News

Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders: enhancing the skills of Mediterranean workforce requires stronger public-private partnerships

24-11-2011

Improving the skills of the workforce in the Mediterranean is key to competitiveness and employability, and this can be achieved by adapting education and training to the demands of the business community. This is the key message underlying this year’s Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders, currently being held in Barcelona until 25 November with the support of the Union for the Mediterranean.
 
Delegates from both sides of the Mediterranean are considering the main challenges and opportunities facing the region, namely the ‘mismatch’ between the skills required by businesses and the training opportunities the education sector has to offer.
 
Eva Jimeno Sicilia, who leads the European Training Foundation’s (ETF) work in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, particularly highlighted the employment challenges facing the countries following the Arab Spring, the risks of low-skilled unemployment, and the ensuing social exclusion. In the words of Sicilia, “Investment and skills go hand-in-hand”, underlining the need for a renewed investment drive in the region that would include support for human capital development.
 
The Director of the European Training Foundation, Anthony Gribben, underscored the importance of ‘enterprise first,’ arguing that the skills’ support agenda is destined to fail unless the world of business assumes direct responsibility for defining skills requirements, and works with the education and training community to ensure training meets demand.
 
According to Gribben, dialogue, consensus and trust between the public and private sector is crucial for a more effective development of the workforce, highlighting the importance of stronger public-private partnerships. Given that the education and training sector is often slow to respond to the demands of the business community, the latter should also engage with schools and universities and `lead from the side’ to support more market-responsive education developments.
 
More specifically, the education sector needs to take more responsibility in promoting ‘key competences’, the transversal skills required in all workplaces such as entrepreneurship, problem solving and teamwork. In Gribben’s view, the skills mismatch discourse often disregards competences which are increasingly needed by businesses in fast-changing economies. These key competences are also essential to ensure the flexibility of workers during periods of economic downturn.  
 
The ETF is an agency of the European Union established to contribute to the development of the education and training systems of the EU partner countries. With an annual budget of €18 million, its mission is to help transition and developing countries to harness the potential of their human capital through the reform of education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU's external relations policy. (ENPI Info Centre)
 
Read more
 
Press release
 
Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders – website
 
European Training Foundation
 
ENPI Info Centre webpage – Education & Training
 
ENPI Info Centre - ETF project seeks to develop common qualifications across the Mediterranean


NEWS
UfM project launches first Women Entrepreneurship Day
Young Women as Job Creators, a project labelled by the Union for the...
Advancing the quality of Euro-Mediterranean research in food, water and renewable energies: your voice is needed
In order to address the societal challenges of high quality affordable food,...
Launch of fair trade products line for more economic opportunities between Israelis and Palestinians
A new ‘fair trade’ products line, combining the work of artisans...
FEATURES
Interview with Holger Standertskjold-Nordenstam - Export Helpdesk, your gateway to European markets
Imagine you own a small company in Tunisia or Moldova and you’re about to...
EuropeAid Feature: Rights Awareness Raising and Empowerment Courses for Bedouin Girls and Boys in Israel
  “Talking to these girls and boys, I see that they are thirsty to...
Supporting budget: Supporting change - Interview with Luca Oriani Vieyra
TALKING ABOUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EU Budget Support is not a gift. It is a...
PUBLICATIONS
Research and Innovation in support of the European Neighbourhood Policy
 The European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation has published...
Projects in Action: the human face of EU Neigbourhood cooperation
Projects in Action, a magazine produced by the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is...
EU funding Handbook
A handbook on “European Union Funding for the Neighbourhood and...
LINKS
Map of ENPI CBC Land Border and Sea Crossing Programmes
Agenda Med
Link in Med: 1st virtual Mediterranean Business Community