Σύντομες Ειδήσεις

State of development until September 2006

The elaboration of a comprehensive Life Long Learning (LLL) Strategy for Cyprus by December 2006 is one of the prominent measures contained in the National Lisbon Program for Cyprus. The Planning Bureau of the Republic of Cyprus has been assigned the responsibility to coordinate the elaboration of the strategy. The LLL Strategy is foreseen to have a 7-year time span, covering the planning period 2007-2013, in order to coincide with the time span of other important national planning documents.

For the purposes of the elaboration of the strategy a Coordination Committee has been set up which has already appointed a drafting team comprising representatives from the Planning Bureau, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, the Cyprus Productivity Centre and the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus. The drafting team has prepared an overview-structure of the strategy in mid-July 2006, whereas the first draft report of the strategy is expected by the end of September 2006.

Finally, a proposal to the Council of Ministers for establishing a National Lifelong Learning Committee is currently being promoted.

Highlights of main policies, actions and measures

 The attainment of the overarching strategic objective of providing access to LLL for all would entail promoting pertinent actions and measures as follows

• Promoting access of all to education.

• Promoting entry/ re-entry to the labour market.

• Promoting LLL for the employed and to this end providing appropriate support to enterprises, with particular emphasis to SMEs.

• Promoting LLL in the Public Sector.

The attainment of the overarching strategic objective of enhancing LLL infrastructure and systems would entail promoting pertinent actions and measures as follows:

• Enhancing/ upgrading the infrastructure and content of education at all levels from pre-primary school to the tertiary level.

• Enhancing/ upgrading the infrastructure and content of training by supporting training institutions and enterprises and introducing an appropriate quality assurance framework.

• Promoting the gradual introduction of a National Qualifications Framework in conjunction with the gradual introduction of a National Vocational Qualifications System.

Involving key stakeholders in the development process

Cyprus has a long-standing tradition of involving key stakeholders in the formulation process of National Strategies. For the formulation of the LLL Strategy for Cyprus it is envisaged to engage in the development process the Social Partners and other prominent stakeholders. The precise mechanisms of the consultation process will be decided in due course with the consultation process per sec foreseen to commence immediately after the completion of the first draft report of the strategy by the drafting team by the end of September 2006.

Concluding remarks

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus attributes great importance to the elaboration of a LLL Strategy for Cyprus. The LLL Strategy for Cyprus is foreseen to receive the approval of the Council of Ministers by December 2006 and its implementation by all competent ministries is planned to be pursued from January 2007 onwards.