Education and Training Service Centre

What is the Education and Training Service Centre?

The Education and Training Service Centre was established in December 2002 by the Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ) and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers (SA) and is since 2010 also owned by the Federation of State and Municipal Employees, the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland and the Ministry of Finance.

The role of the Centre is to be a collaborative forum of the founding parties for adult education and vocational training in cooperation with other educational bodies operating under the auspices of the member associations.

The Centre operates in accordance with its articles of association and a service agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

The Centre targets those who have not completed the upper secondary level of education. This target group comprises 35% of people in the labour market, although the ratio varies between years and regions. 

The objective is to enable individuals who have not graduated from the upper secondary level to obtain an education and improve their position in the labour market.

What are the Centre’s objectives?

• To promote the availability of education for individuals in the labour market who have limited formal education.
• To perform education needs analyses for companies, professions and individuals in the target group.
• To describe available education in curricula.
• To co-operate with education bodies, such as lifelong learning centres, on the implementation of education supply.
• To have assessments performed of the education supply and real professional competence in the labour market.
• To ensure recognition of skills and knowledge acquired in training courses.
• To ensure recognition of skills acquired through experience, self-study, etc.
• To shorten study periods for those who want to study.
• To increase the quality of adult education and vocational training in the labour market.
• To develop a centre of andragogical knowledge on adult education.
• To train teachers at adult education centres.
• To encourage study.
• To develop career counselling services in the labour market.
• To develop education records.
• To disseminate information about study and skills.
• To collect and disseminate information about available programmes of study for the target group.

Real competence

People in the labour market acquire knowledge and skills in many fields by various means, such as through professional experience, vocational training, leisure education, school study, social activities and family life. This is real competence. 

The Centre aims to co-operate with the Ministry of Education for the recognition of such competence in order to shorten study periods.

The target group

The target group of the Centre consists of those who have not graduated from the upper secondary level.