The report focuses entirely on education for the first time, and contains a set of educational indicators.
The focus is on education, because, in times of rapid economic and social change, education is considered even more crucial. The best way to prepare children and young people for the future is to place their learning at the center.
The 2017 edition presents a new focus on fields of study, investigating both trends in enrolment at upper secondary and tertiary level, student mobility, and labour market outcomes of the qualifications obtained in these fields. The publication also introduces for the first time a full chapter dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals, providing an assessment of where OECD and partner countries stand on their way to meeting the SDG targets. Finally, two new indicators are developed and analyzed in the context of participation and progress in education: an indicator on the completion rate of upper secondary students and an indicator on admission processes to higher education.
In the field of education and training, the Presidency focuses on the implementation of the New Skills Agenda, the modernization of Higher Education, and the initiative of graduates’ tracking.
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The Commission published its new strategy to support high quality, inclusive and future-oriented school and higher education, following the initiative ‘Investing in Youth in Europe’.
This year's edition of the Commission's Education and Training Monitor shows progress towards important EU targets, but also highlights that Member States need to make their education systems more relevant and inclusive, in particular regarding the integration of newly arrived refugees and migrants. Member States face a dual task of ensuring adequate financial investment and offering high quality education to young people from all backgrounds – including refugees and migrants.
High-quality education benefits all and remains a government priority, but despite notable progress, some groups still lag behind. One in six 25-34 year-olds across the OECD lacks an upper secondary education. In the EU, young adults who have dropped out of upper secondary school face unemployment rates of 21.2%, compared with 8% for their tertiary‑educated peers. In a highly demanding and fast‑paced world, a lack of higher level skills comes at a big cost for families and society. Gender imbalances also persist. In many countries, immigrants tend to lag behind their native born peers in educational attainment at all stages.
The report shows the potential for education to propel progress towards all global goals outlines in the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG’s). It also shows that education needs a major transformation to fulfil that potential.
In the field of Education and Training, the Maltese Presidency will focu on the relevance of achieving a High Quality Education for All through inclusion in diversity. The quality and relevance of Education and Training should be linked to the requirements of the labour market and directed towards the provision of relevant skills, aptitudes and lifelong values required to become active citizens.
The Maltese Presidency will also strive to make progress on the New Skills Agenda for Europe, the proposal for a Council Recommendation on the European Qualifications Framework, and the proposal for a Decision on Europass.
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