The renewal of the Joint Declaration of Intent concerning cooperation between Germany and Italy in the fields of education and professional training, public employment services and active labour market policies was finalised today with the signatures of the Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger and the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Hubertus Heil, on the German side and the Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara and the Minister of Labour and Social Policies Marina Elvira Calderone, on the Italian side.
The signing of the Declaration of Intent constitutes a first fundamental operational follow-up to the Italian-German Action Plan signed on 22 November by the two Heads of Government.
In the current context, with many across-the-board challenges similarly shaping and uniting the two countries' labour markets, such as the decrease in the working-age population and the increasing lack of the skilled labour required to support the digital and green transitions, Italy and Germany have committed to keep promoting and strengthening their collaboration in vocational education and training.
In particular, the two countries will foster the exchange of experiences and good practices in dual training courses, youth inclusion, female empowerment, job mobility and employment services, setting out specific areas of collaboration that will enhance the relationship between the respective Ministries of Education and Labour and Social Policies in a proactive way. The pursuit of the goal of bolstering exchanges and collaboration on public employment centres and on the issues surrounding social inclusion and the labour market, education and vocational training, with a particular focus also on the dual system, should be viewed as a significant contribution by Italy and Germany to the initiatives promoted as part of their joint participation in the European Union, and a way to ensure a tangible implementation of the European Year of Skills.