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Main responsibility for education and training must remain in the hands of Member States, regions and local authorities
11.04.2008, 16:42
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) has welcomed proposals for the EU to play a stronger support role in youth policy, but the assembly says that the main responsibility for education and training must remain in the hands of Member States and regional and local levels of government.
"The regional and local level is best placed to focus on the specific needs of young people, and, therefore, more targeted action can be taken here," an opinion adopted by the Committee's plenary session in Brussels, 10 April, underlined.
The report, presented by Gebhard Halder, President of the Vorarlberg Regional Parliament in Austria, is a response to an analysis by the European Commission which suggests that many young people are insufficiently prepared to make the transition from education to work or willing to get fully involved in society as a whole.
Mr Halder states that the future of the EU, its Member States and its regional and local authorities "depends more and more on whether we succeed in creating a child and youth-friendly society".
"Young people are crucial for developing the economic strength of the European regions and municipalities and their ability to survive global competition. Moreover, involving EU citizens in society is an important cornerstone for social cohesion and the peaceful and democratic development of Europe," he says.
He argues that EU policy needs to be adaptable and sustainable to take account of demographic change and emphasises that national and regional education and training systems have a shared duty to ensure young people have the right skills for the labour market. In this context, he highlights the success of the 'dual training system', which enables apprentices to combine on-the-job training with academic study.
"The attractiveness of this education system needs to be boosted, in particular by improving the possibilities for university access," says Mr Halder, a member of the CoR's centre-right European People's Party group.
He considers, in contrast to the Commission, that the priority for pre-school age children is not so much to develop key abilities, as to develop their overall personalities. Nonetheless, by offering very young children technology or science-related possibilities for play, their potential and interest in these areas can be awakened in a "playful manner".
Mr Halder says the Commission also needs to focus more on the situation faced by disadvantaged young people. "Training schemes, such as vocational training with a strong integrational element, can be useful in giving [them] the opportunity to develop their individual potential and establish themselves in the labour market. They offer disadvantaged young people the possibility to complete training over a longer period of time or obtain partial qualifications. Here intensive social support and mentoring is important, and this can only be provided at regional and local level. These schemes can also help reduce the number of school drop-outs, which is still very high," he notes.
Source: www.cor.eu