Cedefop is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies. Founded (1) in 1975 and based in Greece since 1995, Cedefop supports development of European vocational education and training (VET) policies and contributes to their implementation. The agency is helping the European Commission, EU Member States and the social partners to develop the right European VET policies.
Cedefop: helping develop the right policies to provide the right skills
Why is that important?
Europe’s strategy for 2020 (2) is a route for smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth through knowledge and innovation, which sets an employment rate target of 75%.
The success of this strategy depends on the skills of Europe’s workforce. Enterprises need people with the skills required to compete and provide high-quality goods and services.
People need the right qualifications to find jobs. People with low levels of or no qualification are nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than those with high qualifications. In the EU, around 75 million people, nearly a third of the working population, have low levels of or no qualification. Too many young people, around 15%, leave school without any qualifications.
The right VET policies depend on understanding how economies, societies and people are changing.
Cedefop works to strengthen European cooperation and provide the evidence on which to base European VET policy. Cedefop’s added value is the high quality of its comparative analyses and expertise gathered through research and networking, which are used to:
Cedefop works closely with the European Commission, Member States’ governments, representatives of employers and trade unions, VET researchers and practitioners. It provides them with up-to-date information on developments in VET as well as opportunities for policy debate.
