Cedefop is pleased to be involved in Thessaloniki's ambitious plan to improve lifelong learning and skills development in the municipality. At a press conference held on 26 March, Mayor Yannis Boutaris and Cedefop’s Acting Director Christian Lettmayr announced that the two bodies will be working together to improve links between vocational training and labour market needs.

The city aims to become a national point of reference for skills development and lifelong learning.  To this end, Mayor Yannis Boutaris sought the advice and cooperation of Cedefop.  Project Managers Loukas Zahilas and Konstantinos Pouliakas wrote a proposal on mapping the demand and supply of skills in the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the region of Central Macedonia, which can serve as the first step towards avoiding mismatches and creating the optimum balance between supply and demand. 

Speaking at the press conference, Acting Director Christian Lettmayr said: 'We are very keen eager to support this initiative of the City of Thessaloniki, which is aimed at setting up a forecasting system for the supply and demand of skills - a topic in which we have been particularly active across Europe. This will allow for a better balance between labour market needs and the qualifications of citizens entering the labour market."

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Cedefop