Live&Learn Issue 23

March 2012

ISSUE // 23

Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action Climate action is about difficult choices and long term gains

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 06 Breaking business barriers across the Balkans 13 Active ageing - life in our later years 16 Armenians on the move...out 22 Empowering partners for better training

Profile

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A good climate for learning

Facts for action

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Breaking business barriers across the Balkans

Armenians on the move…out

COMMENT ON OUR BLOG

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Governance crucial to effective vocational education and training

Vocational training promotional campaigns

We’d love to know what you think. You can comment on any of our articles online at

www.etfliveandlearn.eu

CONTACT US

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Country Focus: former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Moves for migration – towards better circulation

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Active ageing – life in our later years

Empowering partners for better training

Further information can be found on the ETF website: www.etf.europa.eu For any additional information, please contact: ETF Communication Department European Training Foundation ADDRESS Villa Gualino, Viale Settimio Severo 65, I – 10133 Torino, Italy TELEPHONE +39 011 630 2222 FAX +39 011 630 2200 EMAIL info@etf.europa.eu

To receive a copy of Live&Learn please email info@etf.europa.eu The European Training Foundation is the European Union’s centre of expertise supporting vocational and training reforms in the context of the European Union’s external relations programmes. www.etf.europa.eu Cover photograph: © European Union, 2012

Please recycle this magazine when you finish with it.

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Guest editor

ETF YEARBOOK 2012 Policy makers are increasingly interested in what education delivers – and hence with what evidence from educational research can tell us about this. The need is even more acute in countries in transition where donor financed vocational education and training reforms have radically changed systems.

Given the scarce resources for education reform, the importance it holds for national policy makers and the diversity of opinions and approaches within the technical assistance community, the ability to assess what works in vocational education and training is critical. The increased priority for making use of policy analysis and structured information from policy research is a result of this need for informed policy making.

The ETF is committed to promoting the capacity of countries to apply evidence-informed methods in the field of vocational education and training policy. The Torino Process is a participatory instrument for analysis and policy assessment implemented in the partner countries on a bi-annual basis.

It has documented the vision which policy makers have defined for vocational education and training, and captured evidence to assess the integration of policy within the broader social and economic development. The Process has mapped the main features of the vocational education and training system and used available evidence to assess its internal efficiency as well as capacity to meet the needs of the labour market and social inclusion.

The results of the first round in 2010 confirm the shortage and limited use of evidence combined with limited institutional capacity. However, the Torino Process has also documented a strong commitment by policymakers in the partner countries for progress in this type of policy development, confirmed at the high-level conference in May 2011 and codified in the Torino Declaration 2011.

Peter Greenwood Photo:: ETF/A. Ramella

The Torino Process is taking this forward in 2012 in the second round of analysis which puts greater emphasis on enhancing long-term capacity and the quality and relevance of policy making, and provides opportunities for partner countries to learn together with other stakeholders.

The way forward in evidence based policy making for the ETF has been the subject of intensive reflection which has been captured in the 2012 Yearbook on vocational education and training system evaluation and the role of evidence-based policy in vocational education and training reforms in our partner countries.

The Yearbook continues the ETF tradition of internal reflection on our operational activities enriched by observation from leading international experts. The theme, which is not well covered by contemporary research, was deliberately chosen to strengthen the ETF´s knowledge base and our internal professional capacity to support evidence based policy making in our partner countries.

The dialogue from the Yearbook has helped the ETF to define the perspectives for its future work in policy analysis, capacity building and knowledge management.

The Yearbook will be available in May – I wish you good reading! ■ Peter Greenwood Head of Evidence-Based Policy Making department

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Profile

A GOOD CLIMATE FOR LEARNING Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action “MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF EUROPEANS SEE CLIMATE CHANGE AS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM” Connie Hedegaard’s goal of making Europe the most climate friendly region in the world are reflected in the EU’s targets for greenhouse gas reduction by 2020. Key to achieving these is raising the awareness of Europe’s citizens of the challenging and longterm investments they will need to make. Education is key to this as Live&Learn found out.

With ailing economies and leaders focused on fighting the financial crisis, is the time right for EU climate action?

I would turn it around. Are the current economic troubles not the best time to start being more prudent, to save more energy, not to waste limited resources?

I believe there is only one correct answer to this question: a strong yes. And European citizens agree. Last year a Eurobarometer survey showed that more than two thirds of Europeans see climate change as a very serious problem.

Almost 80% consider that taking action to combat climate change can boost the economy and create jobs. Make no mistake, climate action is about difficult choices and long-term gains, so it has never been easy.

I’ll give you an example. Last year the Commission adopted the Energy Efficiency Directive. It has yet to be adopted by the Parliament and the Council, which I hope will happen in the first half of 2012. The act includes a commitment to retrofit 3% of public buildings each year, improving insulation 04

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Photo: EUP & Images

Climate action is usually portrayed as costs. You however always underline the profits that come with it. Is the glass half empty or half full? What are the “climate actions” that fill this glass?

“WE’LL HELP PEOPLE ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANG GE AND TRY TO PREVENT POVERTY OR HUNGER”

Education can help people learn about climate change – Photo: ETF/A. Ramella

and stopping leaks. Better insulation for Europe’s buildings would help a construction sector that needs support badly. This energy efficiency drive alone could generate 500,000 jobs in the years up to 2020. So, here in one go, you cut emissions, save energy and create jobs.

But we also have other initiatives in the climate field where all in all there is the potential to create 1.5 million new jobs, net, by 2020. And let us not forget that fossil fuels are very costly, too. Last year, fossil fuel imports cost the EU € 513 billion. Amounts in that order of magnitude could solve the debt problems of many member states.

Green jobs, like the ones you mentioned in construction, require green skills. How do we make sure we have the right people to do this new work? Where do education and training fit into EU climate action?

Education has at least two goals in relation to climate action. One is awareness: helping people learn about climate change. The other is skills: helping people learn how to live in a “Greening our economy offers new jobs and they require new skills. Vocational education and training systems should be adapted to ensure that the workforce can adjust its skills to the labour-market needs of an environmentally sustainable economy…”

European Commission: A new impetus for European cooperation in Vocational Education and Training to support the Europe 2020 strategy

climate-changed world. I think we are quite good at raising awareness as the surveys show. But there is definitely some way to go when it comes to practical skills. Some of the learning will come more spontaneously as businesses see opportunities in green growth.

The rest will need public support in the beginning, but in due course many will then find out that there is additional money to be made when choosing upmarket green solutions: better insulation, smart heating systems etc. The majority of green jobs combine existing skills with additional skills related to green technologies, applications or processes.

Yes, there will be the need for some radically new competences, but mostly we need to retrain and up-skill people across many jobs and occupations such as carpenters and electricians, for instance. So, education systems need to anticipate and respond to changes in the labour market and in the skills profiles needed for successful careers in lowcarbon economies.

The ETF is working in the countries surrounding the EU. How do you see the role of the ETF in mainstreaming climate action outside the EU? Our neighbours are quite diverse.

Some inherited heavy industries with a significant environmental impact. Others are less developed, but often more exposed to the effects of climate change.

So, in some places we must help large industries transform and get them on the path of green growth; in other places we’ll help people adapt to climate change and try to prevent poverty or hunger. Our action therefore should be adapted to the context, even if everywhere, regardless

Climate change: What is it?

The changes that our planet has undergone throughout its history are a result of natural factors like tiny changes in the Earth’s path around the sun, volcanic activity and fluctuations within the climate system. However, humans are having an increasing influence on our climate by burning fossil fuels, cutting down rainforests and farming livestock.

of history or economic development, we need urgent action.

I think the ETF can help our partners work on an important element of climate action: building awareness and developing human capital. You can help them develop green curricula, design systems for forecasting future skills needs, and empower schools to become local centres of sustainability. ■ Interview: Marcin Monko, ETF

FIND OUT MORE: Connie Hedegaard Climate Action http://bit.ly/dcf35o

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Feature

BREAKING BUSINESS BARRIERS ETF entrepreneurship expert group member, Mirlinda Kusari, talks about the business challenges and prospects faced by women in her region and explains how an award she won recently will spur her on to help even more women.

In the aftermath of the Kosovo* war in 1999, people were confronted with no choice but to start anew. Inevitably they looked at what they had, which was not much. Some found the courage to seize what opportunities existed to kick start the region’s economy again. A leading example of this attitude is Mirlinda Kusari – a member of the ETF’s entrepreneurship expert group and executive director of She-Era, a women’s NGO active in Kosovo.

“After the war my town was completely destroyed. Businesses were lost; people had nowhere to turn,” said Kusari.

Having stayed in the country throughout the conflict, she had a very clear idea of the kind of uphill struggles people were facing. In her short time at the International Organisation for Migration, she had heard about a summer school for entrepreneurship set up by the Institute for Development and Research and the Centre for International Private Enterprise.

Kusari absolutely had to be a part of it. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independencehereinafter ‘Kosovo’ Mirlinda Kusari kick-started She-Era to get women’s entrepreneurship noticed

Writing a business plan “It was in August 1999 when I applied for the programme. During the summer school, different experts and trainers taught us how to write a business plan and how to manage it.” It was an intensive month but, for her and 40 others, the learning experience proved invaluable. “I remember when one of the trainers mentioned that in Kosovo we needed to establish different NGOs to help rekindle society. I thought – why not jump on this initiative to establish a women’s business association that could help other women? One that would provide the same business training that we had just received from this summer school?”

She-Era began in Kusari’s home town of Gjakova in 2000, amidst a sea of requests from women in the regions to train, mentor and carry-out consulting work for them. Eleven years on and 5,000 trainees later, the organisation’s mission is still much the same; to help women from start-up to business success as well as preparing them for jobs in public, private and international organisations.

One major success story is that of a She-Era graduate who in the space of just five years went from setting up a small beauty salon in her local town to opening a second business in the capital, Pristina. She recently partnered with an international chain of hairdressing salons to open a college which teaches young people the trade.

“WHY NOT JUMP ON THIS INITIATIVE TO ESTABLISH A WOMEN’S BUSINESS ASSOCIATION THAT COULD HELP OTHER WOMEN”

Award winner Success stories such as this one, together with Kusari’s contribution to developing female entrepreneurship in Kosovo, have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, Kusari was commended for her contribution to Kosovo and to the wider Balkan region when she was given The International Alliance for Women’s (TIAW) World of Difference award.

According to Kusari the award has provided her with a lot of new ideas and opportunities. “The TIAW have been following my work here since 2003. They know what I am doing in Kosovo and throughout the Western Balkans. Now I can re-energise my activities, my business and all my philanthropic efforts. Through my work with women from all over the world, I recognise the value of these connections and am really enthusiastic about moving forward. I want to bring other women into my network and involve them in various business initiatives”.

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ACROSS THE BALKANS Mirlinda is rallying the Kosovan parliament to get support for change Photos:: She-Era

On the policy radar Kusari admits that it would be “near impossible” for organisations of the likes of She-Era to operate alone. “We are indebted to the ETF and to people such as Anthony Gribben. They have given us the chance to come together, discuss similar problems and share solutions.”

One example of the ETF’s work is the Istanbul initiative on indicators whose aims include making sure women’s entrepreneurship is firmly on the policy radar of the governments of the partner countries.

In the Western Balkans and across the EU, the ETF regularly asks organisations

to invite women from the region to their conferences. An excellent example is the case of Croatia, where the ETF invited Kusari and other women to attend a regional conference on employment opportunities for women in rural areas. At this meeting they began to work on a new regional project to help share best practices and develop new work together for the future. Its aim? To build a bridge for business people, both women and men, so that they can start businesses and joint ventures across regional borders.

“We need the ETF to continue to support us until we manage to implement all four indicators – policy and data, training,

access to finance as well as networking and good practice. I want to encourage all successful businesswomen in the EU to expand their work and to connect with other women especially in transition countries,” said Mirlinda Kusari. ■ Words: George Kyriacou, ICE

“I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMEN IN THE EU TO EXPAND THEIR WORK AND TO CONNECT WITH OTHER WOMEN”

Kusari: rallying support for change in Kosovo Women wishing to launch a business in Kosovo still face their fair share of obstacles. A major concern is limited access to land as well as property and inheritance rights. Only some 8% of landowners are female and a lack of collateral can pose a major problem when women apply for business loans. Kusari recently addressed these and other challenges in her speech to the Kosovo parliament in December 2011, where she hopes to rally support for change.

FIND OUT MORE: She-Era www.she-era.org March 2012

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Feature

GOVERNANCE CRUCIAL TO EFFECTIVE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING In 2011, in the framework of its Torinet initiative, the ETF conducted workshops and studies in eleven countries to the south and east of the EU. The meetings and research highlighted the importance of governance as a key element impacting on the effectiveness of vocational education and training.

This brings to the fore the debate surrounding evidence-based policymaking and the relationship between governance models and the effectiveness of policies.

On 23-24 November 2011 in Turin, the ETF hosted a workshop with some 60 participants from ETF partner countries, officials from ministries of education and labour, vocational education and training agencies, researchers and representatives of social partners as well as senior delegates from the EU. The two-day event focused on governance, effective policies in vocational education and training, and the role of evidence.

“Governance is a prerequisite for good policy” said Luc Van Den Brande, member of the Committee of the Regions, who gave one of the opening speeches at the meeting. “And good policy can only be built together, [by being] inclusive.

Inclusiveness means that there has to be cooperation between institutional bodies but also with civil society.”

Mr Van Den Brande said many big political initiatives failed because they did not involve all relevant partners. “Changes are possible when everybody is on board. We are in the same boat and we have to row together.”

Good model of governance So is it enough to be inclusive for governance to be good? José Manuel Galvin Arribas, ETF expert on governance, said there are other qualities of a good model of governance.

“Governance is a way of making policy a reality” said Galvin. Apart from being inclusive, good governance should be multilevel. ‘It means the participation of regions – from national to the lowest level, but also horizontally – where relevant stakeholders should establish a permanent dialogue.’

Galvin stressed the importance of the anticipatory character of governance considering the constant changes that education and training systems face nowadays. Decisions should be based on good, relevant data analysis and qualitative information that can anticipate change in education systems.

All this should lead to the ultimate objective of a system of vocational education and training relevant to social and economic needs.

Challenges We know what it takes to have good governance, so what are the challenges to realise it?

“If the country follows different principles [than those of good governance], then you cannot establish governance in vocational education and training, which contradicts the rest of its public policies” said Madlen Serban, ETF director. “We have to be really careful and analyse what is really working in a given context.”

Serban reiterated that governance is a political issue and centralised states usually don’t want to share their authority. “Multi-level governance is a discussion about power” she said. “And power is rarely given up.”

“CHANGES ARE ONLY POSSIBLE WHEN EVERYBODY IS ON BOARD” Luc Van den Brande espouses inclusiveness with institutions and civil society

The ETF’s José Manuel Galvin sees good governance as multi-level Photos:: ETF/ EUP & Images 08

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UPCOMING EVENT Multilevel governance in education and training: challenges and opportunities In Brussels on 31 May and 1 June 2012 the ETF will organise a high-level international policy conference on the impact of governance models on the quality and relevance of education and training policies and their performance. The event will be organised jointly with the Committee of the Regions. We’ll cover this event in-depth in the next issues of L&L and on the ETF’s website.

“GOVERNANCE IS A POLITICAL ISSUE AND CENTRALISED STATES USUALLY DON’T WANT TO SHARE THEIR AUTHORITY”

God governance poster at the Torinet meeting in Turin Photo:: ETF/Ard Jongsma

But even when there is a drive to decentralisation, problems don’t simply disappear. “You can decide to have decentralisation, but you might lack the institutional capacity to perform new roles at local level. Or you can have institutional capacity at local level and central government ready to distribute responsibilities, but not ready to distribute financial resources.”

Serban admitted there is no perfect institutional model of governance. But “governance is important because who is doing what and who is accountable for what is being done are important. Good governance occurs when responsibility is equally distributed among different players – government, social partners, civil society organisations – and when it is done in a transparent and open way”. ■ Words: Marcin Monko, ETF

“GOVERNANCE IS A PREREQUISITE FOR GOOD POLICY”

FIND OUT MORE: Torinet http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/ pages/Torinet March 2012

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Country Focus Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: Can the mistakes of the past be avoided?

In the 1990s, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia managed to avoid the devastating effects of the Balkan wars. But after the turn of the millennium, ethnic strife caught up with the small country. A truly inclusive approach – one that embraces all ethnic groups and fosters mutual respect rather than tolerance, may well prove to be key to further development. The education sector can lead the way.

“Everything was better in the days of Tito”.

Whenever he mentions the name, the Ohrid taxi driver touches the cross that dangles from his rear view mirror.

“Under Tito we had free education and free hospitals. Now it’s all about money.

Everything.”

People forget easily. When the revered marshal died, ten years before Yugoslavia disintegrated, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was one of the country’s most backward republics. But during the decade after independence, when most of the Balkan states were on fire, the Macedonians made great strides in development and managed to keep ethnic strife at bay.

“We were the good kids on the block for a decade,” said Arafat Shabani, education advisor to the deputy prime minister, “but then things went wrong.”

“WE WERE THE GOOD KIDS ON THE BLOCK FOR A DECADE”

it also reinforced a skewed interpretation of democracy that has been common across central and eastern Europe in the early years of transition: unbridled freedom and autonomy for all rather than co-existence and co-operation through mutual respect.

After 2001, parallel societies were allowed to develop. Ethnic Albanians were given the right to education in their own language which in practice meant that many classrooms were split with teaching taking place in shifts. And the newly-won rights of the Albanians mobilised other less visible ethnic groups in society, such as the Turks and the Vlachs.

“In the 1990s we thought that economic development would solve our ethnic issues,” said Mr Shabani, “now we have the opposite problem.”

The labour market can promote change via the back door. The Macedonian aversion to learning Albanian has long been fuelled by the argument that learning two languages is too difficult.

But according to Shabani, more and more jobs now call for bilingual people.

“With unemployment at 31% (2011) and stiff competition for jobs, there are signs that this is motivating people in a very different way to learn their fellow citizens’ language,” he said.

Need for economic development

Creative solutions to segregation

Society is now segregated to such an extent that development is being held back. Luckily, the authorities are waking up to this issue. A desperate need for economic development has helped to speed up this realisation.

At the last meeting of the ETF’s regional network on social inclusion, held in Ohrid on 24-26 November, one of the suggestions for overcoming the barriers built up by segregated education was to provide all practical training in ethnically

In and out of civil war In early 2001, in the aftermath of the war in Kosovo during which 350,000 Albanians sought refuge among their peaceful southern neighbours, ethnic clashes turned into regular civil war.

It only lasted for a few months but it exposed the country’s ethnic and religious divisions and the need to address these.

The Albanians feared that they would be assimilated and the Macedonians feared that their existence as a state was in question.

The Ohrid Agreement of 2001 ostensibly solved the most pressing issues. It granted the large Albanian minority more rights in exchange for disarmament, but

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High unemployment is motiviating Macedonian students to learn other languages spoken there Photos:: ETF/EUP & Images

mixed groups. There are plenty of such creative solutions that can be explored.

“The problem is not which side is right and which side is wrong. The problem is that there are two sides,” said Bujar Luma of LOJA, a local NGO that uses culture as a vehicle for communication and engaging diverse communities.

The ETF meeting in Ohrid advocated practical training in ethnically mixed groups

With that, he touches on the core of inclusive education.

“Education is a very powerful medium,” he said. “Bringing people together because they are different doesn’t work. Bringing them together around a common purpose does. Finding such a purpose is the challenge. You need facilitators and teachers who can do that.” But according to many, most teachers come from the generation where ethnic prejudices are strongest.

And few new teachers can be attracted to the profession, particularly to

“BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT DOESN’T WORK. BRINGING THEM TOGETHER AROUND A COMMON PURPOSE DOES”

A vocational training strategy is a powerful tool for ethnic integration

vocational education and training, not least because all teacher education is concentrated on universities and because the job market for teachers is still highly politicised.

Towards integrated education The new strategy “Steps towards integrated education”, adopted in 2010, aims to reinforce interaction between ethnic communities, and the desegregation of schools. This strategy is designed to be a common umbrella for the coherent implementation of projects and initiatives supported by a range of international organisations.

Such an approach has the advantage of attracting existing non-governmental and international resources to back-up the strategy.

The current government is aware that some past reform efforts have not produced the desired effect because implementation was patchy – a problem that is not unique to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but is common to many of the former Yugoslav republics.

It is now taking a more serious approach to vocational education and training reforms in an effort to stop the devaluation of this socially and economically powerful

education sector and it has asked the ETF to assist in developing a strategy for this. Such a strategy could be a very important tool for ethnic integration.

One of the strongest recommendations of the network was to build on existing structures. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia this means that a new vocational education and training strategy must involve civil society as well as government, industry as well as education, Albanians as well as Macedonians, and most of all, schools as well as universities, where all teacher training is concentrated.

“Too often, even in EU programmes, reforms have not been good enough at ensuring sustainability by building on existing institutions,” said Ulrike Damyanovic, who heads ETF operations in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

It is critically important to learn from these lessons now and not repeat the mistake of forgetting the recent past too easily. ■ Words: Ard Jongsma, ICE

FIND OUT MORE: Ohrid Agreement http://bit.ly/xLiFta

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Country Focus Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

LEARNING SIGNS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Ulrike Damyanovic has been coordinating ETF activities in the Western Balkans and Turkey since the beginning of 2011.

The region has one main defining characteristic: the EU enlargement agenda. “We are supporting the countries in their drive for accession” says Ms Damyanovic. “The countries’ policies, the interventions are aimed in this direction. Another related feature is that sharing and learning among each other and the EU Member States is crucial.”

Is it easier to work in a region that is so uniformly aiming for EU accession? When she assumed the position a year ago, Ms Damyanovic at first thought so.

But she quickly learnt it is a challenge.

First of all there is the ultimate goal of EU accession to be achieved. Then there is an important condition: the final outcome has to be a win-win situation for the acceding countries and the current EU members. So it is a process which demands strong commitment and ownership, she says.

“WE ARE SUPPORTING THE COUNTRIES IN THEIR DRIVE FOR ACCESSION”

Ulrike Damyanovic Photo: ETF/A.Ramella

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What are the priorities for the ETF in the region? First, it is regional cooperation, peer learning, and introducing elements of open methods of coordination. An example would be the inclusive education project where we had a recent event with some 100 participants in Ohrid. “What we are doing is contributing to building trust.

In the end, the investment in regional cooperation is all about socio-economic development and peace, it’s an investment in people.”

The second priority is evidence-based policymaking and policy analysis – the Bruges Process and the ETF’s Torino process. “We have the EU2020 benchmarks to achieve, we have cross country analyses, and measurements and indicators of success for wellinformed decision making”.

The third element is the IPA2014, the new financial perspective and future EU assistance to the region. “We intend to provide analytical work to the Commission and partner countries to set priorities for the assistance programme.

We contribute with our country and regional knowledge, with the Torino Process and the Human Resources Development reports.”

Finally, Croatia’s likely EU accession next year will be an important event in the region. Ms Damyanovic says it once more confirms the enlargement perspective.

“This is a sign for other countries in the region: ‘Yes we can make it’” ■ Words: Marcin Monko, ETF

Feature

ACTIVE AGEING –

LIFE IN OUR LATER YEARS 2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. But what will that mean for EU citizens? Live&Learn asks Lenia Samuel, Hors Class Adviser, former Deputy-Director General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission.

What is the goal of the European Year 2012 for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations?

We want to raise awareness of the important contribution that older people make to society and to remind people that solidarity between generations is not just about young people supporting the elderly. Through the European Year, we can identify and share good practice and inspire policymakers and stakeholders to encourage active ageing and generational solidarity. Our website for the European Year will act as a showcase for good practice, initiatives and events from all over Europe.

The success of the year will be measured in the progress we make towards better conditions for young and old in our ageing societies. We need to ensure that older people can continue to contribute to the economy and to society and to look after themselves – ensuring that we stay in control of our lives as we grow older. So we need conditions – in employment, housing, infrastructure and services – that enable us to live independently for as long as possible.

What will be the long-term effects of active ageing on the population and on European policy?

Europeans are living longer than ever before.

Since 1960, life expectancy has risen by eight years, and projections foresee a further five-year increase by 2060. This is a historic achievement, but it also means a significant ageing of the population. In the baby-boom years (the late-1940s to mid-1960s), there was a favourable balance between the population of working age and retirees. Now the babyboomers are retiring and they are being replaced by much smaller cohorts of young people entering the labour market. By 2060, there could be only two Europeans of working age (15-64) for every person aged over 65, compared to a ratio of four to one today.

Active ageing has got to be our main response to demographic ageing. If the current retirement age limit of 65 were to rise in line with increasing life expectancy, then the situation in 2060 would look much less dramatic.

It is also crucial for the success of Europe’s 2020 employment rate target, which is 75% for the 20 to 64 age range. We will only achieve that if more people stay longer on the labour market. Active ageing can also help our target to cut the number of people living in poverty by 20 million, by sustaining adequate pensions.

This will only happen if more people contribute to pensions through longer careers and increased labour force participation.

How does this link to the EU’s policy on migration?

How can different countries or regions of Europe learn from each other?

Migration can be useful to prevent labour shortages in ageing societies but it will only help if immigrants and their children thrive in those societies. I hope that, during the European Year, older generations in Europe will realise that their wellbeing depends on the success of migrants. Solidarity between generations is also about solidarity between different communities.

Member states are responsible for the policies that matter most for active ageing. So mutual learning is the main instrument for promoting better policies against poverty and social exclusion, and on pensions and long-term care.

We ask countries to report on their policies and look at outcomes against commonly defined, but not legally binding, objectives. We also organise peer reviews and larger conferences where different approaches can be discussed.

This has contributed to a much greater awareness of what is happening across the EU and has encouraged reforms. The European Year should also become a great opportunity for mutual learning, not just for national governments, but for all stakeholders. ■

But to keep the ratio between young and old constant while life expectancy increases, we would need very high birth rates or large-scale immigration, which would imply explosive population growth. As long as life expectancy increases, there is simply no alternative to staying active longer. When we add years to life, we also have to add life to those years.

The ETF will support the European Year of Active Ageing, particularly by promoting lifelong learning. What role does lifelong learning play in the year’s activities?

I welcome the ETF’s support. Lifelong learning will help older workers who find it difficult to stay in the labour market until normal retirement age because their skills have become obsolete. They face long-term unemployment or early retirement on lower pensions and society ends up having to support people who would prefer to earn a living. Lifelong learning should also mean empowering people to move to a different job, to start a business or to become a volunteer. I hope that the ETF will play a prominent role in the European Year.

Interview: Patrick Kelly, ICE

Who is Lenia Samuel?

Lenia Samuel came to the EC after a distinguished career in the civil service in Cyprus where she was the first woman Permanent Secretary.

She is the author of Fundamental Social Rights and co-editor of Protection of Social Security. Lenia is a barrister and holds a postgraduate degree in public administration.

How do you see other EU agencies supporting the activities of the Year?

Several agencies can make a significant contribution, including the ETF’s sister agency, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) in Dublin and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) in Bilbao; they are all involved in different ways. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in Vilnius can pay attention to the gender dimension as most older people are women. Finally, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in Vienna can tackle age discrimination which hinders active ageing.

Lenia Samuel, Hors Class Adviser, former Deputy-Director General of Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Photo:: European Union 2012

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Feature

FACTS FOR ACTION

THE ETF LAUNCHES NEXT ROUND OF THE TORINO PROCESS

The second round of the Torino Process, officially announced at the conference Learning from Evidence in May 2011, is now well under way. By the end of 2012 and early 2013, the work will lead to a series of country reports with data and analysis covering the entire vocational education and training sector and its links to economic development and social cohesion. But it’s not only about the reports.

‘It’s not an academic, intellectual exercise,’ says Peter Greenwood, head of the Evidence Based Policy Making Department at the ETF, it is practical work that is meant to support policy makers in their work.

And it is a real process that is already having a concrete effect on national skills policies and systems, underlines Greenwood.

Inspired by the EU Copenhagen Process, the joint work of the ETF and its partners features the active participation of a broad range of stakeholders – policy makers, practitioners, social partners and researchers – in a process owned by the countries themselves.

The Torino Process has been used to inform the European Commission services responsible for education, employment and development cooperation as well as the European External Action Service. The findings also enabled the ETF to better define the priorities of its annual work programme and country activities for 2011 and 2012.

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Evidence in action

In 2012, the ETF hopes to involve all of its 30 partner countries. ETF experts are already introducing various stakeholders to the methodology and the new setup of this round of the process. From March, three statistical workshops are taking place in Turin, which will contribute to the specific attention being paid to improving the availability and quality of statistics and indicators for policy analysis. These will be followed by regional conferences in Ukraine and Jordan to discuss preliminary findings, and there will also be a Torino Process corporate conference in May 2013.

The value of evidence

The Torino Process is a way to generate robust evidence-based policies

Examples of how evidence collected in the first round of the Torino Process has been used in the partner countries:

Photo: ETF/EUP & Images

 In Kosovo* the country report has been used as a baseline study for the Education Strategic Plan 2011-16, in the section on vocational education and training.

The plan was adopted in June 2011.  In Ukraine, the country report has been used to inform the national Development Plan 2011-15.  In Tajikistan, the country report and experts from the Torino Process network have been used to draft the new 2011 Employment Policy under the Ministry of Labour.  In the Republic of Moldova and Kazakhstan, the process and the country reports have been used by the countries to set the frame for their donor coordination.  In Egypt and Tunisia, the Torino Process country reports have given the transitional governments a timely first assessment of challenges in vocational education and training policy at the start of the Arab Spring. *This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence- hereinafter ‘Kosovo’

Peter Greenwood underlines the concrete effect the Torino Process has had on national skills policies and systems Photo:: ETF/EUP & Images I

New culture of policymaking To take informed decisions, and to be able to foresee their impact, you need the right information at the right time. This can be applied also to policy making in the area of human capital development. The Torino Process provides facts and reflection for effective policy-making.

The value of the Torino Process lies in its participatory character. It gives a sense of ownership to the partner countries, it is a driver for political momentum, and a way to generate robust, evidence-based analysis to make better policies.

“More broadly” says Greenwood, “the Torino Process led to a new culture of policy making, a more open, consultative approach to policy definition.” ■

FIND OUT MORE: Torino Process http://bit.ly/iXmiyt

What is the Torino Process?

Every two years, the European Training Foundation (ETF) invites its partner countries to jointly review the state of their human capital development policies.

The focus is on vocational education and training. This is the Torino Process.

The first round of reviews, launched in 2010, saw 27 countries taking part in this unique initiative.

What is the purpose?

The purpose of The Torino Process is two-fold:  collecting evidence for better policy-making,  establishing a platform for informed debate and consensus-building on education reforms within and among countries.

In particular, the Torino Process helps the participating countries:  design and evaluate home-grown and affordable vocational education and training policies,  revise policy analysis at regular intervals,  learn from other countries and the EU,  align international donor assistance with the countries’ own strategic aims.

Words: Marcin Monko, ETF March 2012

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ARMENIANS ON THE MOVE…OUT

At the beginning of 2012, Marcin Monko travelled to Armenia to see at first hand the ETF’s migration and skills survey being carried out.

This what he saw.

Words and pictures:: Marcin Monko, ETF

In the early nineties, as many as one million people left Armenia as a result of the collapse of the Soviet economy and the war with Azerbaijan. Today some 3.1 million people live in Armenia. Several studies suggest that in the past decade this outflow continued, though at a slower pace. According to the Armenian Statistical Service, the balance of border crossings of Armenian citizens has been negative in recent years. In 2007, some 22,000 more people left than returned; in 2008, the figure exceeded 32,000 before going down to 21,000 in 2009. An International Labour Office study on migration and development in Armenia revealed that on average about 60,000 labour migrants go to seek jobs in Russia.

In December, the ETF started a survey of former and potential migrants in Armenia. The interviews, carried out with the help of the Caucasus Research Resource Centre, focus on skills and qualifications of migrants. Rubo Yayloyan, 28, was interviewed on 13 December. He lives with his wife on the outskirts of Armavir, a provincial town one hour’s drive west of Yerevan. In 2011 it was the third time he went to Moscow to work. He built roads and laid tarmac on the streets. Each time for six months. This time he doesn’t want to go back. “It’s dangerous, I have no papers”.

Long-term plans? “I don’t know, I have no job.”

Heratsi district of Armavir, capital of the Armavir province in western Armenia. According to the 1989 census this town had a population of 46,900, but this has declined to some 32,000 today. This was one of several neighbourhoods where the ETF migration survey was carried out.

In the ETF’s project on migration and skills in Armenia, four thousand respondents – mostly people with a history of migration – will be interviewed. Here, in the town of Armavir, an interviewer from the Caucasus Research Resource Centre talks to Goyane Hovagimyan, 37, and her husband Yura, 45, who are both unemployed collective-farm workers, considering emigrating to the EU. The ETF survey focuses on skills of migrants. Ummuhan Bardak, a labour market specialist at the ETF who is managing the project, says skills make a big difference in the migration outcome. “Skills can facilitate mobility and they can also improve its outcomes, bringing more benefits for the sending countries, for the receiving countries and for the migrants themselves” she says.

Zaruhi Gasparyan, 26, studied linguistics at the Yerevan State University and was accepted at the European College in Parma, Italy. “Studying was just a way to see the world, to live somewhere else. I didn’t go abroad to earn money,” says Ms Gasparyan.

When she came back to Armenia after one year abroad, her foreign experience didn’t help much in getting a job. What made the difference was a traineeship she did at the European Commission in Brussels the following year. She received 13 job offers from private companies and government agencies in Yerevan. She chose the American Bar Association, an NGO that helps implement legal reforms in the country. “It’s not jobs or money that attracted me to the EU,” says Ms Gasparyan. “It’s the freedom, personal freedom, political, economic. If I ever move abroad this will be the reason.”

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Aram Asatryan, 73, went to work in Russia for the first time in the summer of 1980. He gathered water melons on a farm in the Volgograd oblast. Since then he has switched to construction, worked himself or managed other workers, overseen building sites, and set up a business with his relatives in Russia. And he has kept shuttling between the countries.

“I am an old man and there are no opportunities for me in Armenia.” He says that in his business – construction – the market in Armenia is heavily monopolised. “You never know what will happen to your investment, you don’t want to risk your money.” His son has a PhD in agricultural sciences and has been living in the United States. Mr Asatryan’s daughter lives in Australia.

Arevashogh, a village in the northern region of Lori, ten kilometres from the epicentre of a deadly earthquake that struck the area in December 1988. Hrahat Kostumyan, head of finances at the local administration, says 90% of men of working age from Arevashogh go regularly abroad to work. “A worker in the Lori region of Armenia, can earn 200 dollars a month, in Russia he will get 1000 dollars. And Russia is the only realistic destination for these men: they know the language, they don’t need a visa, and they usually know someone there. The best people leave, highlyskilled workers, masters, it’s difficult to do anything here at home without these people.”

Arthur Magoyan, 43, married, with two teenage children. After secondary school he worked on building sites in the Lori region in northern Armenia in the early 1990s. After the earthquake that hit the region in 1989, if there was any business left, it was construction.

But afterwards, in 1995, he started travelling to Russia to work.

A migrant’s luggage. “At end of October I came back after five months of laying tarmac on roads in Moscow,” says Mr Magoyan. “In May I’ll go back again.

I’ll pay some 100,000 Armenian drams [200 euro] for the ticket and will take a plane to Moscow. I take this bag,” he shows a mid-sized fake Reebok bag, “and I’ll fill a good part of it with bottles of local brandy and semi-sweet wine for my Armenian relatives who fixed the job for me.”

On Migration: The ETF with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Migration and skills was the title of the conference organised jointly by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ETF in Rome on 18 November, 2011.

“Legal migration is crucial for economic, social and cultural development,” said Raffaele Trombetta, Director General at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We need, as soon as possible, to establish the partnerships that will enable mobility and security, especially with the countries of the southern Mediterranean,” said Mr Trombetta.

“Europeans want to uphold their current level of prosperity, they need to start thinking seriously about the issue of migration,” said Pier Antonio Panzeri, Member of the European Parliament, pointing to the EU’s low population growth and its ageing societies. In the area of migration things don’t work as they should right now, said Mr Panzeri.

According to the ETF, the process of matching skills between migrant workers and the available jobs is crucial for efficient labour mobility. Transparency of migrants’ skills, as well as validation of their skills and qualifications, is becoming an important issue, both for the EU and the countries in its neighbourhood.

“The Skills dimension of migration is a timely topic, especially because of recent events in the countries of the southern Mediterranean,” said Madlen Serban, ETF director. “To make migration a success, we must have information about skills needs in the receiving countries. We need to establish systems for recognition of skills and qualifications. Also the sending countries should make some pre-departure effort to prepare prospective migrants and then to recognise the skills acquired abroad, because we are talking about circular mobility.”

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS Following on from the last issue’s focus on Russia’s promotion of vocational education and training, Live&Learn looks to the EU with the cases of Denmark and Spain.

More professionals please!

In 2008, Denmark set itself the target of making sure 95% of each youth cohort finished upper secondary education by 2015.

At that point in time, 95% started upper secondary education but only 80% finished it. The vast majority of dropouts were vocational education and training students.

Since Danish vocational education and training is heavily dependent on internships, more training places had to be found. An annual sum of €5 million was earmarked to achieve the double goal of encouraging companies to offer more internships while at the same time boosting the popularity of vocational education and training in general.

In the campaign a parody of the selftaught host of a popular DIY show made a complete mess of various jobs, hammering home the message that it isn’t all that easy at all to do a proper wiring or plumbing job!

The campaign was handled by an external communications agency. They targeted young people in lower secondary education and internship coordinators in companies.

“The two audiences were rather different but the campaign focused on building their shared respect for vocational education and training,” says Klostergaard.

The campaign had an impact. Of those targeted by the campaign, 90% could remember it. The standard benchmark for

this is 61%. The website attracted more than 400,000 unique visitors.

What can countries looking to promote VET learn from this example?

“One key requirement is a thorough knowledge of all relevant target audiences,” says Klostergaard.

“This includes not just potential VET students but also young people and their parents who for many different reasons don’t see vocational education and training as a respectable option for themselves or for their children.”

Words: Ard Jongsma, ICE

FIND OUT MORE: Flerefagfolk http://bit.ly/wlGLPu

Photos: ETF/A.Jongsma

A national campaign called ‘More professionals please!’ was launched to achieve these goals. The campaign ran from 2008 to 2010. It was innovative in a number of ways, according to Mads Klostergaard Pedersen, who oversaw the campaign from his position at Danske Erhvervsskoler – the Danish business schools association.

“First of all, the campaign ran solely on radio, television and new media.

No printed materials were used,” he says, “second, the entire campaign used humour and irony to underline the distance between skilled work and DIY bungle and botch.”

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Social media spices up Spanish VET campaigns Barcelona City Council and the region of Castilla y León (CyL) in Spain are turning to social media to liven up their campaigns to promote vocational education and training.

In their 2011 campaigns, channels used included Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and, in the case of CyL, Spanish network Tuenti and news forum Menéame. Teresa Muñoz, head of press at CyL’s Regional Council of Chambers of Commerce, believes social media is a good way of reaching a younger audience. “People were more satisfied by the type of contact because it allows them to ask questions easily and gave us a more customised way of interacting with people,” she said.

But social media should not be seen as a cheaper option as its success or failure depends very much on having appropriate

and up-to-the-minute content. In the case of CyL, this called for daily searches for news, regular searches for content from other users to be shared and setting up links with potential online allies such as the regional education authority. “The ideal is to have at least one person working just on this,” said Muñoz, “someone who is closely linked to your organisation and who knows your vocational education and training system well.”

Both CyL and Barcelona have strived to be imaginative. Barcelona City Council used the brevity of Twitter messages to explain what the different VET qualifications are.

“In 140 characters, we summed up one qualification every day and where it can lead,” said Ricard Coma, manager of the BCN Vocational Training Foundation.

Neither organisation relied solely on social media. CyL used a radio and a television advert as well as web banners in online publications and a dedicated website

(www.fpfunciona.es/). Barcelona City Council produced a 100-page guide to VET in the city (www.fundaciobcnfp.cat/) and used street banners, billboards, adverts on buses, advertorial spreads in newspapers and a stand at the annual education fair to get its message across. ■ Words: Rebecca Warden, ICE

For more information on these and all vocational education and training promotional campaigns that are covered in Live&Learn, please consult the ETF website:

www.etf.europa.eu

FIND OUT MORE: FP Funciona www.fpfunciona.es/ March 2012

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MOVES FOR MIGRATION – TOWARDS BETTER CIRCULATION ”GREATER LABOUR MARKET FLUIDITY CAN BE TO EVERYONE’S BENEFIT”

The construction sector is particularly important for returning migrants Photo: ETF/Ard Jongsma

Recognising and validating the skills acquired by migrant workers in Europe when they return to their home countries can help their reintegration and progress in the domestic labour market.

The EU’s Mobility Partnership – a series of agreements with countries beyond the Union’s borders – is designed to encourage circular migration across the continent.

An ETF project on skills validation for returning migrants under the Mobility Partnership with the Republic of Moldova is showing how greater labour market fluidity can be to everyone’s benefit.

It is a vital issue for countries such as the Republic of Moldova as well as Georgia and Armenia, all of which have suffered from more than a decade of net outward migration leading to skills shortages in their own economies.

Returning workers’ skills

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Over the past two years the ETF has been working closely with key officials and social partners in the Republic of Moldova to develop a system that contributes to

the transparency of returning workers’ skills through quality assessment and validation against new national occupational standards.

Progress in the Republic of Moldova was shared with two other countries that have a Mobility Partnership with the EU, at a two-day conference in the Moldovan capital Chisinau in November 2011.

Georgia agreed its Mobility Partnership in 2009, Armenia joined in October 2011.

Siria Taurelli: many of these countries cannot afford to lose skilled people for good

Milena Corradini sees the impact that creating opportunities for migrants to return can have

Photo:: ETF/EUP & Images

Photo:: ETF/A.Ramella

“In Georgia the authorities have recognised how economically critical it is to attract migrants back and they are now offering housing, vocational guidance and health services to those who return,” Corradini added.

There are also government schemes to match funding for returning migrants who wish to set up their own businesses.

Visa liberalisation is another key issue.

Work is progressing on creating visa free travel between the Republic of Moldova and the EU. Siria Taurelli, ETF country manager for the Republic of Moldova, said partner countries understood the need to provide clear incentives and structures to enable migrants to return and put their new skills to good use at home.

Milena Corradini, ETF country manager for Armenia and Turkmenistan, said creating opportunities for migrants to return home has a much bigger potential impact.

The rural community’s conundrum

“Managing migration is an EU priority and in its long term interest,” Taurelli said, adding that at a recent meeting in Brussels senior officials had made it clear that despite the Eurozone crisis this would continue to receive support.

“These are all countries with populations of a few million each and they cannot afford to permanently lose people with key skills,” she told Live&Learn.

Depopulation as a result of migration has left many rural communities with more women than men, causing risks of human trafficking and other crime.

Work on improving circular migration will continue with another regional conference slated for October 2012 in the Armenian capital Yerevan. ■

Pilot study

“Creating legal mechanisms for migrants to repatriate pension rights accumulated in Europe is also important”, she said.

Words: Nick Holdswoth, ICE

An initial pilot study of what returning migrants thought of skills validation was given a very positive reception.

“MANAGING MIGRATION IS AN EU PRIORITY AND IN ITS LONG TERM INTEREST”

“We found that both workers and employers welcomed the idea of being able to validate prior learning and training,” Taurelli said of the study of Moldovan construction workers and employers.

Mechanisms to achieve this are particularly important for the construction sector where rules on tendering for big projects demand that companies and their workers are certified to specific standards.

Another area that could benefit in the Republic of Moldova is agriculture, where rigid vocational standards and qualifications are going through pilot reforms as the economy continues to modernise.

More opportunities for returning migrants is to everybody’s benefit Photo: ETF/Marcin Monko

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EMPOWERING PARTNERS FOR BETTER TRAINING The provision of vocational training is more developed in some countries Photo:: ETF/Aqeil Salih

High unemployment, especially among young people, is a burning issue in nearly all the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean as anyone who has been following the events of the Arab Spring will tell you.

Labour markets in the region are characterised by a large number of medium and small businesses, a high degree of informality and a bloated public sector. Provision of education and training tends to be driven by supply rather than demand.

As if that were not enough, the region’s demographics mean it will need to generate a staggering 85 million more jobs over the next ten years if it is to absorb new entrants to the labour market and keep unemployment in check, according to a recent report from the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank.

“When you look at the situation of youths and workers in general in the region, it is clear we need to find ways to include vocational education and training in active labour market policies,” says Gérard Mayen of the ETF.

Design and provision of training A three-year ETF project, with Mayen as team leader, is aiming to do just that by encouraging employers, chambers of commerce and trades unions to get more involved in the design and provision of vocational education and training. The logic is that channelling input from the labour maket into education will, in the long-term, make study programmes more relevant and therefore graduates more employable. The project aims to use a mix of regional and national activities to energise and empower these social partners.

At the request of the project participants themselves, the main focus is on continuing vocational training . While in countries such as Tunisia and Morocco, the provision of continuing vocational training is much more developed than in others, the need is universal – whether it be for retraining recent graduates, upskilling workers or making the unemployed more employable.

Businesses as well as individuals can benefit.

“There is a need to build or develop continuing vocational training for all industries which are trying to compete internationally,” says Mayen, “without this, it is difficult to be really competitive.”

Regional actions include annual conferences, study visits such as the one which recently took social partners from the Maghreb to Finland, methodological notes such as the one to be written in 2012 on institutions and governance and a process to map the current state-of-play in each country which will later be turned into a publication.

Participation in activities

ETF project team leader, Gérard Mayen encourages the active participation of social partners in the training field 22

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National activities will follow a six-step process which begins with building trust and good working relations and works up to producing a practical plan of action on continuing training that social partners can then discuss with policy makers.

It is not expected that all eight participating countries will follow all of this

route, due to political instability in some countries and the current low level of social partner engagement in vocational education and training in others. Thus, during 2012, the ETF will work especially closely with Jordan, Morocco and the occupied palestinian Territory. A fourth country may join the group at a later date.

In a part of the world where civil society is increasingly making its presence felt, this project is a chance for employers’ and workers’ organisations to get to know each other and learn to work together without the presence of government.

When the two sides have established trust and defined their positions on VET, they will be in a much better position to enter tripartite relations with the authorities, so the thinking goes. “The ETF before was mostly working with government institutions, but when we designed this project, in the year before the Arab Spring, we very much wanted to work with civil society,” says Mayen.

As with any kind of educational reform, the drive to boost social partnership needs time to produce results. But Gérard Mayen is both realistic and positive about what this particular project can achieve by the time it finishes in late 2013.

“If there are a few countries where we can measure that the project has enabled social partners to become more active, I will be satisfied” he says, “if there are clearly more organisations devoting resources to this field, which are saying yes, Mr or Mrs X is from now on fully in charge of VET, then that will be an achievement.” ■ Words: Rebecca Warden, ICE

FIND OUT MORE: Education for employment: Realizing Arab youth potential, Islamic Development Bank, International Finance Corporation of the World Bank, April 2011 http://www.e4earabyouth.com/ index.php

Coming up

IN THE NEXT ISSUE… LAUNCH OF AN ETF REGIONAL PROJECT IN TUNISIA

Photo: ETF/S. Cavallo

Mid-March saw the official launch in Djerba, Tunisia, of a new regional project dealing with human resource development as a response to the socio-economic objectives of the Médenine region of the country. With project preparations involving close cooperation between the ETF, the new Tunisian government and stakeholders from the major EU institutions, the launch will involve representatives from the Ministries of Regional Development and Planning, and Vocational Training and Employment.

Live&Learn will provide full coverage of the event as well as interviews with some of the major players and will follow the development of the project.

YOUTH EMPLOYABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN The so-called Arab Spring has highlighted the centrality of education and employment policies in countries’ political stability and sustainable economic and social development.

On 27 March, the ETF hosted an event in Turin to discuss and provide information about its activities in the southern Mediterranean region. The event is on the calendar of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and as such, they take responsibility for inviting EU ambassadors to Italy, along with members of the ETF Governing Board. Live&Learn will provide full coverage of the event.

NEW ETF DEPUTY DIRECTOR Shawn Mendes took up his position as ETF deputy director in February 2012. He will be focusing on enhanced coordination between four departments within the organisation – Communication, Geographical Operations, Thematic Expertise Development and Evidence Based Policy Making – with a view to improving quality, efficiency, and communication with stakeholders, in particular, the partner countries. Live&Learn will interview Shawn to provide an introduction to our readers and get a feel for how he intends to carry out his work as part of the ETF’s strategic mandate. ■

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For information on our activities, job and tendering possibilities please visit our website: www.etf.europa.eu For other enquiries please contact: ETF Communication Department European Training Foundation Villa Gualino Viale Settimio Severo, 65 I – 10133 Torino T +39 011 630 2222 F +39 011 630 2200 E info@etf.europa.eu

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