Our study onEuropean VET teacher competences reveals serious discrepancies between teacher education and teacher work realities. The Defining VET Professions project aimed at a systematic inventory of the activities and competences of teachers, trainers and principals in vocational education and training. The final outcomes foreseen are competence frameworks for these professions and a handbook to support their implementation.

Scope and method of the Defining VET Professions project The Defining VET Professions project was co-funded by Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Education and Training and the participating institutions . The data concerning the knowledge and skills of the teachers was collected in semi-structured interviews. These were analysed and complemented with country background information, research on VET professions as well as policy priorities and trends in Europe. The interviews covered five areas of activities, namely Administration, Training, Development, Quality assurance and Establishing and maintaining networks.

The outcomes of the analyses were finally validated by stakeholders in more than 20 European countries. Altogether 197 VET professionals were interviewed in 12EU countries. The activities varied slightly from one context to another, the biggest differences being between centralised and decentralised education systems. However, the similarities in the professions were striking. Similarly striking were the concerns arising from the analysis. The results of the analysis strengthened the assumption that it is realistic to create a common competence framework and to provide recommendations regarding VET teachers at a European level.