Vocational Excellence and Regional Development
The Role of VET in a Competitive and Inclusive Europe
From Practice to Policy Conference, Brussels – July 15–16, 2025
At the invitation of Borboly Csaba – Vice-President of Harghita County Council and member of the European People’s Party (RO/EPP), participants and representatives of the EASI project held one of the sessions of the EASI Capacity Building Conference – Building the Future of VET Together at the European Committee of the Regions. This was an excellent opportunity for participants to build connections and strengthen cooperation.
Representatives from Romania: Harghita County Council; Kós Károly Vocational High School; Babes-Bolyai University – Faculty of Geography – University Extension, Gheorgheni; Vámszer Géza Public Art School.
Europe faces a dual #challenge: a widening skills gap and regional disparities, worsened by demographic change. Vocational Education and Training (VET) is key to addressing these issues by providing practical, labour-market-oriented skills—especially in disadvantaged areas.
EASI Capacity Building Conference – Building the Future of VET Together
On July 15–16, the inaugural #EASIConference took place in Brussels, bringing together experts, policymakers, and educators from across Europe to strengthen Vocational Education and Training (VET) through international cooperation.
The opening day at the European Parliament and Committee of the Regions focused on aligning practice-based education with policy, supporting #NEET youth, and adapting #VET systems to the green and digital transition. Key speakers: Attila Sándor, President of MeOut Group; Winkler Gyula, Member of the European Parliament; Vicsek Annamária, MEP; Maria Alonso from the Committee of the Regions; Kinga Joó, from the European Economic and Social Committee.
Day two explored cross-regional #collaboration, with country teams from Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Greece, and Hungary presenting national VET systems and co-developing roadmaps to improve in-company tutor support.
The conference highlighted successful models—like Harghita County’s localised VET initiatives—and identified shared goals for future cooperation.
Funded by the EU, the EASI project empowers company tutors to better support international learners during work-based training, fostering modern, inclusive, and sustainable VET systems across Europe.
#EASIproject #VET #EUeducation #RegionalDevelopment #Inclusion #SkillsForFuture #MeOut
