Josef Konvitz's blog

The 2023 edition of Education at a Glance from the OECD has recently been published with a focus on vocational and technical education. For the convenience of subscribers, a copy is attached. A quote from the editorial gives a taste of the material to be found in this valuable publication:

Vocational education and training (VET) is vital. It offers an alternative to academic education, equips learners with practiceoriented and employability skills, eases the school-to-work transition, and meets economies’ demand for skilled workers.

We are delighted to announce that Catherine Lido, Deputy Director of PASCAL in Europe, has been promoted to a chair in Psychology and Adult Learning at the University of Glasgow. This is a thoroughly deserved recognition for Catherine’s excellent contributions over the years, not least her work in the field of learning cities for PASCAL.

Everybody wants to do something. Op-Ed pieces arrive daily, written by young and old alike, people who are world-famous and people you never heard of, embracing the pandemic for the opportunity it provides to bring about radical change. I have not made a list, but I would bet that most put global climate change and social justice as the most urgent priorities, ahead of the resolution of local crises in Africa or the Middle East with the potential to cause a world war. Some of us are more concerned to prevent bad things from happening – power grabs by authoritarians would be the top of my list, followed by another round of austerity cuts to education and health  – rather than to make good things happen; perhaps I can be forgiven, being an historian.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is already generating proposals for government-led initiatives for a post-crisis recovery. Josef Konvitz, CHAIR of PASCAL, has written a note that looks at the question through the lens of infrastructure investment, drawing on the lessons of the post-2008 recovery, and drawing attention to the importance of education for the future.

Many congratulations to Prof Balazs Nemeth, Associate Director of PASCAL in Europe, who has been elected to become president of the European Universities Continuing Education Network (EUCEN). This is a very well-deserved honour and PASCAL looks forward to continuing to work with EUCEN under the leadership of Professor Nemeth.