When we talk about Moldova, we need to consider a fundamental element: the general elections of 2009 led to the formation of a new Government that put alignment with the European Union at the centre of its programme. As regards education policies, two new elements are worth noting. First, the Ministry of Education is working on a new Education Code, which may affect the structure of the system. Second, education, including VET ,is mentioned in the draft priorities to be discussed with the EU in view of the future Association Agreement. These new developments might keep bringing changes in the Ministry of Education’s policy in the years to come, and the ETF will need to take into account this fact.

The Government is fully supporting the existing National Development Strategy 2008-11. With the NDS, Moldova has equipped itself with strategic priorities along with targeted action plans for implementation. Distributed economic growth and poverty reduction are the overarching goals, spelled out in the medium (2011) and long-term (2015) objectives and results. As part of this, competitiveness of the national economy and the inclusive development of human resources and social sectors are two priorities. These are further supported by the National Employment Strategy 2007-15 and the Modernisation of the education and training system 2005-10.

Moldova is endowed with highly capable and trained civil servants, and awareness of problems is clear as is the understanding of the necessary solutions. The relatively high degree of centralisation of public administration may however create some difficulties in turning the policies into practice. Understaffing in some key ministerial departments represents a further constraint.

Massive outflows of people of working and reproductive age is a highly problematic national issue. As analysed in previous sections the effects on the labour market and society as a whole are serious. The EU- Moldova Mobility Partnership agreed in 2008 aims at managing this phenomenon by providing incentives for circular migration.

In summary, the shift of economic competitiveness from low-cost to quality and efficiency, on one side; and equity of access and opportunities, on the other, are two overarching questions identified in the Moldovan National Development Strategy as being crucial for balanced development. The link between these two questions and human capital development needs is clear, as the summary of findings in this note have illustrated.

The ETF approach fulfils the objectives of improving labour market demand analysis and reviewing education and training in this light; supporting the EU external policy instrument; supporting the social partners to effectively play their role in vocational training reform.