| Summary: |
A common legislative framework regarding Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) has been created since 1989 in the EU, starting with the framework Directive (89/391/EEC) and followed by subsequent individual Directives. This legislation requires employers to ensure the safety and health of workers and to have competent advice on these problems.
These requirements have been enacted in different forms into the national legislation of all member states, causing a lack of transparency and recognition of competences and qualifications for OSH managers and technicians. Some directives have already tackled these barriers to movement for professionals, but the progress in reaching agreement is slow, because the issues involved are often complex and the national and professional interests to be defended are very strong. In order to address this situation, the International Social Security Association Section on Safety Training, has studied the way in which these professionals are trained across Europe.
Since the adoption of the Lisbon Strategy in 2000, EU member states and the European Commission have strengthened their political cooperation in education and training policy. This has been done through the "Education and Training 2010" work programme launched in 2001 and its follow-up, the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) adopted by the Council in May 2009. The first objective of this strategic framework, "Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality", is addressed by this project.
Within this contest, the aim of the EUSAFE project is to develop a new professional qualification and training framework based on the already existing certification standards. The project will make use of the instruments created at EU level (ECVET and EQF) and the two voluntary certification standards (EurOSHM and EurOSHT), developed by the European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (ENSHPO). The  |
Summary
A common legislative framework regarding Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) has been created since 1989 in the EU, starting with the framework Directive (89/391/EEC) and followed by subsequent individual Directives. This legislation requires employers to ensure the safety and health of workers and to have competent advice on these problems.
These requirements have been enacted in different forms into the national legislation of all member states, causing a lack of transparency and recognition of competences and qualifications for OSH managers and technicians. Some directives have already tackled these barriers to movement for professionals, but the progress in reaching agreement is slow, because the issues involved are often complex and the national and professional interests to be defended are very strong. In order to address this situation, the International Social Security Association Section on Safety Training, has studied the way in which these professionals are trained across Europe.
Since the adoption of the Lisbon Strategy in 2000, EU member states and the European Commission have strengthened their political cooperation in education and training policy. This has been done through the "Education and Training 2010" work programme launched in 2001 and its follow-up, the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) adopted by the Council in May 2009. The first objective of this strategic framework, "Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality", is addressed by this project.
Within this contest, the aim of the EUSAFE project is to develop a new professional qualification and training framework based on the already existing certification standards. The project will make use of the instruments created at EU level (ECVET and EQF) and the two voluntary certification standards (EurOSHM and EurOSHT), developed by the European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (ENSHPO). The outcome will be a suitable range of standardized profiles (expected at EQF levels 4, 5 and 6) to cover the different levels of qualifications and roles of OSH professionals.
The project will produce country reports on OSH training, a new profile for OSH professionals with qualifications in units of learning outcomes based on the ECVET system and educational objectives, teaching plans and example teaching materials standardized at EU level.
The project will enable OSH professionals to achieve recognition of their competences and qualifications and increase their mobility. It will also create flexible instruments to validate, transfer and recognize learning results, ready to be transferred also in the other EU countries where the consortium members are not active.
A network of training centres, professionals and representatives from the education and academy world set up starting from the already existing ENSHPO and ENETOSH networks will have a positive impact in other countries not represented in the project consortium. |