Cedefop has been invited to provide its expertise to a new initiative in support of young people's integration in the labour market: a collaboration between seven EU Member States on developing dual training models.
Speaking at the meeting of ministers which took place on 10-11 December in Berlin, Cedefop Director Christian Lettmayr emphasised the importance of integrating dual models in each country's existing educational system and labour market - particularly its qualifications structure. He stressed that dual models, despite their many differences, help young people understand what the world of work is really like, and cultivates soft skills as much as purely technical ones.

The signatories to the alliance - Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain - agreed to focus their efforts on improving the image and quality of vocational education and training. Their joint cooperation is meant to provide lasting support to bilateral and multilateral initiatives in vocational training.

German Federal Minister for Education and Research Annette Schavan emphasised that this new alliance needs to have a European character, not just a bilateral one, in order to best help the 7.5 million young Europeans who are in search of employment.