Birth of a new EU agency

Under the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (still to be adopted by the EU at the time of publication), the international (beyond EU) dimension of the Erasmus programmewill be opened for the first time to VET. This requires building or reinforcing partnerships with countries in other parts of the world. The international dimension is also about embedding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into European policy for VET. Innovation and growth When discussing innovation, reference is often made to the "knowledge triangle" – the link between businesses, education and research. VET has an important role to play in this triangle, as well as in "smart specialisation" strategies that lead to sustainable growth, innovation, job creation and social cohesion. With this in mind, the European Commission has launched an initiative on centres of vocational excellence to help them build up or connect to local skills ecosystems, and support upward convergence through transnational platforms. A recent mapping of centres of vocational excellence across Europe and beyond has just been completed and a first set of pilot projects funded under Erasmus + have begun their activities. A new Erasmus + call for fully-fledged pilots was published by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture EU Executive Agency, with a 20 February deadline for applications. The German Presidency of the EU Council has committed to hosting the 2020 European Vocational Skills Week in Berlin, from 9-13 November, with digitalisation and sustainability as core topics. © Belga Image Birth of a community “My favourite event”, is how Marianne Thyssen, outgoing Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility European Commissioner, described the European VET Skills Week when she closed the 2019 edition of the central European event on 18 October 2019, in Helsinki. She had one goal in mind when she created theWeek back in 2016: “To show that vocational education and training really is a first choice and the path to an interesting job, a good income and a great career”. “Of course, we already knew that VET is a first choice”, she added. “But we also had to tell Europe. And from this year, the world! That’s why we organised VET Skills Week”. Another aim of the Week was to build a strong VET community, bringing together policy makers, social partners, VET providers, businesses, civil society and the learners themselves. By 4 November 2019, 1 573 local, regional or national European Vocational Skills Weeks-labelled events had taken place in 2019 across Europe, involving more than 2.6 million participants: open days, career fairs, exhibitions or activities such as interviews, articles, webinars or small-scale training sessions. More information: https://europa.eu/! DR74tg Apprenticeship for adults too: Skills Week 2019 emphasised that vocational education and training is a great option for anyone, at any stage of life. SOC I A L AG E NDA / NOV E MB E R 2 0 1 9 / 1 3