Cedefop hosted a seminar organised by the Small Enterprises Institute of the Greek Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants (IME-GSEVEE) on 9 December.

Discussions focussed on how to promote and implement European principles of quality assurance for qualifications at European qualification framework (EQF) levels 5 to 7.

Participants included General Secretary for lifelong learning and youth at the Greek Ministry of Education Pafsanias Papageorgiou, First Vice President of GSEVEE Dimitris Variamis, Prof Stamatis Dimosthenis, member of the Greek Organisation for the certification of qualifications and vocational guidance (EOPPEP), Prof Panagiotis Tsaklis, member of the Greek quality assurance and accreditation agency’s council, and President of Thessaloniki Federation of crafts associations Ioannis Papargyris, along with representatives of business, academia and the municipality.

There was also a delegation from the Istanbul Union of Trade and Craft Chambers (ISTESOB), led by President Faik Yilmaz.

Cedefop’ Anastasiou Pouliou participated in discussions, as the theme is very high on Cedefop’s own agenda.

The high-profile audience shows the importance Greece and Turkey attach to quality assurance. According to Mr Papageorgiou, building trust and widening cooperation is a priority for his ministry. Both Greece and Turkey work to step up work on the establishment of systems for the validation of informal and non-formal learning and exchange good practices in the field.