Moldova

The European Union cooperates with Moldova in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy and its eastern regional dimension, the Eastern Partnership. The European Training Foundation (ETF) supports the European Commission and the EU's External Action Service, including responding to requests from the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, by providing inputs to the relevant bilateral sub-committees, follow up of the Mobility Partnership and contributing to the annual country reporting on education and training and employment developments.  

The EU’s first regional programme supporting education reforms and skills in the Eastern Partnership region was formally launched in Turin in May 2024. This EUR 2.5 million, three-year (2024–26) programme – to be implemented by the ETF – aims to enhance the efficiency, quality, equity, equality and relevance of education systems in five countries of the region, including Moldova. 

The ETF facilitates a sectoral dialogue on how to use Torino Process recommendations in the context of the overall reform of skills development in the country. It continues to support the Ministry of Education on the National Qualification Framework, and the Ministry of Labour on sector committees, establishing coordination mechanisms to ensure that qualifications are developed in line with labour market needs and structured around occupational profiles developed by the sector committees. Moreover, the ETF facilitates discussions amongst the key stakeholders of the Labour Market Observatory, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Education on incorporating recommendations of labour market studies developed by the Labour Market Observatory and other donors into policy decisions.

Following the request of the Ministry of Education, the ETF has facilitated a revision of the overall VET system using its Multilevel Governance Toolkit to inform operational plan developments for the Education strategy 2020–27.