools are supposed to organise their education and training supply according to a coherent set of professions (either dealing with an industry, or with connected or complementary professions). The idea is to attract not only “traditional”

pupils but several kinds of attendants : scholars, students, apprentices, adult learners, and so on… This could drive vocational education towards an individual-led and modular organisation (everyone in very different situations taking courses of his choice ‘à la carte’) rather than a

group-led and global one (coherent and standing groups taking together the same classes and passing the same exams to acquire the same diploma at the end).

As previously indicated an important and significant national bargaining about the overall organisation of vocational further training system has recently been interrupted, but will probably resume again very soon. The main sources of controversy are connected with the three questions of “joint-investment” principle, the contribution of SMEs to the training funds, and the cast between national and sectorial bargaining.

But there is rather a consensus on the diagnosis about the shortfalls of the present system. It appears to be most favourable to the best educated and poorly used by the others. So that it clearly needs to be reviewed in the direction of this group of workers.

A further issue has to do with multi-levels governance. Since a general trend towards more personalised or fine-tuned training is taking place, how may national, regional and sub-regional authorities or actors cooperate, combine their actions and decisions, in a more efficient way?

New powers and new resources have been given to decentralised public bodies or boards. How and up to which point is it good to pursue ?

This territorial question does include an other one coming up: how and up to which point does national organisation comply with european standards and methods?

An other big issue deals with the place that should be given to accreditation of prior experience in the certification system? It will be dealt with in the following.

2. Qualifications assessment and certification

France has very diverse certification systems. Despite recent changes, the spine of them all remains the diplomas’ system of the ministry of education. As a whole, three certification systems cohabit : the public diplomas, the “accreditation” procedure and the industry qualifications. Recent legal developments provide for the setting up of a new national register of certifications managed by a national commission. They also comfort and enlarge a statutory right to the accreditation of prior experience.

A three-fold system of certification

The first system of national vocational diplomas dates back to 1942, but it was not until 1963 that both general education and vocational diplomas were placed under the authority of the Ministry of Education.

The Accreditation procedure dates back to the beginning of the seventies. It entails the classification of the qualifications or certificates issued by any training organisation which requests accreditation, on the one hand in terms of different levels, on the other by profession, groups of professions or training specialities. A Technical Commission for Accreditation [“Commission technique d’homologation”] or CTH, was set up in 1972 as part of the interdepartmental committee for vocational training, social advancement and employment, thus showing the link between accreditation procedures and the whole range of measures dealing with continuing training. Accreditation procedures also apply in a considerable number of instances to the certifications received through initial training. Most ministries which grant diplomas or qualifications choose to make use, at least partly, of the accreditation procedure (Agriculture, Youth Affairs and Sport, Employment and Solidarity, Defence, Health).

Accredited certifications are classified in similarity with the diplomas issued by the Ministry of Education, which are automatically accredited (as are the engineering diplomas which are under the control of the engineering qualifications commission).

Sector or industry certification received official backing in 1986 when it was recognized that it could approve the professional experience gained in the course of a qualification contract.

These contracts are part of wider measures to help integrate young people into the world of work, and as a matter of obligation they must lead to the candidate obtaining a certified qualification.

Sector certifications are known under the general heading of Vocational Qualification Certificates, [Certificats de Qualification Professionnelle] or CQP.

In terms of volume, the three sub-systems are very unequal. Most diplomas are delivered by the ministry of education which serves as a general reference for all other ones (especially grading them in a level scale: “bac +/- n years”). However, a still small but increasing number

comes from the rest of the public sector (health, agriculture,...) or from the accreditation commission, leaving a microscopic part to the “CQP”.

A specific procedure

In 1972, the Ministry of Education has put in place sector specific bodies in charge of the creation, the updating and the possible cancellation of these qualifications. Modernised at the beginning of the 80’s, these so-called consultative vocational commissions (commissions professionnelles consultatives - CPC) comprise :

• an equal number of representatives of employers and employees;

• representatives of the ministry and of Céreq;

• qualified persons belonging to either the public or private sector, selected by virtue of their occupational activities or their work. This group can include representatives of the teaching profession, of the chambers of commerce and industry, trade associations or chambers of agriculture.

A specific working procedure for these CPCs has been designed in the late 80’s. It starts with an overall analysis of the foreseeable trends in the jobs contents, training and employment developing needs in the sector or in the activity. These analysis and data are presented and discussed in these commissions. Taking into account the general economy of the diploma system by the ministry of education, the CPC contracts out an advisability study, whose objective it is to inform its decision. This latter one is a “ political ” decision by the CPC, the next steps being rather “ technical ” ones. In case of a positive outcome of this study, a new qualification will be developed or improved. The first basic reference for that work is the “ référentiel d’activité professionnelle ” (RAP). This document defines the activities in which the people holding the qualification should be capable of engaging. It is based on an analysis of the activity and anticipates foreseeable developments in that activity. Out of its specifications, an assessment charta is determined, informing the evaluator on what to assess. It indicates the conditions and assessment indicators for the skills. Finally, a further document is drafted, that gives references to the training system, for it to support the acquisition of the required skills. The following chart pictures this process.

Forecasting trends in the training - employment

relationship Policies for the

diplomas

Forecasting by levels

(vocational education)

Evaluation (pedagogical, institutional,

by the Advisability dossier

labour market)

Development of

the diploma (standards,

Institutional frames of reference)

development

(training of

teaching staff,

opening of Development of training sections, etc.) programme content and recommendations

THE MAIN STEPS IN DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

One can see that the starting point of this whole process is a strong link between occupational activity and the design of the qualification standards : those standards emphasise definitions of occupational performances, from which requirements for training are then defined. Within the

French training system, such an approach has been a substantial departure from the former situation, which, proceeding in the opposite direction, started with an academic and disciplinary definition of training programme content and considered occupational activity as the application of theoretical knowledge.

These processes put in place by the Ministry of Education for the design of its qualifications cover all activities which have been parted in 20 specialised commissions corresponding to rather large industries: metals, chemicals, food, textile, transports, audio-video and communication, applied arts, trade, tourism and hotel and catering, personal care, health,…. This method, has spilled over to other ministries delivering their own qualifications, some of them covering the same industries, with almost the same people attending them. The setting-up of consultative commissions pulling together the main stakeholders, as well as the drafting of a frame of reference for the occupational activities concerned (“ référentiels d’activité ”) ensure also there the greatest possible proximity between workplace and training bodies (or schools).

This is the case for the Employment Ministry (four commissions), the Ministries of Agriculture (one commission) , and of Youth and Sports (one commission). The Ministry for Health and Social Affairs will soon also have finalised these organisational arrangements for its qualifications.

A reform to be implemented

These evolutions are being strongly encouraged by the very new Law on “ social modernisation ”, that was finalised last January. With this Law, a new national directory managed by a new national commission for certifications has been created. A condition for qualifications issued by public bodies to automatically enter this directory, is that they should be designed with the double methodology of the CPC and of the “ référentiel d’activité ”. Instances are presently beeing put in place and procedures organised to implement.

One of the main element of this new Law is the extension and generalisation of the procedure for validating prior experience. The new provision foresees that under certain conditions, an individual having worked at least 3 years in a trade is entitled to start a procedure to obtain a full certification from either one of those certifying bodies having agreed to be part of the Directory.

In this way, the value of experience (in work but also in “normal” life) for the construction of qualifications is being reinforced and put on equal footing with formal training or learning situations. It however generates some questions about the equal access to such procedure.

Depending on how “learning-intense” is the environment of the individual, he or she will be more or less likely to have competencies to be validated. But one big result is that every certification agreement must detail, in its presentation draft, not only how it can be obtained : through school or academic learning but also through proved experience and competency. This might induce a kind of revolution in the French diploma and certification system. Time will tell us what use will be made of it…