Communication: Draft 2015 report on the implementation of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020)

Europe is facing a number of urgent tasks: restoring job creation and economic recovery, achieving sustainable growth; bridging the investment gap; enhancing social cohesion; giving radicalisation and violence priority attention. At the same time, Europe must address long-term challenges such as ageing, adjusting to the digital era and competing in the global, knowledge-based economy.

Europe's policy response under the new Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change marks a fresh start. There is a strong economic case for education and training as a growth-friendly sector to play a critical role under this new Agenda. Investment in human capital is money well spent. Good education and training help promote sustained economic growth: they fuel R&D, innovation, productivity and competitiveness.

As underlined in the 2015 Employment Guidelines, education and training systems should improve their effectiveness and efficiency to raise the skill level of the workforce and address skills mismatches, to better anticipate and meet the rapidly changing needs of labour markets. This is particularly important in an increasingly digital society and for the transition to a circular economy.

The tragic outbursts of violent extremism at the start of 2015 sent a reminder that education and training have an important role in fostering inclusion and equality, cultivating mutual respect and embedding fundamental values in an open and democratic society. By reaching out – in particular to the most disadvantaged – education and training are crucial to prevent and tackle poverty and social exclusion and discrimination, and to build a foundation on which active citizenship rests. Education and training should thus step up efforts to improve access to quality learning for all, thereby fostering upwards social convergence.

Education and training therefore make a substantial contribution to several EU strategies and initiatives, including the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Digital Single Market initiative, the European Agenda on Security and the Investment Plan for Europe, while respecting the competence of Member States for their education and training systems. ET 2020 cooperation complements national action and supports Member States, through peer exchanges, mutual learning and evidence building, in pursuing reforms to further improve their performance.

The comprehensive mid-term stocktaking of the ET 2020 strategic framework carried out in 2014, involving Member States and key stakeholders, provides the basis for this Report. To better align ET 2020 with the EU’s political term and priorities, this Joint Report proposes to steer European cooperation under this framework up to 2020, thus increasing its work cycle from 3 to 5 years.

EUR-Lex: SWD(2015)161: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the communication http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2015:161:FIN

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