European Council adopts Leonardo II

European Council adopts Leonardo II

Keywords: Europe, Partnership, Vocational training

The second phase of the EU Leonardo vocational-training programme has been formally adopted by the European Council.

The programme will have a budget of 1,150 million euros, to cover the period January 2000 to December 2006. It will extend to around 30 countries - the 15 EU member states, the European Free Trade Association countries and the nations applying for EU membership.

Leonardo II aims to strengthen the skills of those - mainly young people - in vocational training; increase the quality of lifelong learning and the number of people who take it up; and improve the contribution of vocational training to the process of innovation in order to boost competitiveness and the spirit of enterprise in Europe.

One new aspect of Leonardo II is the possibility of supporting joint projects with other EU programmes - mainly the Socrates II education programme and the new Youth programme. In this way, Leonardo II would become part of a group of measures to benefit education, training and youth in the early years of the next millennium.

Further information on Leonardo II is available from: Dawn Long or Ann Kinsella, Leonardo Unit, Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges,The British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN. Tel: +44 171 389 4389;Fax: +44 171 389 4426.

The Central Bureau's Leonardo unit also provides a partner-finding service for UK organizations wishing to identify potential Leonardo partners in other countries. For more information, or to register interest, contact Gillian Musk,on +44 171 389 4560.