Education and Training Monitor 2019

October 01, 2019
For the eighth consecutive year, the 2019 Education and Training Monitor gathers a wide range of evidence to indicate the evolution of national education and training systems across the European Union (EU). The report measures countries’ progress towards the targets of the Education and Training 2020 (ET 2020) strategic framework for European cooperation in these fields. It also provides insights into measures taken to address education-related issues as part of the European Semester process. The Monitor offers suggestions for policy reforms that can make national education and training systems more responsive to societal and labour market needs. Furthermore, the report helps to identify where EU funding for education, training and skills should be targeted through the EU's next long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The Monitor comprises a cross-country comparison and 28 in-depth country reports.

Commissioner Tibor Navracsics presented the 2019 Education and Training Monitor at the second European Education Summit on 26 September 2019.
Teachers are the main focus of the latest edition. Teachers are considered as the factor having the strongest impact on students’ learning within the school environment.
Using new data, the Monitor demonstrates the common challenges that EU Member States face to attract and maintain the best teaching professionals. This challenge is expected to become all the more prominent during the next decade, during which a wave of retirements of experienced teachers is expected.
This year’s edition of the Education and Training Monitor marks ten years since the launch of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training – ET 2020. European countries have made great progress towards expanding participation in education since the establishment of EU benchmarks in 2009 as part of this process.
However, approximately 20% of 15 year old pupils across Europe still remain at risk of educational poverty, as they do not possess basic competences in literacy and mathematics or sufficient knowledge of science subjects. Additional priority areas for monitoring include: language skills and adult learning, teachers, investment in education and training, ICT education, entrepreneurship in education, and vocational education and training (VET).