The Danish - Undervisningsministeriet

A developing system
for competences, such as holistic perception, flair for
business, flexibility, self-management, the ability to acquire
and apply new knowledge, to communicate and to take
initiatives. These competences are now included in the
overall curricula.
• As VET plays a major role in attaining the overall political
objective of getting 95% of a youth cohort to complete a
youth education programme, a major challenge is to make
the VET system inclusive enough to attract and retain very
heterogeneous groups of young people. In the new reform,
the colleges are obliged to develop “basic course packages”,
i.e. specially designed courses aimed at either very qualified
trainees or less qualified trainees who may have additional
needs, such as improving language skills and knowledge
of Danish culture. The colleges may develop the basic
course packages together with other institutions in their
geographical area, e.g. production schools or language
schools. Based on the APL assessment taking place within
the first couple of weeks at the college, the basic course is to
be adjusted to the individual trainee’s needs.
• Another important element of the reform intended to ensure
that the system is inclusive enough to attract both highly
qualified and less qualified trainees is the introduction of
streaming. All basic subjects are provided at different levels
(F to A), and streaming offers the opportunity for the
individual trainee to choose a suitable level. For proficient
trainees, streaming provides the possibility of choosing
higher levels than those which are compulsory and thus
qualifying themselves for further or higher education.
• The individual VET programmes, which have existed since
2001, have become an opportunity for all trainees. The
individual programmes encompass parts of one or more
ordinary VET programmes and normally take two years to
complete, including 20-40 weeks of school-based education.
46