Core and entrepreneurial skills in vocational education and training : from concept and theory to practical application

This publication comes from two sources. The first is the ETF project 'Standards 2000', which was developed in response to requests from partner countries from the NIS and Mongolia for support in establishing a procedure and methodology for the development of vocational education and training (VET) standards in their countries. The first part of this publication is an edited version of a paper which was produced at the request of the partner country teams in order to clarify the development and use of core and entrepreneurial skills. This section describes the different ways in which core and entrepreneurial skills have been described and defined and offers a 'consensus' based on an analysis of previous work. In Kazakhstan, with the encouragement of the National Observatory, it was decided to pay special attention to both the identification of employer requirements for core and entrepreneurial skills, and their delivery within the curriculum of vocational schools. The second part of this publication documents the progress and outcomes of this project, in which a framework of core and entrepreneurial skills was developed in consultation with employers, and materials were designed to transform the way in which core and entrepreneurial skills are delivered in practical training activities. This publication tries to make a bridge between the concepts and theories surrounding core and entrepreneurial skills and the practical steps which VET practitioners can take to help young people develop skills which are of immediate and current use to employers in transition economies. The method developed in Kazakhstan is not dependant on any imported system of VET - it has been 'home grown' to meet the needs of young people in turbulent, transition economies. Consequently, both the method developed and the materials produced can have an immediate impact in other countries where VET programmes are being reformed to meet the needs of emerging market economies.