European Training Foundation welcomes new Director
After eight years at the helm of the European Training Foundation (ETF), Director Madlen Serban handed over responsibility for the organisation to incoming Director Cesare Onestini.
The transition was celebrated at the recent ETF Governing Board meeting.
On behalf of the European Commission, Jordi Curell, paid tribute to Ms Serban’s achievements as Director.
‘Through your commitment and determination, you have succeeded in enhancing the reputation of the ETF,’ the Director of Labour Mobility at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion said.
Participants recalled Ms Serban’s long involvement in the ETF as observer and member of the Governing Board representing Romania, before becoming Director in 2009.
They paid tribute to her knowledge, commitment and passionate advocacy of vocational education and training.
Micheline Scheys, representing Belgium for the last time after more than 18 years as a member of the ETF Governing Board, said Ms Serban was leaving the ETF stronger than she received it.
Cesare Onestini, who takes on the role of Director from September 2017, brings a wealth of experience to the position, following his distinguished and notable career in the public service.
His most recent post was a deputy head of the EU Delegation to India and Bhutan. He has held senior positions with the European External Action Service, EU Delegation to the United Nations, and holds a Doctorate of Philosophy from Oxford University.
Speaking at a recent European Parliamentary Committee hearing, Mr Onestini noted the priority that the European Union is placing on skills through the new Skills Agenda.
‘Such a priority is just as key for relations with the neighbourhood region,’ he told the committee hearing. In the context of the changing, globalised world, there is a need to ‘strengthen the way in which we anticipate the needs.’
The focus for the ETF’s work moving forward is to continue to deliver on its mandate to develop human capital, he said.
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