Issue 41 of the Social Agenda magazine is entirely devoted to vocational education and training (VET) and skills.

Vocational education and training and skills are a pragmatic way of tackling the employment and social challenges facing the EU today, taking people's concrete needs as a starting point.

Skills are now part of European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen's portfolio:

• new priorities to modernise and improve vocational education and training by 2020 are being adopted;
• a boost has been given to the European Alliance for Apprenticeship;
• a comprehensive EU skills strategy is due for 2016.

Social Agenda 41 covers all this, complete with articles on what EU agencies and the European Social Fund do in the area of VET and skills.