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Continuing VET has undergone a considerable shift over the past few years as a result of digitalisation processes in the world of work and in society. Further development is expected in the future. In order to be able to govern this area of education and training in an evidence-based way, policymakers and public administration are reliant on current information and reliable indicators. One of the tasks tackled in the “Integrated continuing training reporting” project (iWBBe) has been to develop starting points that will enable the firm establishment of digitalisation as a cross-sectional topic in education and training reporting.

The digital shift has arrived at companies and is leading to changes in both work and learning processes. The additional CVTS5 survey used a telephone questionnaire and twelve company case studies to investigate which digital forms of learning are being deployed and the nature of the challenges created. This article presents the main results.

In the period following 2015, both the Federal Government and the federal states created numerous programmes for vocational orientation and preparation of young refugees. Language acquisition is of central importance in this regard. BIBB has conducted an expert survey to investigate how language and professional competence are imparted in an integrated manner in these programmes and to see which recommendations can be derived for the development of programmes and the occupational integration of refugees.

Participation in continuing education exhibits considerable regional differences. This strongly suggests that there are variances in continuing education needs at a regional level. A knowledge of the continuing education requirements within a particular region offers areas of potential for institutes of higher education to deliver tailored provision at a local level and thus aid regional development. However, how can continuing education provision at institutes of higher education be harmonised in a targeted way so as to meet the requirements and interests of the population and the need for a supply of skilled workers? Such an approach for the Western Palatinate region has been designed within the scope of the EB project. This article describes the background to and methodological implementation of the project. It also provides an example of how the Regional Monitor can be used to identify needs for continuing education provision in the form of the “Digital Management” programme being offered at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern.

Informally acquired competences are playing an increasing role within a large number of training contexts in Germany, Europe and across the entire world. It has been widely accepted that such competences represent an important resource and that their recognition constitutes a considerable area of potential for society. This particularly applies to the educational system in Germany, which has previously tended to be aligned towards formal qualifications. The present paper sheds light on current developments in the field of recognition and validation of informally acquired competences. By using selected examples we hope to demonstrate the potential of European development and transfer projects supported in the framework of the EU LEONARDO DA VINCI Programme which could provide an impetus for further developments in Germany.