Brussels, 04/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - Ministers in charge of vocational education and training (VET) in the European Union will be gathering in Helsinki on 4 and 5 December for an informal ministerial meeting led by the Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Antti Kalliomäki. They will discuss the position of vocational education and training in Europe and will adopt objectives for European cooperation in that field over the next two years. The Finnish EU Presidency points out in a press release: “Raising the image of VET is one of the main goals of European cooperation. In recent years, attention has been paid particularly to quality assurance, recognition of qualifications and lifelong guidance”. Cooperation in vocational training comes within the Copenhagen Process, the equivalent of the Bologna Process in the field of higher education.
On the sidelines of the meeting in Helsinki, Minister Antti Kalliomäki and European Commissioner Jan Figel are to award the Leonardo da Vinci prize to ten projects that have supported the aims of the Copenhagen Process. The successful projects will meet the aims of the Copenhagen Process, namely: - improving results, the quality and the attraction of vocational training, and promoting the development of the European labour market, thereby increasing Member States' competitiveness. (ol)