POLICY LEADERS' FORUM - WESTERN BALKANS AND TURKEY - 9-10 October 2013, Salzburg, Austria - eurashe

POLICY LEADERS’
FORUM – WESTERN
BALKANS AND
TURKEY
9-10 October 2013, Salzburg, Austria

POLICY LEADERS’ FORUM – WESTERN BALKANS
AND TURKEY

Public policies for human resources development – reflections and
moving towards a vision and roadmap for highly skilled societies by
2020
9-10 October 2013, Salzburg, Austria

BACKGROUND
2

On 8 May 2013, policy leaders from ministries of education and employment from the Western
Balkans and Turkey attended a Policy Leaders’ Forum (PLF)1 in Turin to share their experience in
reforming vocational education and training (VET) systems to meet labour market skills needs, and
enhance economic competitiveness and social cohesion. On this occasion, ministers and high level
officials from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Kosovo2, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey met with policy leaders from EU institutions and Member
States to discuss the importance of long-term visions and anticipatory multi-level governance for
effective public policy making for human resources development (HRD).

Participants confirmed that skilled citizens are fundamental for the region to realise its full potential. All
countries have put skills for growth high on their agendas and acknowledge the critical role education
and training play in competitiveness, sustainable growth and social inclusion. However, the PLF
revealed that progress is hampered by a combination of weak economic growth, inadequate
employment opportunities and slow rates of job creation, and a mismatch between education and
training outputs and industry skills needs. Even Turkey, which has enjoyed strong economic growth in
recent years, has not been able to generate a sufficient number of jobs to meet the demands of its
growing population.

Moreover, public and private investment in education and training is generally below European levels
despite the need to up-skill the population, as testified by the Bruges monitoring and interim stock-
taking and Torino Process reports in 2012. The last PLF emphasised the need for collaborative inter-
ministerial and multi-stakeholder engagement in the policy cycle for a comprehensive, holistic and
results-oriented approach to HRD at the national and regional levels. To this end, the ministries of
education, labour, and finance as well as social partners and civil society actors will contribute to the
development, implementation and monitoring of a skills vision for 2020 by working together.
Stakeholder ownership will be a pivotal ingredient for success as will financial viability.

In order to continue the dialogue on building a skills vision for 2020 it was agreed to hold a
subsequent Policy Leaders’ Forum on 9-10 October 2013 in Salzburg. This comes at a moment
where the Western Balkans and Turkey are shaping comprehensive long-term policies towards

1
  The PLF was organised by the ETF in conjunction with the Torino Process conference ‘Moving Skills Forward’ with
representatives from governments, experts and practitioners from the 30 ETF partner countries.
2
 This designation is without prejudice to position on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
declaration of independence – hereafter ‘Kosovo’.

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Europe 2020 for results-oriented implementation at both the national and regional levels. The
European Enlargement Agenda and the 2020 Vision for South East Europe provide inspiration for the
countries of the Western Balkans. Support for the entire region to achieve more effective policy
making for HRD and a skills vision for 2020 is provided through the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA
II 2014-20). Moreover, in the case of Turkey, an exercise on a broad vision for 2023 has been
conducted and will contribute to building a vision for skills.

The South East Europe 2020 vision
The South East Europe 2020 vision was adopted in November 2011 by ministers of economy and
headline targets were agreed for integrated, smart, inclusive and sustainable growth in November
2012. This was followed by the development of the SEE 2020 strategy towards convergence and
growth3 targets the region’s economic development and integration with the European Union. It is
inspired by the Europe 2020 Strategy and its benchmarks for measuring progress. The adoption of
the SEE 2020 strategy by governments is planned for November 2013 and will be a cornerstone for
the IPA II strategic framework and the implementation of the country and multi-country country
strategies for the period from 2014 to 2020. The strategy covers the identification of long-term policy
measures at the national and regional levels, how to link them and roles and responsibilities for
efficient policy implementation. It will also define indicators and benchmarks for monitoring yearly
progress towards 2020 and will be reported in the EC annual progress report on Enlargement.

FRAME – Skills for the Future
The FRAME initiative was developed by the ETF in response to the Enlargement strategy and at the
request of the EC Directorate General for Enlargement to support countries in the region with their
human resources development efforts during the period 2014 to 2020. The overall objective is to help
countries develop the skills of their people to support sustainable economic development and social
cohesion in a medium to long-term perspective with particular reference to Europe 2020 and SEE
2020. The initiative is built around four components (foresight; review of institutional arrangements;
monitoring; and regional cooperation), which will, in each country, lead to:

     1. a commonly agreed vision and a roadmap for 2020 skills in a broader HRD context;

     2. a prioritised capacity development plan for institutions in charge of HRD;

     3. a monitoring tool to assess progress in the field; and

     4. regional cooperation for comprehensive long-term and forward looking policy planning and
        implementation, taking into account country specificities.

The foresight component of the FRAME project was piloted in Montenegro and Serbia during the first
half of 2013 and has helped the countries develop a skills vision for 2020 skills with specific priorities
and a roadmap. It will now be followed by a review of institutional arrangements in the autumn,
looking among other issues at types of financing mechanisms in place or planned for comprehensive
policy making. This will be complemented by indicators and benchmarks to measure the progress
achieved. The results will be used as an input to the IPA II strategic framework (2014-20). Initial
discussions with governments on FRAME have started in Albania, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and by the end of 2013 FRAME is expected to
be in full swing in all enlargement countries. A regional meeting primarily for working level/technical

3
  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia are
signatories of the South East Europe (SEE) 2020 regional growth strategy.

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officials involved in the implementation of the project has been organised in Montenegro on 17-18
September 2013 to discuss details of the foresight methodology and its links with the other
components with representatives from leading participating institutions for the implementation of
FRAME in the region. This meeting has facilitated sharing and mutual learning about developments in
the region and the swift implementation of activities.

Objectives of the PLF in Salzburg
The second Policy Leaders’ Forum for the Western Balkans and Turkey will focus on comprehensive,
long-term policy making for human resources development with a view to Europe 2020 and SEE
2020. The PLF in Salzburg will address the efficiency and effectiveness of public policies in
education, training and employment for better results in terms of competitiveness and employment.
The Europe 2020 strategy and the SEE 2020 draft strategy and national policies and strategies under
review and development will be key reference points for discussion.

While the May event in Turin focused only on policy leaders from ministries of education and labour,
the Salzburg PLF in October will also include high level officials from ministries of finance. This will
ensure stronger links between the issues of skills supply, the labour market and the broader economic
context and demand for skills, as well as the national capacity to invest funds in the skills
development.

The meeting will be an opportunity for policy leaders to discuss with their peers how national efforts
have contributed to skills that foster competitiveness, employment and social inclusion by 2020. It will
also provide a forum to link regional and national strategies with the national and external financial
instruments to improve conditions for national and regional economic growth and recovery as
articulated in the Enlargement strategy. More specifically, the Forum will set out to identify:

■   How to enhance cooperation to strengthen human resources development for growth, sustainable
    development and inclusive labour markets;

■   The contribution of the FRAME project and the tools developed to national integrated sectorial
    approaches to education, training and employment for long-term planning in the field of skills for
    growth and social cohesion; and

■   National and EU financial instruments for 2014-20 to support the roadmaps towards national,
    regional and European targets.

Participants
Approximately 50 participants are expected to attend including:

■   Ministers, deputy ministers and high level officials with responsibility for education, training and/or
    employment and finance from the Western Balkans and Turkey;

■   Policy leaders from EU institutions and international organisations;

■   Policy leaders from regional organisations and platforms, such as the RCC, ERISEE and
    SEECEL; and

■   International experts in the field of public policy.

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Location and timing
The Policy Leaders’ Forum will take place at the Salzburg Global Seminar (www.salzburgglobal.org).
“The mission of Salzburg is to challenge present and future leaders to solve issues of global concern.
The Salzburg Global Seminar convenes imaginative thinkers from different cultures and institutions,
organises problem-focused initiatives, supports leadership development, and engages opinion-
makers through active communication networks, all in partnership with leading institutions from
around the world and across different sectors of society”.

The meeting will start on at 18.00 on 9 October and continue from 09.00 to 17.00 on 10 October
2013.

Working languages
English and languages of the participating countries.

Draft Agenda
9 October 2013
15.00 – 18.00   Arrival and registration of participants

18.00 – 18.20   Welcome - Madlen Serban, ETF Director

18.20 – 18.40 Human resources development in the Enlargement agenda: The imperative for
              coherent, long-term and result-oriented policy making - Gerhard Schuman-Hitzler,
              European Commission, DG Enlargement

18.40 – 19.00 Priorities in education and training on the European agenda – Helene Skikos,
              European Commission, DG Education and Culture

19.00 – 20.30   Dinner

20.30 – 21.30 Open discussion on national priorities in the field of Human Resources Development
              and the EU context – moderator Claire Shine, Salzburg Global Seminar

10 October 2013
09.00 – 09.10 Welcome and introduction to the day – Madlen Serban, ETF Director

09.10 – 09.30 The SEE 2020 Strategy: Setting the scene: a call for policy reform to generate growth
              and foster regional cooperation – Goran Svilanovic, Regional Cooperation Council

09.30 – 10.30 Open discussion on how the Europe 2020 and SEE 2020 inform country strategies for
              skills and how country strategies can contribute to regional growth – moderated by
              Gerhard Schuman-Hitzler, European Commission, DG Enlargement

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10.30 – 11.00   Coffee and refreshment break

11.00 – 12.00 Sharing experience and lessons learned from Turkey with foresight 2023 and the
              FRAME foresight pilots in Montenegro and Serbia: Building on inter-ministerial
              cooperation for a common skills vision, priorities and roadmap

12.00 – 13.15 Moderated discussion on building skills for the future in a comprehensive approach to
              policy making and delivery

Short presentation of the tools available for the development of HRD vision to improve national and
regional competitiveness, employment creation and social cohesion (e.g. MTEFs) by Eduarda Castel
Branco, ETF and discussant Menderes Ibra, Ministry of Finance, Kosovo

Questions for discussion:

1.    How can foresight be used as a policy tool for priority setting in identifying key policies to be
      implemented?

2.    How do the Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF) support the integrated approach
      for skills vision policy making, generating and allocating public and private resources to fund
      skills strategies?

13.15 – 14.30   Lunch and group photo

14.30 – 16.00   Achieving the skills vision: the role of monitoring – moderated by Anastasia Fetsi,
                ETF

Short presentation by Thomas Bender (tbc), European Commission, DG Employment on integrated
approaches for monitoring results at the national and regional levels, followed by a moderated
discussion

Questions for discussion:

1.    Monitoring as a tool to encourage and facilitate effective policy making?

2.    What are the links between country monitoring mechanisms and agreed European and regional
      targets?

16.00 – 17.00   Summing up and next steps

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