Commissioner Thyssen co-hosts first European Business-Education Summit

Tomorrow 23 November, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, will host the very first Business-Education Summit, together with Etienne Davignon, President of CSR Europe, a European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility This high-level event will gather together 650 participants, including Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, around 50 CEOs of several companies as well as representatives of youth organisations, civil society and national and EU policy makers. It will be an opportunity to take stock of the accomplishments of the Pact for Youth initiative, a mutual engagement of EU and business leaders, in close collaboration with youth representatives, aiming to set-up business-education partnerships to improve the chances for young people of getting a job. Ahead of the Summit, Commissioner Thyssen said: “At the Social Summit in Gothenburg last week, European leaders proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights. The first principle of the Pillar is the right to Education, Training and Life Long Learning. Business is an essential partner to teach the right skills through traineeships, apprenticeships and on the job training. The Pact for Youth has built a bridge to harness the divide between education and business, and I hope it will continue to do so.” Mr Davignon added: “Throughout Europe, the partners of the Pact for Youth have provided a critical mass of practical examples of how enterprises collaborate with schools and colleges, to the benefit of students at various stages of their education, teachers, employees, and their business. Our ambition is clear, to better equip youth for the future of work by making business-education partnerships the new norm in Europe.” Since its launch in November 2015, the Pact has helped to form 23,000 business-education partnerships and create 160,000 new opportunities for young people in Europe. The Business-Education Summit will also be an opportunity for participants to explore new ways to boost youth employment in the years to come. More information about the Summit can be found here. Tomorrow at 11:30, a press statement with Commissioner Thyssenand Mr Davignon will take place in the Commission’s Charlemagne building. The press statement can also be followed online.