Brussels, 09/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 June, the European Commission adopted a communication to provide fresh impetus to European cooperation on education and vocational training. The aim is to modernise the sector to make it more attractive and to improve the quality of the teaching, building on the objectives of the EUROPE 2020 strategy. The debate will continue in the second half of this year.
Forecasts of future skills needs highlight a greater demand for medium- and high-level qualifications by 2020. With the constant developments in information and communication technologies, the need to move to a low carbon economy and the ageing population, jobs and social structures are changing, the Commission says in its communication. Education and training, including vocational training, must also change and adapt, the Commission goes on, proposing a number of possible ways to provide education and vocational training with a fresh impetus. These include: - ensuring access to training and qualifications is flexible and open at all stages of life; - promoting mobility to make it easier to gain experience abroad, or in a different sector of the economy; - ensuring the highest possible quality of education and training; - providing more opportunities for disadvantaged groups such as school drop-outs, the low-skilled and unemployed, people with migrant backgrounds and the disabled; - nurturing creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking in students.
The various options will be debated by the Commission, the relevant European ministers and representatives of employers and trade unions in Bruges, Belgium, in December. They will try to set an ambitious modernisation agenda for the coming 10 years, and also shorter term objectives which will be regularly reviewed.
“Vocational education and training is a vital link between the worlds of education and work. In the current economic climate, it's more important than ever that we pool our efforts and make it a more attractive option for apprentices, students and anybody else who wants to upgrade their skills,” said European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou. Highlighting the timeliness of launching such an initiative in the current economic context, Vassiliou noted that ministers with responsibility for vocational training were unanimous in viewing this issue as being of the greatest importance for the future. If the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy are to be met, “we have to show that these are not just empty words; otherwise we can say from the outset that EU 2020 will come to nothing,” she said in a press conference. The most dynamic and advanced countries in terms of vocational training are in Central Europe in particular and the northern countries - she specifically mentioned Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. Southern countries were, in general, weaker, she said, and young people there knew little about vocational training. However, these countries had now realised the importance of vocational training for the employability of their young people in the future, she added. (A.B./transl.rt)