Annual conference 2018

The 2018 EAAL annual conference took place on 24 October in Maribor. Around 120 experts from various fields of work attended the event. The conference with the title ‘The EAAL project in 2018 – Cooperation is the key to success‘ was linked to the Annual Adult Education Conference 2018 of the MESS, and the SIAE. Event website: http://pro.acs.si/lp2018.

The conference programme included contributions by two experts of OECD and one of the MESS, who focused on coordinating skills policy in a digital world and presenting the recommendations of the second phase of the Skills Strategy for Slovenia. Various aspects of the development of adult skills at EU and national level were presented.

In the second session Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, the EAAL project manager at the SIAE, underlined the activities of the EAAL project in 2018 in Slovenia. The roundtable discussion of EAAL partners in Slovenia followed. The coordinators of the three 2018 EAAL consultation meetings discussed their findings and recommendations related to the practice and policy at local and national level. The three central themes of the consultation were:

• First EAAL consultation meeting and annual conference of the Association of Educational and Guidance Centres of Slovenia (ZiSSS): »Challenges and opportunities of education for longer labour activity«;
• Second EAAL consultation meeting and annual meeting of the Association of Organisations for Adult Education in Secondary Schools (DOIO): »Adult education in secondary schools – for knowledge tailored to the needs of the labour market«;
• Third EAAL consultation meeting and breakfast with firms organized by SIAE, the Association of Adult Education Centres of Slovenia (ZLUS) and the e-portal mojazaposlitev.si: »Does assessing skills and developing competences lead to greater satisfaction of employees and employers?«

Outreach in the light of the EU Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways – New Opportunities for Adults was presented by Tanja Vilič Klenovšek of the SIAE. At the end of the event the participants were addressed on behalf of the MESS by Katja Dovžak, Head of Higher Education and Adult Education Unit, who focused on the review of projects and other measures in support of the implementation of the UP Recommendation.