Make lifelong learning a daily reality, say European managers

Make lifelong learning a daily reality, say European managers

Managers' organizations are calling for lifelong learning to become a day-to-day reality in order to make Europe the most competitive economy in the world.

The Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff (Eurocadres) and the European Confederation of Managers have produced a report which urges that access to lifelong learning should be guaranteed for life. The report invites colleges and universities offer more low-price training, directly related to the workplace.

The report comments: "Education and training should not be limited to the first 20 or 25 years of life, but should become a lifelong process. They should be seen as an investment by the various stakeholders." The report also calls for easier access to job vacancies throughout Europe, easier transfer of pension rights and a simpler system for recognizing professional qualifications across Europe.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has put forward a proposal for a directive to clarify and simplify the rules on the recognition of professional qualifications across the continent.

The directive would replace 15 existing directives and constitute the first comprehensive modernization of the EU system for recognizing professional qualifications since it was conceived 40 years ago.

Among the changes proposed are greater liberalization of the provision of services, more automatic recognition of qualifications and increased flexibility in the procedures for updating the directive. The Commission also proposes to develop co-operation with member states to keep people better informed about their rights and offer them more help in getting their qualifications recognized.

The proposal covers the three existing systems for recognizing qualifications across Europe:

• 1.

  the automatic recognition of qualifications on the basis of co-ordinated minimum training – for lawyers, doctors, nurses, dentists, veterinary surgeons, midwives, pharmacists and architects;

• 2.

  the automatic recognition of qualifications attested by professional experience – for a series of industrial, craft and commercial activities;and

• 3.

  the general mutual recognition system – for the other professions,which leaves one state the right to require additional testing or training when the training required in another European state differs substantially from its own.

The draft directive specifies the list of documents and certificates that may be required by the relevant authorities of the host member state. These authorities must send an acknowledgement of receipt within one month, and point out any missing documents. They should take a decision within three months. If the decision is a refusal of the right to practise, they should give the reasons.

Lawyers' qualifications will continue to be subject to the existing rules. This is because lawyers' training differs substantially in the different member states, due to the differences in legal systems.

The European commissioner for the internal market, Frits Bolkestein, said:"The free movement of qualified people contributes to the development of the knowledge-based economy, the flexibility of labour markets and improved public services. The purpose of this proposal is to ensure a clearer and simpler system to benefit the workers concerned and to step up our efforts to create in Europe,by 2010, the world's most dynamic and competitive economy."