The task of re-integrating people at risk of dropping out of VET or the labour market has to be viewed from two viewpoints:

1. From the point of view of the individuals, one has to ask how the opportunities for “moving on” can be supported, leading in the most favourable case to a “normal” occupational career.
2. From the point of view of the general socio-economic conditions, the question arises of how much help any Re-Integration scheme may be at all in order to get at risk people an opportunity to enter or continue long-term employment either via VET or via continuing vocational training (CVT).

Any policies to improve the situation of disadvantaged people have to take into account both factors, especially also the latter. The reason is simple. If the economy does not provide enough jobs for all, it will always be mainly the disadvantaged people who will be unemployed. In this case, no kind of Re-Integration scheme will solve the problem for the disadvantaged, if one thinks only about gainful employment. This is normally not taken into consideration. The problem of disadvantaged people is usually seen in their lack of “employability” although this is often concealed by using the word “disadvantaged”.

The investigations from which this symposium arises have usually focused more on view (a). This is sensible as view (b) is out of reach of educators and trainers, in contrast to view (a). But when it comes to policy suggestions, view (b) has to gain importance. This is not to say that the aim of this symposium should be to devise general economic measures for easing the problem of unemployment. But it has to take into account different possible socio-economic developments because these also directly influence the way Re-Integration initiatives (VET or CVT) should be carried through. This is because their aims, and therefore the objectives and processes of the learning that takes place within them, depend on the future prospects of the trainees as to how far they might be able to find a decent long-term job. This indeed influences the whole setting of these initiatives. Their objectives, learning styles and social work are connected with the overall societal picture in which the work/life balance is to be seen. Therefore even the more encompassing socio-cultural conditions are at stake. Their connection with different possibilities for Re-Integration schemes in various cultural settings will be taken into account. These cultural settings also determine the main structures of the respective cultural VET and CVT systems.

The proposed Symposium will present conclusions and hypotheses which focus more on the theoretical aspects. The contribution by Karen Evans and Natasha Kersh will focus on facilitating learning success through self-evaluation of personal competencies for countering social exclusion. The paper by Beatrix Niemeyer will analyse the possibilities of collaboration across professional paradigms in practice, based also on an additional German research project (explicitly aiming at this question). Anja Heikkinen will describe the reasons for progression from the paradigm of external evaluation towards a “Transnational Reflection and Development Method (TRDM)”. Wiebke Petersen will analyse how criteria for situated learning (in “Learning communities ce ntred on Practice (LCPs))” are embedded in the broader framework of TRDMs. Gerald Heidegger will present some hypotheses regarding the general socio-cultural conditions for social exclusion and improvement of opportunities for inclusion.

The four European research projects are:

• “Tacitkey” (Leonardo I, Surveys and Analyses): Tacit forms of key competencies for changing employment opportunities
• “Self-Evaluation” (Leonardo II, Reference Material): Transnational Methods and models for self-evaluation of non-formal personal competencies
• “Re-Enter” (Socrates (Studies and Analyses): Improving transition of low-achieving school-leavers to vocational education and training
• “Re-Integration” (Leornardo II, Reference Material): Transnational evaluation of social and professional re-integration programmes for young people