On the occasion of European Vocational Skills Week 2020, the European Commission highlighted the importance of green technologies and digitalisation on vocational education and skills development during a webinar on Thursday, 12 November 2020 from 14:30-16:00 via Zoom.  The webinar was also shared live on the EU Infopoint Facebook page.

During the webinar, Stephen Morley highlighted the opportunities and challenges in vocational education and skills for transitioning to green economy. Yochka Anastasova, the Team Leader of the EU-funded Technical Assistance Project for Curriculum Development in VET explained how green skills and digital competences are introduced to vocational education and provided examples from various EU member states. This EU-funded technical assistance project has been running since March 2020 with a budget of €1.35 million to help develop the curricula for vocational education and training in the Turkish Cypriot community in collaboration with businesses and trainers. Gülşen Hocanın from the Vocational Education Department presented the current situation in vocational education and provided an overview of the future plans in the Turkish Cypriot community.

European Vocational Skills Week is a platform to make VET’s potential more widely known, and an opportunity to exchange information and good practice across Europe and beyond. This year’s theme is VET for Green and Digital Transitions, in line with the Commission priorities of a “European Green Deal” and a “Europe fit for the digital age”. The ongoing global health crises also highlight the importance of transitioning to green economies.  

In the Turkish Cypriot community, EU has made available a total of €14.8 million through technical assistance projects, grants and supplies since 2008 to the education sector to improve the education practices in line with EU standards to nurture a more skilled and adaptable workforce.

Background:

European Vocational Skills Week is an annual event where local, regional or national organisations showcase the very best of vocational education and training (VET). The fifth edition of the Week is a 100% online event organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. A series of partner activities will take place digitally across the EU.  Anyone, anywhere can join in these activities. This year’s theme is VET for Green and Digital Transitions, in line with the Commission priorities of a “European Green Deal” and a “Europe fit for the digital age”.  The COVID-19 pandemic has been a blow to economies across the EU. The Commission reacted swiftly with proposals on the contribution of employment and social policy to the recovery. That includes the ambitious European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience. VET is an integral part of that.