Memo: Youth unemployment and skills focus for Education Council (15 February)

The fight against youth unemployment, currently nearly 24% in the European Union, will be at the forefront of discussion at the Council for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport taking place in Brussels on 15 February 2013. Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will underline the importance of modernising education and training systems to ensure young people are equipped with skills needed by the job market.

Education Ministers are expected to adopt conclusions on investing in education and training in response to the Commission's Annual Growth Survey and Rethinking Education strategy. David Puttnam, chairman of the Open University in the UK and a renowned film producer (Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express) will participate in a debate on 'education and skills for jobs, stability and growth', along with Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's deputy director for education. The Irish Presidency will also report on the latest state of play on the negotiations over Erasmus for All, the new programme for education, training, youth and sport which will start in 2014.