Thessaloniki, Greece – April 8, 2025
The EMPASS Consortium and CEDEFOP meeting took place in Thessaloniki, bringing together European experts, policymakers, education leaders and students from Estonia, Greece and Spain to explore the evolving landscape of Vocational Education and Training (VET), focusing on the future of micro-credentials.
Jürgen Siebel, Executive Director of CEDEFOP, highlighted the importance on enhancing employability skills through micro-credentials, their role to advance the learning journey and to showcase for career purposes. Main focus is given on micro-credentials and social inclusion among disadvantaged learners and workers. “Digital credentialing in Europe and beyond is advancing and recent developments indicate that micro-credentials will have even more core role in years to come”.
Anastasia Pouliou, expert in qualifications and credentials-future VET, presented CEDEFOP’s work on micro-credentials, the importance of transversal skills and competences and key outcomes of the conducted labour market analysis. Anastasia Pouliou underlined the need of exploring the diversity of non-formal micro-credentials; the role and the importance of quality assurance and recognition discussing best practices, implementation challenges, and future policy directions.
Representatives of the EMPASS Consortium presented their work on the educational sector and the impact of the micro-credential at national level. An engaging discussion followed, focusing on key challenges related to the implementation and recognition of micro-credentials.
Joanna Andrzejewska, Head of Programmes at JA Europe, presented the EmPass micro-credential, highlighting its structure, relevance, and potential for scalability. She emphasized the importance of industry co-creation and buy-in to ensure that it brings true value for the learners and prospective employees. The focus of involving all important stakeholders: employers, VET institutions and learners, has been present in the creation of the assessment from the beginning serving as an essential community for its validation and adoption.
This collaborative meeting marks an important step in aligning European education initiatives with the dynamic needs of the labour market, emphasizing youth empowerment, innovation, flexibility, and lifelong learning. EMPASS Consortium recognizes the fundamental role of CEDEFOP in advancing the understanding, implementation and recognition of micro-credentials across members states and sees it as a potential partner in this process.
About the EMPASS project
The EMPASS project is coordinated by JA Europe, the largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial health in Europe. The project, with full title called “Employment Skills Pass, a Quality Standard for Faster Transition from Education to Employment”, is funded by the European Union (EU) under the Erasmus+ Forward Looking Programme, It aims to equip young people with the tools and qualifications necessary to thrive in today’s dynamic job market. It’s core product, the EmPass micro-credential is targeting young professionals and Vocational Education and Training (VET) students with a clear mission to enhance employability and foster career readiness. This innovative programme has been developed through collaboration between leading institutions, educators, and industry experts. The Consortium consists of JA Spain, JA Romania, JA Greece, Zurich Insurance Group, IEDT, IME GSEVEE, IN.E, Ascendia, CEVM, IDS, Manpower Group, Accenture and Worldskills Romania.
About JA Europe
JA Europe is the largest and leading organisation in Europe dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed. For over 100 years, JA Worldwide has delivered hands-on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial health. In the last school year, the JA Europe network in over 40 countries provided nearly 7 million learning experiences for youth in online, in person and blended formats, the organisation provided 95,581 teaching experiences and 86,533 volunteering and mentoring experiences. In 2025, JA Worldwide was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the fourth nomination in four years.
