VOCATIONAL TRAINING ESSENTIAL TO COMBAT PROBLEMS OF EU'S NEIGHBOURS.

• Position: Brief Article

The countries surrounding the EU have critically high unemployment, severe skill gaps and a dire lack of vocational training. These are some of the findings of a new report published by an Italian-based EU agency, the European Training Foundation, on October 28. "The situation of labour markets in many countries surrounding the European Union contrasts with the positive achievements within the EU", the Foundation said in a statement. "In many countries, vocational education and training has a low status", ETF Director Peter de Rooij said in Brussels on October 28. "We need to convince both policy makers and citizens of its benefits."

The Foundation's report, to be published at the beginning of November shows...