New EU vocational education and training proposals given B+ by local MEP

Proposals published this week by the European Commission to encourage the uptake of vocational education and training are generally welcome, Emma McClarkin MEP, Conservative spokesperson for Education, said today.

The Commission has published a policy paper – known as a ‘Communication’ – which aims to encourage more people to take up vocational education, to improve the quality of education available and also to facilitate cross EU member state recognition of vocational training. Additionally, the paper talks about ways of ensuring that training is open to people of any age, and to encourage people to gain experience abroad.

Ms McClarkin, East Midlands MEP, said that importantly the proposals do seem to recognise that the EU’s role under the treaties should be to support and supplement the work of national governments, not to take over their roles.

She said:

“The EU should be a knowledge-based economy but too often vocational skills are not as highly regarded as academic achievements.

“We need to encourage businesses to recognise and participate in job training. The best way for people to gain new skills is on the job, which is why we need flexible markets to allow young people to gain jobs and get the vital experience that they need.

“The EU has a role to play in facilitating cooperation and encouraging a greater uptake of vocational education, but it should remain for national governments and businesses to determine the skills that they need. The EU needs to remember its role to support national governments in this field, not to supplant them.”