Cedefop and the European Labour Authority (ELA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further their cooperation on vocational education and training (VET), skills and labour mobility in the EU.
The two decentralised Agencies, both operating under the umbrella of the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, agreed to work together in order to maximise synergies, avoid any potential duplication of activities in the fields of similar interest and transfer good practices.
On 16 January at Cedefop's seat in Thessaloniki, Greece, the Executive Directors of Cedefop, Jürgen Siebel, and ELA, Cosmin Boiangiu, signed the MoU, which envisages a framework for regular exchange and cooperation.
Cedefop and ELA recognise that they have distinct but related mandates, tasks and objectives, in the fields of VET, skills, qualifications, and EU labour mobility and social security coordination respectively, and that, therefore, their structured cooperation would allow them to deliver greater added value to the EU, its Members States, social partners and the world of education and work.
'Deliver more to stakeholders'
Following the signing ceremony, Cedefop Executive Director Jürgen Siebel noted that 'this memorandum is important because it establishes specific processes and structures that will allow both of us to get the most out of our partnership and to deliver more to our stakeholders than the sum of our individual contributions, long term.'
ELA Executive Director Cosmin Boiangiu said that he was 'very happy to sign this memorandum of understanding with Cedefop. It is one of the oldest EU Agencies and closely related to the work field of ELA. This MoU is a first step to closer cooperation between the Agencies and complementing each other’s work. I look forward to engaging closely with each other and start transposing this MoU into practical cooperation activities.’
The ceremony was followed by a presentation to ELA of the highlights of Cedefop's recent activities, particularly in the areas of online job vacancies, apprentice mobility and integrating adult refugees in European VET and the labour market.
Cedefop is the European Union’s reference centre for VET, skills and qualifications.
ELA was established to help strengthen the fairness and trust in the internal market by assisting Member States and the European Commission to ensure that EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination are fairly and effectively enforced and by making it easier for citizens and businesses to benefit fully of the internal market.
