Newsletters

Focus: civil society building skills; Torino Process results on Moldova

This edition reports on the proceedings on the ETF, the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) and the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) joint conference to promote policy dialogue and partnerships – at all stages of skills policy-making and delivery – between governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) held on in May 2023 in Brussels at the European Commission entitled “Civil Society for Lifelong Skills Development in Europe and Partner Countries”.

It also presents highlights from the Torino Process 2022 - 2024 results for Moldova and in depth articles on the importance of policy dialogue and partnerships and how the education system is embracing the digital future.

Focus: skills for a changing world

Lifelong learning and skills development are not optional. They are essential to ensure personal, social and technical skills to keep pace and interpret the work, living and the world around us.

This edition of Learning Connects begins with insights from a recent live discussion on the challenges and opportunities presented by the digitalisation of work followed by highlights from a similar event on the importance of engaging teachers in social dialogue to manage the green and digital transitions within education and training systems. Other topics explored include the importance of skills for innovation and technology transfer, and how to ensure EU labour migration is a success

Focus: education and training systems for the green and digital transitions

This edition presents the ETF's Torino Process for monitoring education and training system performance and the vision it offers for reform responding to the needs of each country. Details of an ETF study follows which focuses on international cooperation for identifying the success factors of vocational centres of excellence which confirms the importance of a system level, holistic approach. 

This edition also features articles on the green and digital elements to the resilience and rebuilding of Ukraine, the Swedish Presidency of the European Council, and an interview with Pilvi Torsti who will take up the position of ETF Director on 16 April 2003. 

Focus: skills for the green and digital transitions

The green transition will require a significant shift in the skills required by labour markets. New technologies and innovations in clean energy and sustainable practices will necessitate the development of new skills and the updating of existing ones. To meet this demand, education and training systems need to be reformed to ensure that all people are equipped with the knowledge and competences required to support the transition to a green economy.

In addition to the benefits for the environment and economy, the development of green skills can also create opportunities for women, young people, and other workers from disadvantaged or marginalised backgrounds. 

Focus: youth, learning, skills and inclusion

This second newsletter within the ETF's communication campaign on 'skills for inclusion' focuses particularly on young people. We look at the importance of nurturing and protecting their wellbeing and mental health as a key component for their learning and skills development. Equally so, tailoring and optimising their learning experience if successful should also contribute to their wellbeing. 

This edition presents the challenges which young people have had to face in recent years and the toll it has taken on their mental health. This is the context of education and policy reform efforts at a global scale which can only succeed with outreach and engagement of young people to address their needs. Civil society organisations play a critical role but more representation is needed in education policy dialogue for wider impact at system level. 

Focus: skills for inclusion

Technological change, the greening of economies, globalisation and demographic factors, including migration and displacement due to environmental hazards and conflict, as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 crisis, have profoundly influenced labour markets and the workplace and the skills people needed to work and live. Education and skills development are critical to ensure individuals have access to, and remain engaged in, our fast evolving workplaces and society. 

In January and February of 2023, as the European Year of Skills gets underway, the ETF communication campaign on the importance of education and skills development for social inclusion presents highlights, expert discussions and learning points from the EU’s neighbourhood regions. This month's newsletter launches this campaign with insights from ETF experts and counterparts and recent studies.

Focus: the skills dimension of migration

This edition of Learning Connects focuses on the skills dimension of migration and the work of the ETF in partnership with other organisations within the context of the EU's external relations and the European Commission’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum. ETF undertakes research and analysis in the EU's neighbouring countries and assessments of policy responses and practices.

Here the spotlight is shone on the shifting needs of human capital and skills within the Western Balkans and the Danube Region; how better skills development and usage can help to retain talent and offset brain-drain; and the ETF's work to harmonize and correlate national qualifications frameworks, such as that of Ukraine with the European Qualification Framework, to facilitate the transferability of skills and enhance the migrant experience. 

Focus: career guidance and career development

The strong interlinkages between career development support, lifelong learning and the requirement of all countries to ensure quality education, economic, and social outcomes highlight the relevance of career development support and its need for prioritisation on the national policy agenda. 

Labour markets are changing rapidly in response to the digital and green transitions, demographic and environment changes, and crises such as the health pandemic, war, and food and energy shortages. Lifelong career guidance and counselling, career education, and career development support for workers in formal and informal contexts are integral components of policies aiming at economic growth, social equity, and innovation. Career guidance is a key priority of the European Union, in its member states and external policy aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Focus: evidence based policy making

The ETF has been supporting countries in the Western Balkans and Turkey, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia for over two decades to develop their national data collection on education and skills development. 

Focus: teachers and teaching methods

Teachers and the teaching methods and resources they can deploy are critical in ensuring the success of any learning system by ensuring that students benefit from their experience and achieve the required learning outcomes for engagement in the work place and society. The role of teachers is continuously evolving as a result of the changing demands and expectations placed on them by the world we live in from the local to the global levels as we are witnessing with the digital and green transitions, and with the health pandemic, for instance. 

 

Focus: young people in the Western Balkans

2022 has been designated the European Year of Youth, and one of its key objectives is to highlight the importance of young people in society particularly for shaping a greener, more inclusive and digital society. For young people to take the lead they need the right education and skills, and opportunities to do so.

Young people are a high political priority also within the EU’s external relations in which the ETF operates. The EU’s policies and actions support the 2030 Agenda and many of the Sustainable Development Goals in which the development and engagement of youth is a key focus.

Focus: investing in youth

Young people offer energy, initiative, capability, and so much more, but they are facing extraordinary social, economic, and environmental changes that can leave them marginalised. The Covid-19 period was difficult for everyone but especially on a young people at such a critical phase of their development they were compelled to undergo social distancing. Investing in people, and giving them the competences and skills to engage socially, democratically and economically are essential for societies to evolve and prosper. Young people need to be heard but they also need to be enabled to speak up and claim their rights, especially those who are suffering from marginalisation and disadvantage.