The Bologna Process and Employability

Bologna Expert Colloquium




“The Bologna Process and Employability”





Thursday, 21 May 2009



09.30 – 13.00



Croke Park Conference Centre (Cusack Stand Side), Dublin



This workshop, which is funded under the Bologna Expert programme, supported by the Higher Education Authority and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland will:

• Raise awareness among the enterprise sector of the role of the Bologna process in Employability

• Consider the extent to which graduate employment and career structures are compatible with the Bologna process

• Demonstrate how recognition tools such as the Diploma Supplement can support recognition of degrees in the labour market across Europe



Employability has been identified as a priority area for the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) from the very start but many concerns still exist - among employers, students, academics, higher education institutions and governments. For the purpose of this Colloquium, the concept of employability is defined as the ability to gain initial employment, to maintain employment, and to be able to move around within the labour market.



The role of higher education in this context is to equip students with the knowledge, skills and competence that individuals need in the workplace and that the workplace requires, and to ensure that people have the opportunities to maintain or renew those skills and attributes throughout their working lives.













Programme





09.30 Registration, Tea/coffee



10.00 Welcome, Higher Education Authority



10.10 Employability and the Bologna process



“Following up on the introduction of the three-cycle degree system, we ask the BFUG to consider in more detail how to improve employability in relation to each of these cycles as well as in the context of lifelong learning. This will involve responsibilities for all stakeholders. Governments and HEIs will need to communicate more with employers and other stakeholders on the rationale for their reforms”. (London Communiqué 2007)



Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, Director of Research and Enterprise and Dean of the Graduate Research School, Dublin Institute of Technology will present the Bologna process in the context of globalisation and Higher Education and will examine the challenges facing all stakeholders responsible for enhancing the employability of graduates.



11.00 The National Framework of Qualifications and its relationship with the Bologna Framework and European Qualifications Framework.



The Bologna process requires that national qualifications frameworks are to be compatible with the overarching Qualifications Framework for the EHEA with mobility facilitated and employability enhanced.



Dr. Jim Murray, Chief Executive, National Qualifications Authority of Ireland provides an overview of the relationship between National Frameworks of Qualifications, the Qualifications Framework for the EHEA (The Bologna Framework) and the European Qualifications Framework of the European Union (The EQF)



11.30 Break





11.45 The Enterprise perspective on Graduate Employability.



The Enterprise sector, both public and private, and Higher Education Institutions need to be encouraged to co-operate more to ensure that the skills that graduates need are reflected in higher education provision. There is a need to encourage a more systematic dialogue between Higher Education Institutions and the Enterprise sector at all levels – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.



Ms Teresa Wilde, Head of Human Resources, Siemens Limited, will provide an enterprise perspective on the employability dimension of higher education and training qualifications.



12.15 Recognition for Employability: The Diploma Supplement



When it comes to recognition for employability, the awareness of existing recognition and transparency tools (ECTS, Diploma Supplement, Europass, work of the ENIC and NARIC Networks) seems to be there. However these tools are not used as widely as possible. It is essential that all “users” of these recognition tools (employers, professional bodies and education and training providers) become more involved in their further development and use.



Dr. Brendan McCormack, a National Bologna expert and Registrar, Institute of Technology, Sligo will assess the value of the Diploma Supplement as a recognition tool for enhancing employability and provide an overview of the work of the National Steering Group responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the Diploma Supplement.



12.45 Questions and Answers



13.00 Concluding remarks and close of colloquium



13.15 Lunch