The Ministry of Education Vice Secretary Mustafa Hilmi Çolakoğlu said he attended Vocational Education and Training - skills for a lifetime meeting that was held on Feb. 15-16.
Çolakoğlu stated that as the refugee crisis was not in the written program of the conference, the education problem of Syrian refugees discussed instead.
“In addition to the language barrier faced by Syrian refugees, we are now discussing how they can be educated and provided employment,” Çolakoğlu said.
He also stated that European countries applauded Turkey for its efforts to provide education and work opportunities to Syrians.
The conference on vocational education and training (VET) held under the Dutch EU Presidency's focus on vocational education that provides the fundamentals for a starting position in the labor market, and is at the same time capable of responding to learning needs that may arise in a subsequent career.
Lifelong learning was therefore one of the three themes discussed in the conference and the overall theme was "Skills for a lifetime."
The conference provides inspiration and stimulation on three themes of interest to Europe: Excellence in VET, lifelong learning and the internationalization of VET.
