11.05.2006 - Leonardo da Vinci ambassadors: improving the quality of European vocational training

At a ceremony held on 10 May in Graz, Austria, the European Commission and the Austrian Presidency of the EU jointly honoured the first ever “Leonardo da Vinci Ambassadors”. The European Union’s Leonardo da Vinci programme aims at improving the quality of vocational education and training in Europe.

The Leonardo da Vinci Ambassadors, one each from twenty European countries, were identified as excellent examples of a successful trans-national mobility by the National Agencies that run the Leonardo grants. They will promote the programme, giving it a human face. In addition, 24 mobility projects were short-listed for the European Quality Awards at the event. The selected projects offered young people the chance for an experience abroad in the course of their professional training. The short-listed projects will serve as examples of excellence, to inspire future mobility projects, for the benefit of European vocational education and training as a whole.

“Transnational programmes like Leonardo da Vinci are a key contribution to the development of a European Labour market” said Ján Figel, European Commissioner in charge of Education & Training. “The mobility of thousands of young people, but also teachers and trainers, leads to a mutual understanding of Europe’s different education and training systems and to increased transparency of these systems”.

The main goal of these first European-level awards handed over in Graz today is to show real-life examples of the results and benefits of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. A shortlist of 24 outstanding mobility projects, from across Europe, had been chosen by an international jury and invited to the Austrian city. One winning project was selected from each of the following five categories: Initial vocational training, Students’ training in enterprise, Young workers and recent graduates, Teachers and trainers, and Projects run or coordinated by enterprises.

Source: Rapid

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