Network Activities


	FOREWORD Contents: I Introduction A. Establishment and legal basis of the NRCVG Network B. The twofold tasks of the NRCVGs: Network Level and National Level C. Current situation of the NRCVG Network II Objectives A. General Objectives at Network level B. Objectives of the individual NRCVGs in 1998/99 III Activities A - Tasks at International Level 1. Methods 2. Activities at network level 3. Outcome of the Network Conferences 4. Thematic working groups 5. Participation of the NRCVGs in other international activities 6. NRCVG network's involvement in LdV projects with special emphasis on ICT B - Tasks at National Level 1. General tasks 2. Working methods 3. Highlights of individual NRCVGs IV Management A.European Level B. National Level V Evaluation VI CONCLUSIONS top FOREWORD To the reader This Annual Synthesis Report ASR on the activities of the transnational network of the National Resource Centres for Vocational Guidance NRCVG in the contractual period 1.7.1998-30.6.1999 is based on the Annual Action Reports AAR of the individual NRCVGs on their work during the same period of time. This is the first time ever when there is a document available giving an overview of the main achievements of the NRCVG network for all those interested. The main aim at presenting this document is to make the work of the NRCVG network more concrete and visible in the eyes of the authorities funding, monitoring and evaluating the network performance both at national and European level. The ASR has been edited by the working group "Information Flow and Annual Synthesis Report", consisting of NRCVG network representatives, that was set up at the annual NRCVG network conference in Nuremberg, Germany, in May 1999. The working group has been charged with two tasks: firstly to prepare a proposal on how to facilitate the flow of information between the NRCVG network and all relevant bodies, such as the European Commission, the Leonardo da Vinci Committee and the Advisory Committee for Vocational Training, and secondly to draw up the NRCVG network´s Annual Synthesis Report 1998/99. The editors of the Annual Synthesis Report 1998/99 have made their best effort in being as objective and neutral as possible while presenting the work of the individual NRCVGs in this document. All material received from the NRCVGs has been equally processed, analysed and reported by the editors in this Annual Synthesis Report. We wish to take the opportunity to thank all colleagues in the NRCVG network for the valuable support we have received from them for this assignment. Additionally we wish to express our warmest gratitude to Mr Carlo Scatoli and Ms Laura Cassio in the DG Education and Culture, Unit B3, European Commission, for their professional assistance and advice that made it possible for us to carry out the task on time. On behalf of the working group "Information Flow and Annual Synthesis Report" Yours sincerely The Editors Mr Mika Launikari Coordinator of the working group NRCVG Finland Ms Nina Fränzl Assistant Coordinator of the working group Senior Adviser Head of the Austrian NRCVG top I INTRODUCTION A. Establishment and legal basis of the NRCVG network The National Resource Centres for Vocational Guidance NRCVG were set up in 1992-1993 within the framework of Action III of the PETRA programme. Action III provided Community support to national vocational guidance and training systems as well as to Community cooperation on counselling. The NRCVGs were meant to offer a way of exchanging information on national training systems and training opportunities in the European Union. Development projects were organised on the following three cooperation themes: (i) introducing new information technologies into guidance systems; (ii) giving the business sector and the social partners a bigger role in vocational guidance; (iii) cooperation in the development of quality in counselling (methods, contents, tools and materials) and implementation of new approaches. Since 1995 the NRCVGs were funded under the Leonardo da Vinci programme (first phase, 1995-1999), established to implement a Community vocational training policy. Though the relevant Council Decision (94/819/EC) does not mention the NRCVGs or the network itself, the common framework of objectives (Art. 3) included the development of the European dimension in vocational guidance and of vocational guidance facilities with a view to provide every individual with the opportunity to have lifelong high quality vocational guidance. It was then possible to fund the NRCVGs within the support measures (Strand IV), in their capacity of "appropriate structures and mechanisms". The Council Decision of 26 April 1999 establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action programme Leonardo da Vinci (2000-2006) states that Community support is available also for "the Transnational Network of National Resource Centres for Vocational Guidance" (point 7, "Accompanying measures"). The Decision also stresses the relevance of "innovative counselling and guidance approaches" in relation to the programme's objectives, and envisages special support for – among other things – the development of "European arrangements for vocational guidance". On a higher level, and in a wider context, the rationale for the activities of the NRCVG network is offered by the Treaty establishing the European Community (as amended by the treaty of Amsterdam), stipulating that measures aimed at promoting the European dimension in education and training have to be supported and developed further. The following paragraphs and sub-sections are particularly relevant in this regard: Article 150 (ex Article 127), paragraph 2, sub-sections 3 and 5, stating that Community action shall be aimed at: - facilitating access to vocational training and encouraging mobility of instructors and trainees and particularly young people; - developing exchange of information and experience on issues common to the training systems of the Member States." top B. The twofold tasks of the NRCVGs: network level and national level The NRCVG network consisting of the individual NRCVGs functions both at national and European levels. It is one of the instruments available in the field of the European lifelong learning, training and qualifications. The NRCVG network supports transnational mobility and the European dimension in education and training through the provision of information on education and training opportunities in the European Union, European Economic Area, and Central and Eastern European Countries, and on relevant actors responsible for the portability of qualifications. Each NRCVG acts as a "centre of excellence" with regards to the quality information on education and training in their national framework by collecting, producing, disseminating and exchanging information about education and training, about qualifications and certifications obtainable through those opportunities, and about pathways to occupations and careers. Guidance experts and practitioners such as school counsellors, vocational guidance psychologists, Euro-counsellors and information officers working in education and labour administrations and dealing with international mobility issues form the most important target group of the NRCVG network. Each country in contractual status with the European Commission having a NRCVG received in the 1998/99 period an allocation of up to 60,000 EURO through the Leonardo da Vinci LdV programme for running the Centre. At national level the NRCVGs are usually funded by the Ministry of Education and/or Ministry of Labour, and they work in close collaboration with education and labour authorities responsible for providing transnational guidance services. top C. Current situation of the Euroguidance network During the first phase of the LdV programme (1995-1999) the number of countries where a NRCVG has been established has grown and at the same time the NRCVGs have developed according to national choices, their target groups and socio-economic circumstances which have affected their operational environments. Currently there are altogether more than 50 NRCVGs in the European Union, European Economic Area and Central and Eastern European Countries. The extension of the NRCVG network to the Central and Eastern European countries started officially in the contractual period 1998/99. However, only the Czech Republic (1.1.-30.6.1999) and the Slovak Republic (1.7.1998-30.6.1999) had a contract with the European Commission during this period. All the other CEE countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia) were taking measures to designate a NRCVG with Phare funds or with financial support from the European Training Foundation ETF in 1998/99. top II OBJECTIVES A. General objectives at network level The objectives of the NRCVG network are as follows: 1. To provide access to quality information to relevant target groups, mainly to guidance experts and practitioners, on - education and training opportunities - pathways to occupations and careers - the legal framework for mobility - the Community Initiatives and Programmes in the EU, EEA and CEE Countries. 2. To support the exchange of quality information on - education and training systems in the EU, EEA and CEE countries - vocational and educational guidance systems in the EU, EEA and CEE countries - relevant actors responsible for portability of qualifications 3. To act as an intercultural agent in supporting different actors in education and training in EU, EEA and CEE countries. 4. To support the development of the European dimension in the national systems of educational and vocational guidance. top B. Objectives of the individual NRCVGs in 1998/99 This section introduces objectives of individual NRCVGs in several categories as extracted from their Annual Action Reports, submitted by the Centres in the network. In 1998/99 there were no jointly agreed specific objectives for the network as a whole. Each NRCVG was responsible for its own objectives being in accordance with the broader general objectives at network level (see above II A 1-4). These objectives are taking into consideration the different national systems and circumstances in the individual countries. Networking Most of the NRCVGs emphasised the significance of strengthening and developing the cooperation with national and international authorities in the field of education, training, guidance and labour market issues. Additionally, interaction with relevant networks and organisations as well as individual guidance experts was often mentioned as an objective in the Annual Action Reports AARs. More regular contacts with the colleagues working for the NRCVG network for exchange of information and experiences were considered increasingly important for the future success of the network by several Centres. A major goal for Italy and Germany in 1998/99 was the organisation of the NRCVG network conferences in Bologna resp. Nuremberg. Promotion of the European dimension in guidance A wide variety of ways to increase the European dimension in guidance and counselling in the EU, EEA and CEE countries was given as an objective by several Centres. Almost all of them were in favour of attending national and international fairs and training events, organising and participating in seminars and conferences on educational and vocational guidance, sending and receiving guidance experts on study visits and ACADEMIA exchanges, and offering in-service training courses on mobility issues to guidance practitioners to promote internationalisation of education and training at national level. Information All NRCVGs gave a high priority in their objectives for dealing with information requests from their target groups. Several Centres also aimed to produce and disseminate information materials on studying and training opportunties abroad as well as marketing material on the Centre´s activities and services, to publish magazines and reports. The French NRCVG had a very specific objective to disseminate information about and promote awareness of the French system "Bilan de compétences" in other countries in several languages. Information and Communications Technology ICT Some of the NRCVGs aimed to direct their efforts towards strengthening the use of ICT in guidance and counselling, developing their websites, using videoconferencing for running in-service training sessions, and introducing new guidance methods and practices. E.g. one of the main objectives of the Slovak Centre was to design and create a database on education, training and guidance issues during the contractual period 1998/99. Expansion of the NRCVG network into the Central and Eastern European countries Only three EU countries with NRCVGs - Germany, Finland and France - explicitely mentioned as their objectives that they would establish and strengthen their cooperation with the Central and Eastern European countries during 1998/99. However, at the same time there was a clear goal at the network level to welcome and integrate all CEE countries to the NRCVG network since the Bologna conference in October 1998. The establishment and designation of a NRCVG was the main challenge for several Central and Eastern European countries in 1998/99. To this aim the CEE representatives made professional visits to NRCVGs in some EU Member States to become acquainted with the way of working in the NRCVG network. In addition, Estonia also set a goal to contribute to the development of their national guidance and counselling system. National and transnational projects Most of the NRCVGs considered the participation in national and transnational projects vital for developing and disseminating good practices in guidance and counselling, studying and launching new guidance methods, and introducing innovative tools and instruments to facilitate the work of guidance practitioners. Two examples of national projects: the Belgian French speaking Centre aimed to contribute to building bridges from education to employment (insertion), and the Swedish Centre to start offering counselling for SMEs. top III. ACTIVITIES A. Tasks at International Level 1.Methods For meeting the above objectives defined for the NRCVG network the individual centres are dealing with a variety of tasks and activities. In this context it has to be pointed out that the centres are using more and more modern communication means. The application of e-mail, the internet and databases show that the centres are working with up-to-date methods which correspond to the changes and acceleration of the information speed in our society. The NRCVGs, founded to meet the modern needs of producing and providing information in the field of educational and vocational guidance in Europe are fully aware of the situation - therefore using videoconferencing, working with the internet, creating their own websites, communicating and searching information via the internet, setting up and using databases belong to the day-to-day business of the centres. These means have to be qualified as essential for the NRCVG network as well as for each individual centre as they are mainly acting as information providers not for their respective country only but for the much wider area of the European Union, the EEA and the CEE countries. But of course information on education and training opportunities in the different countries is made available through printed materials as well. The NRCVGs produce and disseminate brochures, booklets and guides concerning these issues. Furthermore transnational visits, exchanges and in-service training of guidance counsellors take place, international seminars, workshops, conferences and fairs are being organised and visited by the NRCVGs - by this learning is made possible about and from the systems in the other countries, exchanging thoughts and ideas and building on examples of best practice which can be used as model and implemented afterwards. These means are considered as crucial for meeting one of the main objectives of the centres as an Europe wide network being the promotion of the European dimension in the field of educational and vocational guidance. As another relevant factor for strengthening the European dimension in the field of educational and vocational guidance, the centres´ participation in international pilot projects (mainly under the Leonardo da Vinci programme) has to be mentioned as well as their assistance for setting up projects and forming partnerships with other relevant institutions from other countries. top 2. Activities at network level The various network activities on international level can be characterised by strengthening the co-operation with and creating closer links to the other NRCVGs within Europe (incl. the EU, EEA and CEE countries). By building up and reinforcing close co-operation the exchange of relevant information in the field of educational and vocational guidance becomes much easier and more efficient. Question and answering services for international clients are offered at all centres. For facilitating the access to useful and relevant information for this target group internet homepages have been established by most of the NRCVGs. For the same reason various databases have been developed by single centres, to mention a few examples an information system database on learning opportunities, in company training placements and guidance issues was developed in Estonia. Another database which contains information about education, training, guidance, national and European institutions, a directory of target groups, records of questions, national programmes, projects and results, the legislative framework of mobility and a classification of occupations was set up in the Slovak Republic. Information packages containing relevant brochures explaining e.g. the educational and vocational system or giving an overview of training possibilities in the respective countries are distributed to the other NRCVGs. Special emphasis must be laid on the various study visits that are carried out on international level, NRCVGs hosting foreign delegations of guidance counsellors, of other centres as well as sending people abroad for studying and learning about the educational, vocational training and guidance counselling system in the respective country. For example Finland hosted a number of foreign delegations (from Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) during the 1998/99 contractual period and Denmark received study visits from 8 delegations (50 people) from abroad. By these activities NRCVGs play an essential role in training guidance counsellors in an international context. Through the exchanges and study visits the European dimension in guidance counselling is emphasised again. The visits enable people to gain new insights and approaches that widen their perspectives and can be adapted and modified to be applied in their countries as well, by this approximating existing systems and finally creating a new system. As an important issue the extension and strengthening of the co-operation with the associated countries has to be stressed as well. For example the German NRCVG concluded an agreement for co-operation with the Polish and Hungarian Centres. An international conference on "Promoting Future Cooperation among the 7 Baltic Sea Countries" organised by the Danish NRCVG has taken place in this field as well. top 3. Outcome of the Network Conferences In addition to co-operation between the NRCVGs a system of regular network conferences has been established in the last years. The main aim of these meetings that take place at least once a year is to develop further the transnational network of NRCVGs. The centres were and are still very much aware of the fact that a lot of work has to be done in linking the different centres closer together, in broadening the fields of co-operation, in making new and further intensifying already existing contacts with the European colleagues, in exchanging experience and creating a common network identity. During the contractual period 1998/99 two major events have to be mentioned, firstly the network conference in Bologna, Italy in October 1998, secondly the conference in Nuremberg, Germany in May 1999, "The National Resource Centres for Vocational Guidance in the Transition from Leonardo I to Leonardo II". At the Bologna conference the future of the NRCVG network on the transition from the first to the second phase of the Leonardo da Vinci programme (possible integration of the NRCVG network in the second Leonardo da Vinci decision) was not yet clear. Due to this fact special emphasis was laid on measures to point out the achievements and relevance of the NRCVG network in order to justify an explicit mention of the network in the decision. Activities for strengthening the common identity of the network were planned, so the decision was taken to create a network logo and promotion material. Another important point to mention was the approval of the ESTIA ICT Platform as the NRCVG network's website, again with the aim of creating a common network appearance as well as the establishment of a technical body, responsible for facilitating the information flow between the network and the European Commission. Moreover the necessity of improving the relations and working in co-operation with the member states´ representatives in the LdV committee was stressed, especially the importance of keeping the LdV committee members informed about the activities of the NRCVG network. It had become clear by the Nuremberg conference that the network is mentioned explicitly in the LdV II decision and thus has a legal basis within the Leonardo II framework. Thefefore it was stressed that the principles and ideas already generated in the past should be followed and developed further in the future. As one of the key issues at the Nuremberg conference the discussion on new approaches to lifelong guidance and the tasks of the NRCVGs on the way to the next millennium can be identified. Four main subjects have been outlined by the European Commission's representative on which the NRCVG network should concentrate under LdV II programme: firstly strengthening the European dimension in guidance services, secondly renewing guidance methods and tools and contributing to redefining the everchanging occupational profile of guidance practitioners, thirdly the expansion and support of guidance initiatives in business and industry, fourthly investigating the link between guidance and occupational integration. The NRCVG network should try to find ways to integrate these themes in the centres´ work plan during the future contractual periods. top 4. Thematic working groups Moreover the work of the four different thematic working groups, the so called "Clusters" continued during the 1998/99 period. They were set up at the network conference in Söderhamn in February 1998 with the aim of working on specific issues of interest and for the use of the whole network. The different themes are: 4.1. "Common report format and evaluation" In this working group the focus was laid on the development of common guidelines to be used by each NRCVG regarding the Annual Action Plan AAP with the grant request, and the Annual Action Report AAR with the financial report to the European Commission to standardise the application and report procedures. The guidelines have already been worked out and are now used by all centres, on the one hand for clarifying once more the common identity of the centres and on the other hand for contributing as much as possible to the simplification of the procedures in the European Commission, by enabling the representatives in charge to deal with the NRCVG documents more easily. Moreover the before mentioned plans for marketing activities were born and have progressed up to now. At the Nuremberg conference the decision on a common name of the network was taken, ensuring that the centres will be seen as part of the European wide network - the Euroguidance) network - by the single users as well as by all relevant bodies, institutions and organisations in Europe. In the same context the work on a common network brochure will be continued, as well as the development of a network strategy for the future. ) The use of the name Euroguidance has not yet - as of March 2000 - been officially approved by the European Commission. 4.2. The ESTIA ICT Platform The work of this cluster is built upon the outcome of the ESTIA pilot and multiplier projects under LdV. In this project an internet homepage has been created aiming at providing useful information about education, professions and labour market issues in Europe. The involved project partners created national websites, these pages following a common structure link to pre-existing webpages relevant for the before mentioned themes. The task of the working group was to create an additional entrance to the ESTIA homepage, the so called ICT Platform, which shall be used as exclusive communication platform for the network on the one hand as well as for providing information on the network for the public on the other hand. Since February 2000 the platform is available on the internet and in active use of the NRCVG representatives. 4.3. Pilot Projects Here a survey on the centers´ involvement in international projects was carried out. The aim of this study is to make available an overview of project activities undertaken in the field of educational and vocational guidance. These activities aim at supporting the centers in identifying possibilities for challenging future project ideas as well as practices worth multiplying and further elaborating or building upon achieved outcomes and know how. Work has progressed so that a complete list of projects will be available by spring 2000 and will enable the centres to take future steps in this field more easily. 4.4. Welcome of the New Member States The main aspect for setting up this cluster has to be seen in the association of the CEE countries within the LdV programme and the activities of founding NRCVGs in these countries and the possible network contribution and support for integrating the new members into the network and facilitating their approach. A questionnaire has been elaborated and sent out to the CEECs for collecting information about the situation in these countries. The following priorities were stressed by the CEECs: their financial situation (difficulties occurring in context with the contractual financing periods and the actual payments), usefulness of a common network brochure for the CEECs for ensuring and strengthening the national position of these centres as well as the results of the pilot project survey for new co-operations. As soon as the NRCVGs have been set up in all associated countries they can, in terms of resources, fully participate in all network activities and cluster work. Concerning the financial situation special emphasis has to be laid upon facilitating the application and payment procedures with the European Commission to ensure the further existence and functioning of the centres in the CEE countries. The cluster activities contribute to finding new approaches and strategies for further development of the NRCVG network itself, but especially to strengthen the European dimension in educational and vocational guidance in the future, too. top 5. Participation of the NRCVGs in other international activities Only a few examples are listed here to complete the overview of the broad field of the NRCVG activities: - Close co-operation of the Dutch NRCVG with the ECRE Task Force and France Terre D´asile in running a conference on Guidance for refugees in Antwerp, November 1998 - Co-organisation of the international symposium "Vocational Guidance - Challenge, Chance, Necessity" in Salzburg/Austria, November 1998 by the Austrian NRCVG - The fourth International Conference for Trainers of Educational and Vocational Guidance Counsellors - "Constructivism and Information Technology in Careers Guidance and Counselling", August 1998 organised by the Danish NRCVG - Co-organisation of a Nordic Conference on "Drop out in Lifelong Learning and Guidance", August 1998 by the Icelandic NRCVG - The Fifth International Conference for Trainers of Educational and Vocational Guidance Counsellors - June 1999 organised by the Irish NRCVG in education sector - Conference "Careers Guidance - Which Way Now" organised by the Slovenian Labour Market Authorities in co-operation with the Slovenian NRCVG in May 1999 top 6. NRCVG network´s involvement in LdV projects with special emphasis on ICT In this report it is not possible to list all LdV projects with NRCVG network´s involvement, what is intended here is to give only a few examples of best practice: - Firstly the ESTIA project at http://www.estia.educ.goteborg.se (co-ordinated by Sweden) has to be mentioned once more. The original project started in 1995 with Finland, France and UK as partners. The project has involved using videoconferencing for transnational guidance and training, crosscultural training and the creation of a network of ESTIA websites. In 1997 a multiplier project started involving Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg and Portugal as new partner countries. In the application round 99 a second multiplier project was submitted involving additional 10 European countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland). The European Commission has chosen ESTIA as one of the LdV good practice projects in 1998. - ACADEMIA http://www.ac-creteil.fr/steurop ACADEMIA is a Leonardo exchange project for guidance practitioners co-ordinated by France. In 1998/99 the following countries took part in ACADEMIA: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - On the Move II http://www.rthj.hi.is/otm/ On the Move II is an interactive guidance tool aimed at young people who are considering going abroad, either to work or study. The project was initiated by the Icelandic NRCVG in 1997 in order to update and further develop the On the Move programme (a PETRA project) with partners from the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Greece as well as Denmark and Switzerland as silent partners. - EURO CD-ROM The EURO CD ROM, a 1997 project co-ordinated by Germany aims at the production of a new information medium that provides information on education, training, higher education and employment in other European Union Member States. Partners are Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Spain. Examples of the Leonardo da Vinci project proposals submitted by the NRCVG network in the 1999 application round: - EURO-PROFILE multiplier co-ordinated by France - VTESH 2 - expansion, translation & internet introduction of a Good Practice Guide on Telephone Helpline Services, co-ordinated by the UK - On-the-Move III, building upon the previous projects "On The Move" and "OTM II" aims at expanding the existing text base and increasing the number of OTM working languages,co-ordinated by the UK - "Towards a European Rainbow - Increasing the intercultural awareness among Guidance Counsellors", co-ordinated by Finland - "Disseminating Open Guidance in Europe", co-ordinated by Italy top III B. Tasks at a National Level 1. General tasks The contractual period 1998/99 clearly featured a consolidation of the role and status of the NRCVG network at national level in the European Union and European Economic Area Member States. At the same time some Central and Eastern European countries were launching a NRCVG while several other CEE countries were still preparing the designation of a Centre with their national authorities, supported by the European Commission and assisted by the NRCVG network. The NRCVGs have over the years built up expertise and skills in the traditional fields in which they operate at national level. During 1998/99 the Centres continued the collection, compilation, dissemination, production and profitable use of relevant information on initial and continuing education and training; organisation of fora, both actual and virtual, for discussions on thematic issues among the most important national clients and partners of the NRCVGs; promotion of products and services that were directed at a steadily growing national audience in the EU, EEA and CEE countries incl. relevant ministries (education and labour), employment services, national associations of guidance counsellors, VET institutions, universities, polytechnics, national representatives of other European networks (NARIC, EURES), national EU-Programme offices (Leonardo NCU, Socrates ...), research institutes etc. Apart from having provided information on studying and training opportunities in vocational and higher education the NRCVG network also offered regional and/or national in-service training courses, seminars and conferences on a wide range of interesting topics to guidance counsellors. In addition, the NRCVGs have been involved in national development projects in the field of education, training and guidance with partners from various professional organisations. In 1998/99 the NRCVGs also promoted the use of interactive electronic communication with their most important target groups i.e. guidance practitioners in education and employment settings. top 2. Working methods In this section of the Annual Synthesis Report some general features common to most of the countries running a NRCVG are described. In several countries the conditions and guidelines for the contractual period 1998/99 were laid down in close cooperation with national authorities such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, the Leonardo NCU or any other depending on the structure in which the Centre operates. Basicly all NRCVG activities in one country should to a certain extent resemble the NRCVG activities in another country, although there certainly were variations and differences between the individual countries in how the tasks were carried out during the past contractual period. One vital task of each Centre is to be well informed about and to follow the implementation of the national education and labour market policies and further to understand the impact of any reform in these national policies on the guidance and counselling system of the country. In this regard, the NRCVGs have been closely cooperating and having meetings with national education and labour market authorities (mainly at ministerial level) in 1998/99 to have a better overview of the policies as a whole. According to the Annual Action Reports there was a clear trend that more and more information was provided on the individual Centre´s website such as information on the products, services and training courses available to the national target groups, on studying and training opportunities (national/international), on project and research results, on useful links, conference reports etc. The internet seems to be a simple and practical tool to offer up-to-date information to reach the clients, and it has partly replaced the traditional printed materials produced by the Centres. Each Centre had the skills needed to respond to any specific question raised by its clients whether it came from a guidance counsellor or an end-user by phone, fax, e-mail, or videoconference and whether it dealt with studies of fishing technology in Norway or Iceland or apprenticeship training in wine production in France or Spain. The NRCVGs especially in the EU and EEA Member States have consolidated their status by the end of 1998. The Centres in these countries have successfully been building up networks with national coverage consisting of guidance practitioners, youth and social workers, teachers and many other relevant target groups in education and employment sectors. These networks can now be used for disseminating information, discussing professional issues electronically, and organising tailormade training courses to meet fully the needs of the clientele. The Centres were either organising, coorganising or contributing to several national training sessions and seminars dealing with international issues (studying and training in another European country), quality of guidance, methodologies and theories of guidance, information management, crosscultural communication and many other themes. The training courses offered by the NRCVGs in each country have been very popular among guidance practitioners. top 3. Highlights of individual NRCVGs In this section some highlights of the achievements of individual Centres will be introduced. Disseminating information on the internet One of the Italian NRCVGs - namely the Centro Risorse in Bologna - opened a new website at the address http://www.centrorisorse.org to offer better information to guidance experts as information multipliers in Italy. This centre´s web site has a new design, structure, and all information is currently available in Italian and in English. Among others the NRCVGs in Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the Slovak Republic and France put emphasis on developing their websites in 1998/99, too. The Finnish NRCVG displayed the "Educational and vocational guidance in Finland" –brochure in pdf-format (available in English, Finnish, Swedish) on the ESTIA website to national and international targets. Systematic update of internet links dealing with and collection of documention about professions was carried out by the Belgian French speaking NRCVG. Creation of databases FAS as the Irish NRCVG operating under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has developed the GAIRM careers database with information on over 300 careers. The information can be accessed in a number of different ways i.e. by Occupation, Interest/Aptitude, Job Characteristics, Educational Qualifications and Alphabetical Order. In addition GAIRM includes information on the NRCVG network and information for non-nationals who may wish to train, study or work in Ireland. GAIRM is available on the FAS Internet website www.fas.ie Publications The Danish NRCVG produced the DUEL - Dansk Uddannelses- og Erhvervsleksikon (Danish Educational and Occupational Encyclopedia) providing information about education/ training and work in Denmark. Additionally in a separate volume called DUEL Udland (=abroad) there is information on educational systems in the EU and EEA Member States and in most CEE countries. The Bundesanstalt für Arbeit - responsible for the NRCVG activity in Germany - launched a magazine "Europa kommt - gehen wir hin - Perspektiven in Europa" that gives information on education and training in other European countries to German guidance counsellors and end-users. The magazine is also available on the internet. The Irish NRCVG in education sector compiled factsheets on Postgraduate Study in Spain, France and Germany in association with the NRCVG in each country. The factsheets are currently with the embassies of each country and will be distributed to third level institutions in Ireland, and in response to information requests. They will also be accessible from the Irish NRCVG´s website http://www.ncge.ie/ Information giving The UK Centre - the Careers Europe in Bradford - responded to 560 inquiries (361 UK, 199 non-UK), while the Belgian Flemish speaking Centre in Brussels dealt with 435 information requests (226 Belgian, 209 non-Belgian) at the same time. Germany having a network of 24 NRCVGs received 13500 individual information seekers (4157 inquiries about study abroad, 2966 job opportunities, 2705 training abroad, 1953 training in companies etc.). The four French NRCVGs in the education sector had 8629 inquiries from general public through various channels (mail, fax, email, telephone, interviews) in 1998/99. Committee work The Norwegian authorities have set up a National Advisory Committee to adjust the Norwegian educational loan fund system to meet the needs of Norwegian students studying abroad. The Norwegian NRCVG is represented in this committee. Examples of training courses The Icelandic NRCVG set up a training programme dealing with youth on careers pathways, vocational education and training opportunities and mobility issues. This five-month training programme was directed at young unemployed people and it was delivered in close cooperation with the City of Reykjavik. The project consortium consisting of the City of Stockholm, the Objective 4 Stockholm, the Stockholm Institute of Education and the Swedish NRCVG developed a new education "Counselling for SMEs" in enterprise counselling with a length of 20 weeks and consisting of two different parts: the economic conditions for SMEs and the work in a small enterprise, and methods of counselling. Special activities in the Central and Eastern European countries The NRCVG in the Slovak Republic was established in 1998/99 and one of its first activities was to hire five experts to carry out a study on the needs of guidance practitioners and clients at national level. The Latvian NRCVG made an analysis of the current vocational education, training and guidance system and had also several meetings with national authorities to discuss the future strategy of the Latvian Centre. The Czech NRCVG produced a publication on information and guidance activities in vocational education and training and labour market in the Czech Republic. This publication was one of the outputs of the mapping study that was carried out in the period from July 98 to December 98. The Czech Centre also developed and displayed a website (http://www.nvf.cz/nrcg). The Bulgarian NRCVG, although not in contractual status with the EC in 1998/99 period, initiated a national project to get an overview of existing databases in the field of education, training and labour market in Bulgaria. top z IV. MANAGEMENT A. European network level During the concerned period, the management at network level has been carried out along two strands: - the relationship with the Commission consisted of co-ordination; - the organisation of network conferences and cluster meetings The first strand has consisted of having contacts with one person from the Commission services (Directorate General for Education, Training and Youth, Directorate B - Policy of vocational training), who had an overview of the network´s activities, informed the network on the procedure related with grant requests, Annual Action Plans and Annual Action Reports, and dealt with the NRCVG issues at the meetings of the Leonardo da Vinci Committee. The Commission´s representative has taken an active role in the NRCVG network conferences and has attended the cluster meetings, contributing to the analysis of the network´s future challenges and encouraging further developments. A good and well working co-operation with the Commission is deemed of paramount importance by the network members. The network conferences and cluster gatherings have proven to be important events to meet most of the European colleagues and to facilitate all communication within the NRCVG network. The country responsible for organising the annual network conference has been granted additional funding from the European Commission. The conference programme was carefully planned together with the network contact in the Commission and the national authorities in charge of the NRCVG running the conference. The cluster co-ordinators are in charge of the cluster reunions and the cluster work plan. To ensure good collaboration and the best possible exchange of information between the five clusters the meetings of the different clusters are usually held at the same time and place. top B. National level As far as it concerns the structure and organisation of the different centres on national level, they are independent from one country to another. Each country is free to decide in which context the NRCVG is located and integrated on organisational level. Most of the centres are part of a structure closely linked to the Ministry of Education and/or Labour. Different solutions have been chosen, e.g. foundation of one or more centres, direct integration in the labour market organisation, in national institutions for vocational and educational guidance, establishment within educational departments as well as within the Leonardo da Vinci NCU. Therefore the management structures of the individual centres are different according to their national organisation. top V. EVALUATION The mechanisms for evaluating the network activities can be described as follows: on the one hand each centre has to report to the European Commission on their activities for the relevant contractual period and envisage the activities planned for the future. Relating to these plans the Commission's representative gives useful input on how the network has developed up to now and what the next steps could be during the network conferences, cluster meetings and so on as mentioned before. Moreover the NRCVG network itself takes the necessary steps for discussing what has been achieved by the network up to now and how the work should proceed in the future. For this the network conferences and the cluster work are very important and they help define the network's situation. At the Nuremberg conference it was stated that the information flow with the European Commission and other relevant bodies has to be intensified, and as a first step it was decided that a network report, the document at issue, should be elaborated. Through this an evaluation of the achievements of the NRCVG network up to now through an external body, the Leonardo da Vinci Committee, should be made possible, hoping for strong future support as the necessity of continuing and enlarging the network's efforts becomes evident. top VI CONCLUSIONS This is an activity report on a single year of operation, but since it comes at a turning point in the development of the NRCVG network, a few general conclusions may be drafted, in the form of suggestions for future action. The transition into a new phase deserves wider and deeper considerations on a real "Euroguidance" strategy, which cannot be the object of these pages. Firstly, the NRCVGs aim at establishing closer links to the Leonardo National Agencies at national level and at the same time to the Leonardo da Vinci Committee at Community level. By initiating an open dialogue with the bodies implementing the second phase of Leonardo da Vinci the network intends to contribute to fulfiling the objectives of the programme. Secondly, the extension of the NRCVG network into the Central and Eastern European Countries – perhaps even to Malta, Cyprus and Turkey – and integration of these new members to the daily activities of the network is one of the priority areas among the existing NRCVGs, which are interested in cooperating with the European Commission and the Leonardo National Agencies and the LdV II Committee to realise these goals. Thirdly, strengthening the identity of a real "Euroguidance" community and making the services and products of the network more visible and better known among its supreme target groups is one of the biggest future challenges of the network in the perspective of promoting the European dimension in educational and vocational guidance and counselling in the EU, EEA and CEE countries. Fourthly, the NRCVG network will systematically approach other relevant European networks, initiatives and bodies in the field of education, training, employment, and recognition of qualifications (EURES, NARIC, CEDEFOP, EURYDICE, Citizens First ..) in order to establish patterns for mutual exchange of information and experiences. To achieve more and better mobility in Europe the different networks should learn from each other´s expertise and fully exploit this valuable resource. top