NEWSLETTER4 JUNE 2015

DECLARATION AND ACTION! TIME TO ACTThe need to act was at the top of agenda on the first day of the Torino Process Conference 2015. ETF Director Madlen Serban set the scene in her welcome address, saying that what will set this conference apart will be its emphasis on action.

Serban called on delegates to identify ways to make a difference to people’s lives. “We must work together to find solutions,” she told the conference. “The focus will be on what can be achieved, rather than what can’t. Acting together is how we can change our world for the better.”

Keynote speaker Gunter Pauli echoed the need to act, and to focus on what can be done. He set out a vision for a different way of doing business, and of inspiring young people to gain the knowledge and skills needed to make it happen. Finding practical solutions was also a common subject in the parallel workshops that followed the plenary session. The desire for action will no doubt be a defining theme of today’s sessions too.

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PUT YOURSELF IN THE PICTUREThe Torino Declaration 2015 is being drafted during the course of the conference, and we would love you to contribute your ideas for how we can Move Skills Forward Together – verbally or visually. Caroline Chapple, our Torino Process artist-in-residence, will take your suggestions and convert them into illustrations that will be featured on the large board outside Sala 500.

Visit Caroline and fill in a post-it note, either with a drawing of your own or with words to express your vision for Torino Process action. Stick the note on one of the two small boards on either side of Caroline’s main board, and see your ideas turned into compelling cartoon reality…

Please use this unusual method to add your ideas. It will help to inform the debate and keep the momentum going until Torino Process 2017!

MAKING VET ATTRACTIVE“Make vocational study programmes the first choice, not second option.” This was the message from Marianne Thys-sen, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills & Labour Mobility, in her video address to the Torino Process Conference. It is clear from the first day’s discussions that changing the image of vocational education and training is es-sential if it is to be the attractive skilling alternative it should be.

Career guidance, for parents as well as students, will help people find out more about how VET can make it easier to find well-paid work and genuine career pros-pects. James Calleja, Director of Cede-fop, talked of the distrust parents have for VET, and the importance of making it a valid choice at every level – national, regional and local – and in every part of society.

There were many recommendations for how to do this. The first came from Ahmed Mohamed Youssef, Minister for Technical Education and Training, Egypt. He noted how important it is to commu-nicate VET success stories to the public through effective communication and information campaigns.

Making VET appeal to students and their parents is one thing, but it is equally important to make it attractive to employ-ers. In many respects, employers are the ultimate customers of the VET system. As we’ve seen, the theme of this year’s conference is action, so making VET more attractive is an area where action is needed far more than words.