2.1 INDUSTRIA
2.1.4 Las cinco fuerzas que determinan la atractividad de la Industria
E L E T r a t e a n d n a t i o n a l t a r g e t 11.1 11.0 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 2009 2013 10 BE Source: Eurostat (LFS).
Belgium has established a national target of decreasing the rate of early leavers to 9.5 % by 2020. No specific regional target has been defined for the French Community of Belgium.
D e f i n i t i o n ( s )
A decree (4) adopted on 21 November 2013 defines early leavers as having left school or training with less than or only lower secondary education and being no longer in education or training.
N a t i o n a l d a t a c o l l e c t i o n
Statistics Belgium is in charge of collecting the statistical data for the Eurostat Labour Force Survey.
The General Direction of Compulsory Education in the French Community of Belgium is monitoring data on absenteeism provided by schools throughout the year.
They are also responsible for aggregating data concerning compliance with compulsory
at the level of the French Community for the Walloon Region. In the Brussels-Capital Region, they are collected every year by a unit composed of civil servants from the French and the Flemish Communities (in this region, students may be enrolled in either of the two Communities). The data are not published but are available on request, anonymised and aggregated at top, regional or local level.
S t r a t e g y , p o l i c i e s a n d m e a s u r e s
1. Comprehensive strategy
The French Community of Belgium has no comprehensive strategy specifically designed to tackle early leaving.
2. Recent policies and measures
The main policies and measures implemented to tackle early leaving aim at:
facilitating the integration of young children into pre-primary schools by reducing the number of children per teacher at the beginning of the school year; providing the support of physical education specialists in all pre-primary-schools;
reducing grade retention, among others via a pilot project 'Takeoff!' (Décolâge!) that promotes exchanges of information and expertise among schools on alternative practices to grade retention;
increasing the flexibility and permeability of education pathways through the vocational education reform still under preparation. As one of the outcomes, adult education will become part of the 'qualification by units' continuum so that students leaving the school system without qualifications may be
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increasing the number of newly arrived migrant students having access to language support;
rearticulating the respective missions of the mobile teams and the mediation services in supporting teachers and pupils;
implementing the 'Action plan to Ensure Peaceful Learning Conditions' (Plan d'actions visant à garantir les conditions d'un apprentissage serein) with the setting up of an 'Observatory of School Violence and Drop-out'.
Specific targeted measures for groups at risk are focused on students from socially disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds and on students with special educational needs.
3. Recent ELVET-specific measures
The Expairs project (2012-2014) seeks to tackle ELVET specifically during 3rd year of VET (first year of 2nd degree) when most of the early exits take place. The project involves 45 VET schools and focuses on improving motivation and study experiences of students through better school climate (e.g. by meetings between students and teachers, involving parents, introducing student representation system, more open communication, etc.), individualised study pathways and career plans, innovative pe- dagogies such as individual and group pro- ject work, closer involvement of employers (job discovery days, company visits, motivational talks), reorganisation of school traditions (e.g. student assessment and school timetable), activities to boost self- esteem, better access to counselling, etc.
In Brussels, a new unit on early leaving is being set up at a local apprentice centre to work in a proactive manner with apprentices and employers to prevent problems that can lead to a termination of an apprenticeship.
C r o s s - s e c t o r c o o p e r a t i o n
A decree has recently been adopted (5) on organising policy cooperation between the compulsory education and the youth sectors to enhance youth well-being at school, school reintegration, prevention of violence and vocational guidance. It will come into force in the 2014/15 school year and includes structural cooperation mechanisms as well as the setting- up of a coordinating committee.
This decree makes multi-agency partnerships at local/institutional level a legal obligation. They should involve school heads, teachers, psycho- logists, social and youth workers, nurses, speech and language specialists, and mediators.
E d u c a t i o n a n d c a r e e r g u i d a n c e
Education and guidance is currently explicitly considered as a compensation measure for tackling early leaving. In the new decree mentioned under 'Definition', adopted in November 2013 and entering in force in September 2014, education and career guidance is also considered as a prevention and intervention measure to tackle early leaving. All primary and secondary schools have to integrate career guidance in the education process, notably by raising awareness on the working world and providing information on education and training pathways. Special attention to this is given in secondary education. Teachers dealing with these issues do not have specific training.
Students may also directly contact a psycho- medico-social centre (centre psycho-médico- social – CPMS) to receive advice on education and career guidance. Career guidance services are also provided by associations such as Infor Jeunes or Service d'information sur les études et les professions.
(5) http://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/fr/leg_res_01.php?ncda=-
As a compensation measure for early leavers, the School Reintegration Services temporarily welcome young drop-outs to provide them with assistance and quickly reintegrate them into the education or training system.