Cedefop and the OECD are seeking for papers regarding the expansion of apprenticeships to new fields. The call for evidence will remain open until 5 September 2024. You are invited to share (a) suggestions/links to published papers and reports (authored by you or a different author/institution); or (b) information on finalised unpublished papers, via: apprenticeship-team@cedefop.europa.eu Selected papers will be presented in the symposium and included in a subsequent Cedefop-OECD publication. The Symposium will take place in Paris, on 1-2 April 2025 (OECD Conference Centre).
The organisers are seeking for papers regarding the expansion of apprenticeships to new fields, that may offer responses to some of the following questions (indicative and non-exhaustive list):
For the purpose of this symposium, “new fields” refers to fields, sectors or occupations (or as a consequence specialties and programmes) that were not previously typically offered through apprenticeships. These might be entirely new for apprenticeship programmes (i.e. apprenticeship programmes were offered for the first time), or used to be very small in terms of enrolments/participation but are now becoming more central to apprenticeship-related policies and choices of individuals. Therefore, what represents a “new field” depends on the national context, and may refer to (not exhaustive) health, business and administration, financial services, sales and marketing, design, and ICT/digital industries. Also, especially in the light of the digital and green transition, new programmes may emerge in more traditional sectors (e.g. construction, crafts, food, hospitality/tourism), e.g. wind turbine technicians and photovoltaic installers.
Angles that may be of interest:
Input can be based on:
The joint Cedefop-OECD apprenticeship symposia focus on education and training that can truly be understood as a quality apprenticeship. Not all initiatives to introduce or reinforce work-based learning in VET programmes would fall under what is understood as apprenticeships. To see what is understood by the term apprenticeship(s), please refer to the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships (2018) or the ILO Recommendation 208 concerning quality apprenticeships (2023) or the call for evidence (link below).
Key dates:
The call for evidence (link below) provides detailed information on the symposium focus, the type and content of expected output, the process to be followed and the publication.
The 2025 symposium continues the joint work of Cedefop and the OECD on apprenticeships. Find out more about our past events and publications:
What are the intended (policy) outcomes of the studied cases of apprenticeship expansion? Are these already met? Are there other side benefits that emerged from this process?
What has been the process to design and introduce such initiatives? What has been the basis and rational of this expansion, what has been the contribution of labour market actors? Were the main features of apprenticeship redesigned to be better aligned with the needs of the field/sector (e.g. duration, balance between on-the-job and off-the-job training)?
Was the intended expansion received positively by the main target audiences, i.e. companies, learners or schools/training providers? What are the outcomes for learners (e.g. labour market integration) and employers (e.g. costs and benefits)?
What have been the key challenges of such an expansion, e.g. digital divide, lack of infrastructure, limited readiness and willingness of teachers, rigidity of the system, weak employer engagement?
Has the expansion triggered reactions, challenges, e.g. in terms of competition between VET strands, or different levels of providers? How have these been addressed/mitigated?
Are there lessons for similar initiatives in other sectors? What is the way forward for apprenticeship to be/become a suitable training pathway in a variety of fields? What are the limitations for apprenticeship (i.e. why can they or can they not work in all fields)?
The use of skills intelligence to inform and drive the expansion to new fields (labour market responsiveness )
The role of social partners and social dialogue in selecting and entering into new fields
Addressing needs and opportunities of the twin transition
Adapting the features of apprenticeship to the needs of different fields
Positioning apprenticeship programmes at new education and training levels
Improving VET attractiveness through the expansion to new fields
Using the expansion to new fields to improve opportunities for women or other less represented groups to benefit from apprenticeships
Insights from data (e.g. household surveys, tracer surveys, online job advertisement data)
Survey outcomes (e.g. interest among employers or students)
Case studies (e.g. cases of introducing apprenticeship programmes in a new field)
Quantitative or qualitative analyses
Call for evidence: 15 July - 5 September 2024
Deadline for paper submissions: 25 October 2024
Selection of papers: 15 November 2024
Deadline for submitting presentations: 20 March 2025
Symposium: 1-2 April 2025
Deadline for submitting full papers for the subsequent publication: 2 May 2025
2023 symposium on Apprenticeships and the digital transition, and the subsequent publication of papers
2021 symposium on Apprenticeships for greener economies and societies, and the subsequent publication of papers
2019 symposium on The next steps for apprenticeship, and the subsequent publication of papers