Ministers say professional training is vital to ensure good quality work and get Europe moving in terms of productivity

Better training for European citizens to guarantee them a better job will consolidate their confidence in the European project. With a qualified labour force, Europe can play a leading role on the international scene and gain the trump cards it needs to achieve the Lisbon Strategy. In order to raise awareness among the EU's 25 education ministers about this and hear their views, the British Presidency focussed the London meeting of education ministers of 12/13 July on professional training. British education secretary Ruth Kelly said the British Presidency would be working closely with the 2006 presidencies, Austria and Finland, and described education and professional training as the cornerstone of getting the European economy moving again.

In London, ministers discussed

1. Developing skills and different national approaches to plug gaps identified in individual areas of the economy (imbalance between men and women in certain industries, lack of interest and consequently lack of specialists in areas like maths and science) in order to provide employers with resources to guarantee their employees the best level of qualifications;
2. Mobility as a major advantage for combatting low qualifications levels;
3. The close connections between a skilled workforce and economic productivity. The second day was addressed by the Secretary Generals of Unice (European employers) and ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) on this issue.
4. The next stages of deepening cooperation.

During the meeting, Jan Figel outlined the European Qualifications Framework, EQF, to ministers, designed to foster worker mobility. Figel explained that one part of the EQF would establish a mutual recognition system for the educational content of qualifications. The new system would have eight levels, each setting out the skills and qualifications of candidates at that level. An employer from one Member State, for example, would then be easily able to identify the skill level of job applicants from another Member State, explained Figel. The current consultations will end in December 2005 and the Commission will then assess the results and submit a formal recommendation to the Council in the first half of 2006.

Figel highlighted the need for investment for the long-term, commenting that 'by 2010, nearly half of new jobs in the EU will need higher educational qualifications and only 15% will need basic schooling.'