The New Skills
The European Commission is in the process of finalising its New Skills agenda. As the EP’s rapporteur on the document Eva Maydell is working to ensure that policies are applicable and relevant across the Union. The agenda’s potential impact cannot be overstated, as it is envisioned to address the Europe-wide disconnect between what students are taught at school and what the labour market requires of them.
Plenty of research shows that half of Bulgarian employers find it difficult to find staff to fill highly-skilled positions. Most noteworthy: 20% of young people are neither in work nor education. Not to mention the myriad of specialist skills we are not even thinking about, that Europe’s dynamic economy of tomorrow will require of the school-children of today. In order to make full use of the opportunities this new, high-tech, globalized world offers, students will need to be flexible, highly computer-literate and cognizant of the business potential new technologies provide.
Education Bulgaria 2030
At the same time, with levels of functional illiteracy of over 40% and a worrying correlation between a child’s socioeconomic and ethnic background and their educational achievement, Bulgaria needs to greatly improve the overall quality of its education. This is why, in 2015, Eva Maydell co-founded Education Bulgaria 2030. This is stakeholder network like no other in Europe. Education Bulgaria 2030 unites some of the country’s biggest private companies, NGOs and prominent public figures. They work together towards a vision of a better, more relevant education provision for young people.
Education Bulgaria 2030 aims to scrutinize and guide the development of the education system. It researches and publicizes opportunities and challenges within it. The network informs and engages the general public to find solutions.
Any type of formal education – in any country and for any age – needs high-quality resources, highly-qualified and inspired teachers. It also requires a robust curriculum and a measure of relevance to the economic and social demands of the times. In order to facilitate that, Eva Maydell is an ambassador for the E-skills for Jobs. The campaign is raising awareness of how important digital skills are for one’s employability.
She also supports EE-HUB, a pan-European entrepreneurship education network of experts, business-people and politicians and Coder Dojo – a global project making coding accessible to young people aged 6 to 16. Finally, she is heavily involved with the annual European Code Week.