Diverse talents for the future of Europe

Investment in education and the consequential improvements to educational systems features heavily in the Europe 2020 strategy which sets two targets for education: firstly reducing the number of early school leavers and increasing the role of education in employment and secondly competitiveness by fostering long-term schooling. Among young people, in particular those coming from an immigrant and low socio-economic background, the school drop-out rate is too high, and the likelihood of obtaining a university qualification is too low. Furthermore, the newly enlarged European Union has become increasingly diverse and educational systems are becoming influenced and transformed to deal with this diversity.

Providing the young generation with the skills and qualifications to participate in the labour market is emphasized as a crucial role of the school. In this regard, a major challenge for Europe is to equip the young generations with the necessary skills and competences to succeed in a changing world, and to exploit cultural diversity in a constructive way in the context of globalisation.