European Training Foundation: Urgent Focus on Lifelong Learning to Respond to Global Forces of Change

BRUSSELS, Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cesare Onestini, Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF), has called for "an urgent focus on lifelong learning in response to the global forces of change which are transforming the world we live and work in."

Speaking at "The Power of Skills in EU External Relations," which was held in Brussels to mark the ETF's 25^th anniversary, Cesare Onestini commented:

"The European Training Foundation was created in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin wall to help the newly liberated countries of Central and Eastern Europe adapt to open markets and democracy.  Now we are facing the challenges of globalisation, digitisation, migration and the green transition and the need to invest in human capital development is vital to provide people with the skills required to face the future.

Over the last 25 years, the ETF has supported over 40 countries in modernising their education, training and labour market systems. Thirteen of them are now members of the European Union and another seven are at different stages  on the path towards EU accession.  This testifies to the power of skills to create opportunities for people, underpin inclusive economic and social development and lay the foundations for stability and prosperity in the EU's partner countries.

At the start of a new legislature and with new leadership in Brussels, it's an important time to consider the role of education, training and skills in the next generation of EU external relations policies and programmes."

Notes to Editors:

The European Training Foundation (ETF) is the EU Agency supporting countries in the EU neighbourhood to undertake reforms in education and training and employment policies. The ETF currently works with 22 partner countries in the Southern and Eastern Mediterrranean, the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia.

https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/regions-and-countries

Interview opportunities: Cesare Onestini is available for interview. 

Photography: available upon request.

SOURCE European Training Foundation (ETF)