Strategic and associated objectives

Key issues

Indicators for measuring progress

Improving education and training for teachers and trainersStarting period: during 2002

- Identifying the skills that teachers and trainers should have, given their changing roles in the knowledge society;- Creating the conditions which adequately support teachers and trainers as they tackle the challenges of the knowledge society, from the point of view of lifelong learning;- Ensuring that a sufficient number of people enter the teaching profession, across all subjects and at all levels, as well as providing for the long-term needs of the profession by making it more attractive;- Attracting recruits to teaching and training who have professional experience in other fields.

- Shortage/surplus of qualified teachers and trainers on the labour market,- progression in number of applicants for training programmes (teachers and trainers),- percentage of teachers and trainers who follow continuous professional training.

Developing the skills needed for a knowledge societyStarting period: second half of 2001

- Identifying new basic skills and ways of integrating them into the curricula, alongside the traditional basic skills;- Making attainment of basic skills genuinely available to everyone, including those who are less advantaged or have special needs, school drop-outs and adult learners;- Promoting official validation of basic skills, in order to facilitate ongoing education and training, as well as employability.

- People completing secondary education,- continuous training of teachers,- literacy and numeracy "learning to learn" attainment levels,- percentage of adults failing to complete upper secondary education who have participated in any form of education or training, by age group.

Ensuring access to ICT for everyoneStarting period: second half of 2001

- Providing adequate equipment and educational software;- Encouraging the best use of teaching and learning techniques based on ICT (information and communication technologies).

- Percentage of teachers that have been trained in ICT use in schools,- percentage of pupils and students using ICT in their studies,- percentage of learning sessions in teaching and training institutions during which ICT are used.

Increasing recruitment to scientific and technical studiesStarting period: second half of 2001

- Boosting interest in mathematics, science and technology from an early age;- Motivating more young people to choose studies and careers in the fields of mathematics, science and technology;- Improving the gender balance in these subjects;- Securing a sufficient number of qualified teachers.

- Increase in number of entries into mathematics, science and technology courses (upper secondary advanced levels and tertiary levels, by gender),- increase in number of graduates in mathematics, science and technology, by gender,- increase in number of scientists and engineers in society, by gender,- increase in number of qualified teachers in the fields of mathematics, science and technology (secondary level).

Making the best use of resourcesStarting period: during 2002

- Increasing investment in human resources while ensuring an equitable and effective distribution of available means in order to facilitate general access to, and enhance the quality of, education and training;- Supporting the development of compatible quality assurance systems respecting diversity across Europe;- Developing the potential of public-private partnerships.

- Increase in per capita investment in human resources (structural indicator).

Strategic and associated objectives

Key issues

Indicators for measuring progress

Creating an environment conducive to learningStarting period: between the second half of 2002 and the end of 2003

- Broadening access to lifelong learning by providing information, advice and guidance on the full range of education and training opportunities available;- Organising education and training in a way that allows adults to effectively participate and combine this participation with other activities and responsibilities;- Ensuring that education and training are accessible to all;- Promoting flexible learning paths for all;- Promoting networks of education and training institutions at various levels in the context of lifelong learning.

- Percentage of the population aged between 25 and 64 participating in education and training (structural indicator).

Making learning more attractiveStarting period: between the second half of 2002 and the end of 2003

- Encouraging young people to remain in education or training after the end of compulsory schooling, and motivating and enabling adults to participate in learning throughout life;- Developing methods for the official validation of non-formal learning experiences;- Finding ways of making learning more attractive, both within the formal education and training systems and outside them;- Fostering a culture of learning.

- Percentage of working time spent by employees on training, by age group,- participation in higher education,- proportion of the population aged 18-24 with only lower secondary education achievement and not pursuing education or training (structural indicator).

Supporting active citizenship, equal opportunities and social cohesionStarting period: during 2002

- Ensuring that the learning of democratic values and democratic participation in schools is effectively promoted in order to prepare people for active citizenship;- Fully integrating the equal opportunities dimension into the objectives and functioning of education and training;- Ensuring fair access to the acquisition of skills.

- Proportion of the population aged 18-24 with only lower secondary education achievement and not pursuing education or training (structural indicator).

Strategic and associated objectives

Key issues

Indicators for measuring progress

Strengthening links with the world of work, research and society as a wholeStarting period: between the second half of 2002 and the end of 2003

- Promoting close cooperation between education and training systems and society generally;- Establishing partnerships between all types of education and training institutions, businesses and research centres, for their mutual benefit;- Promoting the role of stakeholders in the development of training, including initial training, and learning at the workplace.

- Percentage of students and persons in initial training who benefit from work-linked placements.

Developing the spirit of enterpriseStarting period: between the second half of 2002 and the end of 2003

- Promoting a sense of initiative and creativity throughout the education and training system in order to develop the spirit of enterprise ("entrepreneurship");- Facilitating the acquisition of skills needed to set up and run a business.

- Proportion of self-employed workers in various sectors of the knowledge economy (particularly the 25-35 age group),- percentage of education and training institutions providing advice and guidance for setting up businesses.

Improving foreign language learningStarting period: between the second half of 2002 and the end of 2003

- Encouraging everyone to learn two or, where appropriate, more languages in addition to their mother tongue, and increasing awareness of the importance of foreign language learning at all ages;- Encouraging schools and training institutions to use effective teaching and training methods, and motivating continuation of language learning at a later stage of life.

- Percentage of pupils and students attaining a certain level of proficiency in two foreign languages,- percentage of language teachers having participated in initial training or in-service training courses with a mobility element providing direct contact with the language/culture they teach.

Increasing mobility and exchangesStarting period: during 2002

- Providing the widest possible access to mobility for individuals and education and training organisations, including those serving a less privileged public, and reducing the remaining obstacles to mobility;- Monitoring the volume, destinations, participation rates and qualitative aspects of mobility flows across Europe;- Facilitating the validation and recognition of skills acquired in the context of mobility;- Promoting the presence and recognition of European education and training in the world as well as their attractiveness to students, academics and researchers from other world regions.

- Proportion of students and trainees from one country carrying out part of their studies in another EU or third country,- proportion of teachers, researchers and academics from other EU countries employed at different levels of the education system,- number and distribution of EU and non-EU students and trainees participating in an education or training programme.

Strengthening European cooperationStarting period: during 2002

- Enhancing the effectiveness and timeliness of recognition procedures for the purposes of further study, training or employment throughout Europe;- Promoting cooperation between responsible organisations and authorities from the point of view of more compatibility in quality assurance and validation;- Promoting transparency of information on education and training opportunities and structures with a view to the creation of an open European area for education;- Promoting the European dimension of teaching and training.

- Proportion of undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers continuing their studies in another EU or third country,- percentage of graduates obtaining joint degrees in Europe,- percentage of students and trainees within ECTS or Europass and/or obtaining a Diploma/Certificate Supplement.