Hungary has become the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to host the renowned Euroskills event, the European Championship of Young Professionals.
Mihály Varga, minister for National Economy, opened the Budapest event for 600 of the best qualified young professionals from 28 EU member states who compete against each other in six categories.
The minister said that the fact that Hungary can organize the competition is a major international recognition of the work that the government and the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have done over recent years to develop Hungary’s vocational education system.
“Our main objective in past years was to create a vocation education system capable of providing modern, world-class skills and attractive jobs,” the minister said. He added that this is why the government decided in 2013 to support the event.
Euroskills pulls together the highest calibre of young people to educate them in the importance of learning a skill, getting to know career models and participating in dual vocation education – as well as to engage the highest possible number of enterprises in the development of the system.
The minister said that the event is an opportunity for Hungarian companies to showcase their competence internationally. He added that having highly skilled marketable professionals with knowledge tailored to the needs of the economy was vital for strengthening Hungary’s competitiveness.
He added that the government is working to bolster dual education and increase the number of apprentice jobs at enterprises. “We are aiming to increase the number of places available for apprentices at enterprises by 40 percent until 2020,” he said.
He noted that among EuroSkills sponsors there are Hungarian companies alongside various international large enterprises, which shows the commitment of Hungarians to a modern Hungarian vocational education system.