EFE works closely together with Kolping Bildungswerk Württemberg (KBW) in Stuttgart to bring forward the vision of Adolph Kolping: supporting people through education to develop their talents, to acquire professional competences and so to become responsible citizens who engage in societal and environmental issues.
EFE`s goal is to provide better professional chances for young people through educational models that combine theoretical knowledge with a work-based component. The necessity of a close cooperation between the educational system and the labour market needs are well-analysed in the reports of the European Commission, within the priorities of the European Social Fund, in the research studies of, amongst others, McKinsey, Robert Bosch Stiftung and Bertelsmann Stiftung as well as within the OECD Skills Strategy.
Within the Europe 2020 targets of the European Union, increasing the employment rate is among the top priorities. The European Commission recommends for all countries of the European Union with high youth unemployment rates to develop or strengthen educational structures that connect theory and practice. By linking theory to practice, young people get better professional opportunities and the chance to use their talents and skills. At the same time, employers improve their competitiveness, thereby enhancing regional economic development.
Examining the regions with the lowest youth unemployment in Europe, three interlinked circumstances can be found:
a long tradition of a strong local governance promoting community building by civic engagement and engagement of the business community a social market economy system where companies are engaged in vocational education and training, as a living partnership of shared responsibility of the business sector as well as of the society differentiated educational offers linked systematically with real life, especially with the working world

European Foundation for Education
Executive Director
Institute for Sustainable City Development INSE GmbH
Former Mayor of the City of Stuttgart

European Foundation for Education

European Foundation for Education
Phone: +49.(0)711.21743924