Taking advantage of the meeting of the Federal Bureau in Thessaloniki on 10 March, USF met with the US-Cedefop section and its members.
On this occasion, many questions were raised: the consequences of Brexit on UK staff and EU resources, the role of agencies in the EU system, working conditions and the future of agencies (and therefore of CEDEFOP) in the face of cuts in resources.
In addition, a spontaneous debate has opened up on telework, its advantages and dangers.
This meeting was followed by individual face-to-face discussions, which allowed for individualised advice and assistance. In this way, the members of the section were able to increase their information through USF networking.
USF met with the Director of CEDEFOP to present USF and its demands, in particular US-Cedefop‘s request for recognition, which was heard with attention and interest.
*Cedefop is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies. Founded (1) in 1975 and based in Greece since 1995, Cedefop supports development of European vocational education and training (VET) policies and contributes to their implementation. The agency is helping the European Commission, EU Member States and the social partners to develop the right European VET policies.
Cedefop: helping develop the right policies to provide the right skills
Why is that important?
Europe’s strategy for 2020 (2) is a route for smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth through knowledge and innovation, which sets an employment rate target of 75%.
The success of this strategy depends on the skills of Europe’s workforce. Enterprises need people with the skills required to compete and provide high-quality goods and services.
People need the right qualifications to find jobs. People with low levels of or no qualification are nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than those with high qualifications. In the EU, around 75 million people, nearly a third of the working population, have low levels of or no qualification. Too many young people, around 15%, leave school without any qualifications.
