10th Seminar for EAfA Partner Countries cover image

AGENDA

09:00 — 09:30
Arrival and registration of participants 
09:30 — 10:00
Welcome and opening
10:00 — 10:10
Objectives of the seminar 

Facilitation: Floriana Folisi, Human Capital Development Expert, European Training Foundation

10:10 — 10:30
Key messages from EU Social partners

Speaker: Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation

Speaker:  Robert Plummer, Senior Adviser, Business Europe

Speaker: Guillaume Afellat, Head of Social Affairs at SGI Europe

10:30 — 11:00
EAfA and latest developments 

Facilitation: Beatrice Biolcati Rinaldi, DG EMPL B.3, European Commission  

Welcoming Newcomers in EAfA

11:00 — 11:30
Coffee break 
11:30 — 12:30
Learn from and exchange with new and old EAfA Members

Parallel Group 1: Facilitation: Lisa Rustico, European Training Foundation

  • Speaker: Sirma Ilijoska Trifunovska, Chamber of Craft (North Macedonia) 

  • Speaker: Tatjana Babrauskiene, Federation of Lithuanian Education and Science Trade Unions (FLESTU)

Parallel Group 2: Facilitation: Floriana Folisi, Human Capital Development Expert, European Training Foundation

  • Speaker: Burak Öztemel, Unit Manager, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Project and Business Development Department, State Support and Vocational Education Unit, Türkiye
  • Speaker: Tom Muller, Director, Vocational Education and Training, Ministry of Education, Children and Youth of Luxembourg 
12:30 — 13:00
WBL in Montenegro: overview and latest developments

Facilitation: Emmanuelle Roure, European Commission, DG EMPL E.3, European Commission

  • Speaker: Marko Vukašinović, Director General, Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation 

  • Speaker:  Mladen Perazic, Head of Sector for Education and Quality, Chamber of Economy 

  • Speaker:  Aleksandra Lalevic, Director of VET Centre 

12:55 — 13:00
Introduction to site visits
13:00 — 14:00
Lunch
14:00 — 17:00
Site visits
  • Group 1: Secondary vocational school "Spasoje Raspopović" 
  • Group 2: “La Parisienne” factory
  • Group 3: Junior High School of Electrical Engineering "Vaso Aligrudić" 
19:30 — 22:00
Networking dinner
09:00 — 09:30
Welcome and feedback from the site visits 

Moderation: Christian Wagner, Team leader, EU4Youth 

09:30 — 10:30
Thematic focus 1: Financial and non-financial incentives in Apprenticeships 

Facilitation: Floriana Folisi, Human Capital Development Expert, European Training Foundation

Financial and non-financial incentives play a crucial role in shaping effective and inclusive apprenticeship systems. This panel will explore both aspects, starting with an EU-level overview of how such incentives are used to support apprenticeships, and then delving into two specific country cases: Serbia and Latvia.

  • Speaker: Mirjana Kovačević, Head of Centre/Director of Academy, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia

 

10:30 — 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 — 12:00
Thematic focus 2: Matching of companies and Learners  

Facilitation: Stefan Thomas, European Training Foundation

In many ETF Partner Countries, apprentices start training before securing a company placement, with vocational schools playing a key role in the matching process. This session will explore the challenges and implications of this approach.

  • Speaker: Antonio Mota Cosano, Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPD) - Spain 

  • Speaker: Gergely Pálmai, Deputy State Secretary for Vocational Education and Training at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation - Hungary 

  • Speaker: Marija Gošović, Director General, Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation - Montenegro

  • Speaker: Albert Philip Hendrik Janssenss, Board Member of the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSUS) and Member of the Euroean Apprentices Network (EAN)  

12:00 — 12:30
Conclusions and closing of the seminar 
12:30 — 13:30
Lunch and departures