On March 25, 1957 six countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands) signed a document that became the foundation of today’s European Union. The founding countries pledged to align their economic policies to establish a common market. The Treaty of Rome launched the European Economic Community (EEC), whose aim was to support harmonious economic development, continuous and balanced expansion, increased stability and improved living standards of citizens.
Articles 118 and 128 specified that the European Commission will promote the cooperation of European countries in the development of vocational education and training. The Economic and Social Committee, established under the treaty, later proposed setting up the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop).
As a part of these anniversary celebrations, many events are being organised. For more information.

NETINVET is a European network of training centres and companies. NETINVET currently includes 72 vocational education and training (VET) centres from 8 EU Member States. The network promotes work-based learning and the mobility of apprentices. The network currently operates in the wholesale, transportation and logistics sectors.

The results of a survey of the opinions of Europeans on vocational education and training were presented at an experts’ workshop on February 23-24,2017 in Thessaloniki. European experts, including ReferNet representatives, discussed and analysed the results.

Cedefops’s survey, launched in 2016, was conducted among 35 000 EU Member State citizens aged 15 or older. Most Europeans (71%) know what VET is and two in three (68%) have a positive opinion about it, while almost nine in 10 (87%) VET graduates are satisfied with the work-related skills they attained. Finding a job is the primary reason Europeans choose a VET path.

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Join the discussion at #VETopinionsurvey