‘Closer cooperation with business can make education more relevant and quality-assured’, said Madlen Serban, ETF director, at the opening of a two day expert meeting in Turin on the subject of the cooperation between business and education.

As part of a broader review of vocational education in the countries neighbouring the EU, the so-called Torino Process, the ETF conducted a specific study that assessed the state of cooperation between education and business in 29 countries. The country papers and regional reviews will be officially presented in early 2011.

The meeting in Turin gathered representatives from the European Commission (Directorate General for Education and Culture), Council of Europe, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), and employers’ organisations from EU neighbouring countries.

Participants agreed that cooperation between business and vocational education as well as higher education institutions can bring benefits for both sides.

‘Business can bring more of a market-approach in education, it can provide the necessary feedback from the labour market’, said Vladimir Curovic, Secretary General of the Montenegrin Employers’ Federation. ‘Education is not only about pure science or academic achievements; it’s about service to the society, about providing useful human resources.’

Olga Oleynikova, Director of the Centre for Vocational Education and Training Studies in Moscow, said that the main reason cooperation is weak is the lack of a suitable culture. ‘We are only just building the culture of cooperation’, said Ms Oleynikova. ‘Companies are not ready, they lack the knowledge to engage.’

Mr Curovic said ‘that companies need to see the bigger picture. They need to be reminded that better education can bring them benefits. Now, it is low on their agenda, companies say “we are here to make money”, and they are busy with everyday business.’

‘But we also have successful cases of cooperation between companies and vocational schools, said Ms Oleynikowa. ‘So we can hope it will be better. And the ETF can help here. It has experience with small projects that give impetus for positive developments.’

Ulrike Damyanovic, an ETF expert who coordinated the study, said that its objective was not only to review the situation, but also to provide recommendations on how to improve this cooperation, with the ultimate goal to increase employability and social inclusion.