BellTime Magazine Spring 2018 BellTime 9-5 | Page 11

BellTIME Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union Europass Europe In 2017, the number of Europass CV’s created reached 100 million across Europe and the European Commission has announced a revision of the 2004 Decision with plans ‘to simplify and modernise [Europass] for the digital age and to add a new feature using big data to map and anticipate labour market trends and skills needs.' Details on the revision will be communicated in due course. The national contact point for Europass is based at Quality and Qualifications Ireland and our role is to promote Europass activities. We promote the Europass portfolio of tools for use by individuals and employers to help them in their search for employment and education and training both at home and abroad. For more information see http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/ and http://www.qqi.ie/Articles/Pages/Qualifications- and-Skills.aspx What’s in the Portfolio? The most important item in the portfolio is the European Curriculum Vitae which can be completed by individuals and used on interoperable job search platforms, such as EURES (https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/en/news). In 2017, 42,871 persons in Ireland used Europass and developed their European CV’s. Europass is also used by participants of Erasmus+ and around 500 mobility documents were issued for persons engaging in mobility within the EU. skills and qualifications. This can be very helpful when seeking work in a new country where a second language is required. The Language Passport can be included with the CV and this again is intended to assist an individual or an employer to understand their abilities in a standard format using agreed criteria. The other elements/tools within the Europass Portfolio include the Certificate Supplement which is issued on-line by QQI, the Diploma Supplement (issued by the providing institutions) and the Mobility passport. These Supplements are issued free of charge in line with the Bologna process. The supplements are most important when applying for employment or education and training as they provide essential information about the qualifications held by an individual helping a potential employer or institution understand other EU qualifications. The Mobility Passport is completed by individuals and their centres before and after a mobility exchange with another country and is used to document the arrangements and experience itself. For any centre engaging in exchanges within Europe we encourage the use of this document to The European CV records the aptitudes and skills of record the experience. the individual using a standard format. Information on all these documents, including the European Our contact email is [email protected] and we Skills Passport is available on would be delighted to provide further information on http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/ any of the above. Follow us also on https://www.facebook.com/europassIE/ The second document is the Language Passport, where an individual can record their own language 20 21