Hungary is the first within the CEE region to host Euroskills, the European Championship of young professionals, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at the ceremonial opening of the event in Budapest. At this year’s gathering, the best qualified 600 young professionals from 28 EU member states compete against each other with their skills in six categories.
The fact that Hungary can organize the competition is a major international recognition of the work which the Government and the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have done over recent years in order to develop Hungary’s vocational education system, he pointed out. “Our main objective in past years was to create a vocation education system capable of providing modern, world-class skills and attractive jobs,” the Minister added. That is why the Government decided in 2013 to support the event. Euroskills is a great opportunity to call the attention of the highest number of young people to the importance of learning a skill, getting to know career models and participating in dual vocation education – as well as to engage the highest possible number of enterprises in the development of the system. In addition, the event is an opportunity for Hungarian companies to showcase their competence internationally. He said that having highly skilled marketable professionals with knowledge tailored to the needs of the economy was vital for strengthening Hungary’s competitiveness.
The Government is working to bolster dual education and increase the number of apprentice jobs at enterprises. “We are aiming to increase the number of places available for apprentices at enterprises by 40 percent until 2020,” the Minister stated.
The fact that among EuroSkills sponsors there are Hungarian companies alongside various international large enterprises shows the commitment of Hungarians to a modern Hungarian vocational education system, he noted.
(Ministry for National Economy)
