Photo: FoNet
At the opening of the conference “Development, innovation and investment in qualifications – path to quality labour capital,” Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt said education and innovation were closely tied and essential to economic growth, which was why the EU applied strategic approach of knowledge-based economy.
He said the EU was the biggest donor in Serbia in the area of education, saying that since 2003, it invested EUR75 million in the reform of various levels of education, and EUR30 million in the reconstruction of 27 faculties in Serbia.
Oskar Benedikt said common goal was to raise awareness on the issues linked to qualifications and the interaction between education, innovation and investment.
According to him, it is not easy to establish intersectoral cooperation which is why today’s session is a good opportunity to bring together representatives of government and private sector.
Benedikt pointed out that better link between education and employment was needed, because there was a lack of appropriate alignment of these two sectors.
“Future employers should think about it as an investment in future, not as an additional cost,” Benedikt said.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srdjan Verbic said education was about learning, and not obtaining diplomas.
“We need flexible school curricula, different modules and roads which lead through education, in order to show that the same goal might be reached by taking different paths,” Verbic said.
