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Greece’s participation in a survey of adult skills organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with the support of the European Commission was launched on 31 March at the Mapping skills shortages, planning the future, conference in Athens.
Partnerships between education and training and social partners are not an option but inevitable to prevent skills mismatch and having people not in employment, education or training (NEETs), argued Cedefop Director James Calleja at the Greek EU Presidency’s flagship conference on vocational education and training (VET).
Unemployment in many European Union (EU) countries is alarmingly high. Yet, surveys still find that firms have problems filling vacancies. Manpower’s 2013 talent shortage survey found on average more than 25% of firms across 17 Member States reported recruitment difficulties. Many argue that this is because young graduates and other workers are ill-prepared and the lack of the right skills is responsible for Europe’s high rates of unemployment.
Cedefop Director James Calleja told a conference organised by the European Commission and the Romanian government in Bucharest that ‘in addressing NEETs (people not in employment, education or training) we should keep in mind that prevention is better than cure and that detecting potential NEETs should be a key concern in school education.’
European Union (EU) Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor called his visit to Cedefop premises on 4 March ‘a very important experience’ and stated that ‘good vocational education and training systems are crucial for employment’.
At a European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE) conference, at Wembley Stadium in London, Cedefop Director James Calleja proposed a joint activity on vocational education and training (VET) and mobility of the sport and active leisure sector and the international financial services sector based on a common model of governance to support the use of European tools and policies related to VET, skills and qualifications.
Δεν υπάρχουν εύκολες λύσεις στο θέμα των απασχόλησης των νέων, αλλά η απόκτηση προσόντων και η καλύτερη σύνδεσή τους με την αγορά εργασίας αποτελούν τη βάση για το μέλλον, σύμφωνα με τα συμπεράσματα εκδήλωσης που διοργάνωσε το Cedefop, σε συνεργασία με το Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης και τη Διεύθυνση Πρωτοβάθμιας και Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας, και με τη στήριξη του Europe Direct του Δήμου.
Η οικονομική κρίση, που πλήττει την Ελλάδα από το 2009, έχει αναδείξει διαρθρωτικές αδυναμίες στην οικονομία, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του αδύναμου κρίκου μεταξύ εκπαίδευσης και αγοράς εργασίας. Στην προσπάθεια της Ελλάδας να βγει από την κρίση, η οποία έχει οδηγήσει σε ιδιαίτερα υψηλή ανεργία των νέων (περίπου στο 55%), όσοι παίρνουν πολιτικές αποφάσεις πρέπει να τους βοηθήσουν να επιλέξουν τι είδους σπουδές και ποια επαγγελματική κατεύθυνση θα ακολουθήσουν ώστε να εκμεταλλευτεί η χώρα στο έπακρο τα πλούσια αποθέματα δεξιοτήτων της.
Young people with vocational education and training (VET) qualifications, which include a significant amount of work-based learning, have higher employment rates compared to those who come from general education or from fully or mainly school-based VET, Cedefop Director James Calleja told the European Commission’s monitoring conference in Brussels (11-12 February).
Presenting Cedefop’s work at the European Parliament, the Centre’s new Director, James Calleja, said that all its activities ‘aim at emphasising the inescapable link between training, skills, qualifications and employability.’
Ο Διευθυντής του Cedefop, Τζέιμς Καλέγια συναντήθηκε την Τρίτη 17 Δεκεμβρίου στην Αθήνα με τον υπουργό Εργασίας, Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης και Πρόνοιας Ιωάννη Βρούτση και συζήτησαν θέματα σχετικά με την ανεργία, τη μαθητεία και την αγορά εργασίας. Οι δύο πλευρές συμφώνησαν να διευρύνουν τη συνεργασία τους με κοινές δράσεις ανάμεσα στο Cedefop και τον ΟΑΕΔ σε μέτρα καταπολέμησης της ανεργίας και υποστήριξης των Ελλήνων με χαμηλές δεξιότητες.
Too many young people leave education (including vocational education) too soon. Yet early leavers are at greater risk of long-term unemployment, poverty and crime, while the cost of early leaving to the European economy is now 1.25% of GDP.
Cedefop Director James Calleja presented on Monday in Thessaloniki the Cedefop / Photomuseum Prize to Turkish photographer Aydin Cetinbostanoglu for his project ‘Diary of a village doctor’. Mr Calleja stressed ‘the truly international character of the prize’ and added that the award is ‘not only a way to support the art of photography but also to visualise vocational education and training and to draw attention to the big issue of today: how to bridge education and work’.
According to first findings from the OECD survey of adult skills (PIAAC), literacy levels vary across countries and between vocational education and training (VET) and general education graduates at upper-secondary levels. Cedefop is working closely with the OECD on developing indicators for the survey to measure development and use of skill.
Qualifications frameworks based on learning outcomes are now a global phenomenon. Over 30 European countries are in the process of introducing comprehensive national frameworks. But the long-term success of these frameworks depends on creating close links with other education and labour market policies and practices; on citizens’ awareness of their uses; and on active involvement of social partners every step of the way.
Cedefop Director James Calleja told participants at a conference on skills mobility and competitiveness that there are solutions to the ‘worrying situation with millions of jobs in Europe still remaining vacant while 27 million people are unemployed’. Mr Calleja addressed particularly the issue of youth unemployment, saying that it is up to 23% – in some countries even hitting the 60% mark.
Countries, employers and individuals need a clear idea of how labour markets and economies are changing and how people are meeting the demand for skills in the 21st century. People with low skills face a greater risk of economic disadvantage. They are more likely to be unemployed and suffer from poor health.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey of adult skills (PIAAC) aims to provide some insights into how skills are being developed and used in 24 countries. The first findings of the survey were published in October 2013. They show that the young are more literate, but proficiency in literacy peaks at around 30 years of age.
Some 140 experts, policy-makers, social partners, teachers and trainers from 27 countries will take part on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 November 2013 in a Cedefop conference on learning outcomes to discuss how learning-outcome developments have affected policies and practices in education and training during the past decade.
A high-level Cedefop delegation contributed to the EU Lithuanian Presidency’s vocational education and training (VET) events in Vilnius.
Cedefop Director James Calleja welcomed Croatia to the agency at the meeting of Directors-General for vocational education and training (DGVT) on 11 and 12 November. He praised the contribution Croatia has already made to vocational training, describing it as a ‘VET-friendly country’. Mr Calleja noted that Cedefop is looking forward to working with the new EU Member State and to forging a new relationship.
Cedefop has published its briefing note "Return to learning, return to work", which explores how properly targeted and designed work-based training programmes can address the employment needs of low-qualified adults.