Greece is considered as the cradle of Europe and the cultural origins of the Occident. So it's fitting that the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) is located as a reference center for the EU in vocational training issues since 1995 in Thessaloniki, Greece. KH-CEO Frank Tischner used the opportunity of a finding visit for guild members to northern Greece organized by the Kreishandwerkerschaft Steinfurt-Warendorf, to learn on site at the professionals of Cedefop of developments and opportunities for vocational education in Europe.
The center analyzes for policy, research and practice vocational training systems existing in the EU to assist countries in their development and improvement. Frank Tischner is convinced that the dual vocational training system in Germany has a high standard and for many countries it has a role model, but however there are just interesting ideas in the field of vocational training outside of Germany that are worth to take a closer look. And this area it is a priority for Cedefop, which deals in addition to developing and implementing the European Qualifications Framework, among others, vocational training, adult education and work-based learning and the analysis of skills requirements for the design of a needs-based VET program.
How important and correct the engagement for training is, shows the strategy 2020 for the EU reported by representatives of Cedefop to achieve through knowledge and innovation, a smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth as well as an employment rate of at least 75%. "In Münsterland we are already beyond this," Frank Tischner says and sees this as an evidence that the dual vocational training and the training capacity of small and medium enterprises in the region have placed this foundation.
