by Susanna Kärki, europassi@oph.fi

Europass – Challenges and Opportunities

International Degree Programme Seminar Piloting Through Turbulence in International

Education

Europass – What is it About Europass has been established by the Decision No 2241/2004/EC of the

European Parliament and the Council of 15 December 2004 on a single transparency framework for qualifications and competences

Europass is a tool to help make skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood throughout Europe

Europass work is co-ordinated by National Europass Centres Europass work in Finland is co-ordinated in the National Board of

Education (NBE), in the Recognition and Comparability of Qualifications Unit - which is also the Finnish ENIC/NARIC and the Finnish NRP

The Finnish National Europass Centre, Services Provided NEC provides support and information services to its partners:

Website• Information to partners and users

information and promotion materials Training, participation to events and seminars Networking and cooperation nationally and internationally The responsible body for Europass Diploma and Certificate Supplements

• technical support, quality work Managing of the Europass Mobility

Europass DocumentsDocument Management and

CoordinationOpportunities for Higher Education

Europass Documents

Europass-CV and Language PassportDocuments for employment and training throughout Europe

Europass Certificate SupplementTool for better understanding of vocational education qualifications

Europass Diploma SupplementTransparency for higher education qualifications

Europass MobilityRecording the skills of mobile learners

Europass in Higher Education Students

Tools for seeking employment: identifying, enhancing and recording skills and competencies

Higher education institutions Career guidance and counselling to students:

• Language learning (language passport), identifying and enhancing of personal skills and competencies (Europass-CV, language passport)

Recording skills and competencies of students (Europass Mobility, Diploma Supplement)

Enhancing transparency of qualifications Organising and coordinating mobility & international projects: traineeships,

student exchange, degree programmes etc.

Europass-CV and Language Passport The Europass CV and the Europass Language Passport are meant to be

completed by citizens themselves. Recording skills and comptences wider approach Open to all accessibility

Information in a flexible, yet uniform structure A tool for mobile citizens, as well as employers, HEI’s, teachers etc.

NEC ensures that information on these documents will reach the widest number of citizens possible. Information material, promotion, training

Europass Certificate Supplement The purpose of CS is to make it easier to understand what knowledge

and skills a person has had to acquire in order to complete the qualification

Qualification-specific, not a personal document The format is the same in all EU/EEA countries Available to all vocational, further and specials vocational qualifications in

Finland Status of implementation varies in different countries more information

from Europass Centres

Diploma Supplement All HEI’s issue the DS automatically, free of charge and in English to all

their graduates. All DS’s follow the European model Main emphasis is on quality assurance and support to HEI’s.

Support material and instructions available on the website Training NEC and HEIs have close co-operation

Current and future challenges DS to international degree programmes DS to joint degree programmes new guidelines

Europass Mobility ”Europass Mobility is a document for recording details of the knowledge

and skills that the holder has achieved during a period spent learning in another European country.”

Tool for recording skills of mobile learners and for managing and coordinating mobility

Increasing co-operation with HEIs in order to tackle the challenges of document handling

Contributing to the whole life-span of mobility IT and database solutions on national and European level A common European understanding of EM and mobility for learning

Europass Mobility in Finland Europass Mobility is currently used in some 50 VET institutions (ca. 1300

awarded in 2006) Higher education sector will implement Europass Mobility gradually and

on their own pace Two piloting institutions: University of Tampere, University of Turku EM’s linked into their student register systems

The use of Europass for the new Erasmus Traineeship programme First phase: ECV and ELP, expanding to EM when technically possible

Finnish NEC a member of Commission’s EM Technical Working Group

Europass in Finland:

www.europass.fi