It has been estimated that 1 in 3 Europeans have caring responsibility and over 9.1 million people, mostly women, work in the care sector. Long-term care services in the EU are often unaffordable or unavailable. 

To improve the situation for both carers and care receivers, the European Commission has put forward the European Care Strategy. Among other things, the strategy aims to improve the training of European care staff – an area where the development of quality apprenticeships could lead to positive change. 

The European Care Strategy also makes a strong link to the social economy. Social economy actors in the EU are often driven by a strong social mission, putting people at the centre of their work, and focus on achieving a positive impact on their communities. To this end, quality apprenticeships are often used as a tool to help promote important values and equip workers with essential, practical and meaningful skills. 

With this webinar, EAfA aimed to explore how apprenticeships can support the care sector in the EU and help address its challenges, as well as how social economy actors can contribute. 

The event was moderated by Ana Carrero, Deputy Head of Unit for Vocational Education and Training at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.Meanwhile, Ilias Livanos, Skills forecast leader, Department for VET and skills, (CEDEFOP) offered a thematic introduction. 

The event also featured a panel discussion with the following speakers: 

• Alexander Hölbl − Head of Department at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Labour and Economy (Austria); 

• Anna Barbieri – DG EMPL, Team Leader for apprenticeships and Erasmus+; 

• Anna Maria Cazzato − Social Program Coordinator, Consorzio Consolida (Italy); 

• Elena Senís Herrero − International Relations Office Coordinator, Institut Bonanova (Spain). 

Each of the participants presented good practice examples from their countries (watch the full webinar recording to learn more). Meanwhile, Anna Barbieri gave an overview of the Erasmus+ Centres of Vocational Excellence. The main aim of these centres is to help vocational education and training institutions to adapt their skill provision to the labour market needs. 

Watch this video presentation by Henriette Hansen on the work of the European Platform for Vocational Excellence in Healthcare (EUVECA). 

The panel was followed by a lively discussion where the speakers discussed a variety of topics. Below are some highlights from the discussion. 

Ilias Livanos pointed out that ageing and attracting workers are the main challenges for the care sector. According to Ilias, one way to attract more people with medium education level would be to offer programmes tailored for this level. 

Meanwhile, Alexander Hölbl shared that in Austria, they do not want to change the quality level or instruments within institutions. Instead, they want to use existing tools for apprenticeships, like coaching and training alliances. 

Elena Senís Herrero noted that many companies find it financially difficult to have apprenticeships – an important issue that needs to be addressed. 

Anna Maria Cazzato emphasised the importance of apprenticeships in giving opportunities to talented and competitive people. She also said that apprenticeships in the care sector enable fragile people to stay in the labour market, which is important for the economy. 

Anna Barbieri pointed out that EAfA is an essential tool for tackling the challenges discussed during the webinar. She also highlighted EUVECA − an important project that provides future-oriented skills for innovation and development of the healthcare sector. 

Watch the full webinar recording