Consolidating institutional partnerships for promoting skill development in the region Declaration of Intent with the European Training Foundation
Marrakech, 17 May 2022. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel; and the Director a.i. of the European Training Foundation (ETF), Xavier Matheu , have signed today a Declaration of Intent during the UfM Ministerial Policy Conference held within the framework of the fifth UfM Ministerial on Employment and Labour hosted by Marrakech, Morocco, on 17-18 May 2022.
Under this Declaration, the UfM and ETF express their wish to share knowledge, expertise, and networks in order to follow up on the regional dialogue on Employment and Labour; contribute to the UfM Community of Practice on Youth Employment in the Southern Mediterranean; contribute to the UfM regional dialogue on Women Empowerment; provide input in the follow-up of the VET and Higher Education strategy in the Mediterranean; and share experience/products/practice in mutual events.
During the signature ceremony, Nasser Kamel stressed that “ETF is a logical and a much-esteemed partner to the UfM Secretariat in its efforts to promote inclusive human development in the Euro-Mediterranean Region.” He also highlighted the ongoing collaboration with ETF which yielded important activities and events. Xavier Matheu stated that “the UfM Secretariat is a long-standing partner of the ETF. Our cooperation is mutually enriching in achieving our common strategic objectives in the field of human capital development, in line with the renewed Agenda for the Mediterranean.”
The UfM Secretariat has been actively engaged in a structured effort aimed at promoting employability prospects for young people and women, as well cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship in the region, fostering the development of necessary skills for the future. For its part, the ETF, under its new strategy 2027 is aiming to develop interactions that will reinforce its role as a global Knowledge Hub on human capital development in its partner countries. At the end of 2020, the European Council called for a renewed and strengthened partnership with the Southern Mediterranean neighbours, as a strategic imperative for the EU, to provide a common response and to join forces for economic recovery (including in the aftermath of COVID-19), and an improved quality of life.
The UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour benefits greatly from the ETF expertise and has been repeatedly enriched by information sessions with experts from ETF and other regional partners. ETF is actively engaged in the Advisory Board of the UfM Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs), which is the UfM flagship initiative for addressing the employment challenges in the region.
