WorldSkills joins European thought leaders placing importance on Vocational Education and Training (VET)

At a meeting hosted by the European Union (EU) Latvian Presidency in Riga, Latvia, on 22 June 2015, Ministers from the European Union Member States, candidate countries, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein renewed their efforts to raise the overall quality and status of VET. They also reaffirmed their support for the wider European growth and jobs agenda. They also endorsed the new medium-term deliverables for VET, known as the Riga conclusions.

Mr Jos de Goey (Vice President for Strategic Affairs, WorldSkills International and Secretary General, WorldSkills Europe) presented WorldSkills and its role in inspiring skills excellence in VET. He promoted the upcoming WorldSkills São Paulo 2015 and EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016 and invited all attendees to come to these events.

The conclusions include five priority areas for 2015-20 aiming to:

• promote work-based learning in all its forms, with special attention to apprenticeships, by involving social partners, companies, chambers, and VET providers, as well as by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship;
• further develop quality assurance mechanisms in VET in line with the European quality assurance in VET recommendation, and, as part of quality assurance systems, establish continuous information and feedback loops in initial VET and continuing VET systems based on learning outcomes;
• enhance access to VET and qualifications for all through more flexible and permeable systems, notably by offering efficient and integrated guidance services and making available validation of non-formal and informal learning;
• further strengthen key competences in VET curricula and provide more effective opportunities to acquire or develop those skills through initial and continuing VET;
• introduce systematic approaches to, and opportunities for, initial and continuous professional development of VET teachers, trainers, and mentors in both school and work-based settings.

While in Riga, more than 40 companies and other organizations signed pledges to join the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. They will make a total of 140,000 apprenticeships and training opportunities available to young people.

EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills, and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, welcomed the new partners adding, “Helping Europe's young people to access quality jobs is at the top of my priorities. Together we will create new opportunities for young people to learn the skills and gain the experience needed in the labour market.”

Press Release European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)