Europass is an initiative that helps people make their skills and qualifications easier to understand. This initiative consists of Portfolio of 5 documents developed at European level with the aim to make qualifications more transparent. Europass also aims to facilitate mobility across Europe and encourage lifelong learning. This initiative provides a chance for individuals to communicate their qualifications, skills and competences more effectively, when looking for a job, enrolling in an education or training programme, or getting experience abroad. It therefore makes it easier for employers to understand the qualifications and competences of job-seekers from other EU Member States. It also helps education, training and guidance practitioners to advise people about the most suitable learning paths and opportunities.
Europass has a number of benefits associated with it, by providing a comprehensive tool for users based on an accessible electronic format. It makes it possible for people with different backgrounds and experience to gain access to employment and learning throughout Europe - supporting mobility between countries and across employment sectors. Europass is a tool supporting employment since employers receive comparable information from different applicants. Employers can therefore better assess the proper value of qualifications and skills. Moreover, it promotes cooperation and possible synergies between education & training and industry with the aim of ensuring relevance of competences and qualifications. Europass is an open system that supports European policy developments related to the transparency of competences and qualifications.
In Malta, Europass is managed by the National Europass Centre which is located within the Malta Qualifications Council /National Commission for Higher Education. In the beginning of December the MQC/NCHE has relocated its premises from Santa Lucia to Casa Leoni in Santa Venera.
In the recent months the Centre has been very active to promote its tools on a national level participating in a number of events jointly organised by its host organisation and other partners. It has also organised two events in December: a seminar to promote the Europass CV & Language Passport and a conference to launch the Europass Mobility tool. It is envisaged that in 2012 more activities will be organised with the aim to further promote Europass and thus provide a better service to citizens in Malta.
For more information you can contact us on tel: (0356) 2754 0051, 2180 1411 or
email address: [email protected]
■ Valerie Attard
Communications Manager
Malta Qualifications Council