European help for education and training

Citation

(2001), "European help for education and training", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443aab.013

European help for education and training

European help for education and training

Keywords: Funding, Education, European Union

Almost half the European Social Fund money available for Portugal between 2000 and 2006 will be spent on education and training. Around 1,548 million euros will be spent on vocational training in the whole of Portugal except the Azores, Madeira, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley. The aims include: to provide training for 31,500 young people, 21,000 public officials and 125,000 workers; and to support and promote advice and activities on training and human resources in 1,000 small and medium-size firms. Some 1,167 million euros will be spent on education. The aims of this spending are: to improve the quality of compulsory education; to expand and diversify the initial training of young people; to boost young people's qualifications and employability; and to promote the development of a knowledge society. The specific measures include fostering teacher training, promoting the work experience of technology students and opening schools to adults for short courses in information technology and foreign languages.

The European Commission has also approved seven-year programmes to promote education, training and employment in Spain, Sweden, Germany and Ireland.

In Spain, the 5.1 billion euro programme will cover Aragon, the Balearic islands, Catalonia, Madrid, Navar, the Basque country and Rioja between 2000 and 2006. The money will be spent on career guidance, training, information and assessment programmes, the promotion of self-employment, help for small firms, encouraging closer links between schools and business and boosting industry-related research and development. There will also be special help to improve the job prospects of women, the disabled and migrant workers.

In Sweden, more than half the the 2.8 billion euro programme will be spent on improving the qualifications of the workforce. This will be based on a study of the activities and skill needs of Swedish companies, carried out by employer organizations and trade unions. Within the 10.8 billion euro German programme some 360 million euros will go towards vocational and general education and lifelong learning. The rest will be spent on labour-market policies, social inclusion, adaptability and entrepreneurship and equal opportunities. Anna Diamantopoulou, employment commissioner, said that the key challenges for the German job market were to develop the service sector, tackle the persistently high level of long-term unemployment, especially in the former East Germany, improve the employment prospects of older workers and further reduce gender segregation in the workplace. In Ireland, priorities for the 14.2 billion euro programme were to promote employability, entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities.