Challenges and perspectives for employment and training
Odile Mear-Harvey
As early as 1987 Recommendation 87/567 of the Commission related to women’s professional training recommended the EU Member States to:
develop awareness and information measures so as to offer women and those around them images of women engaged in non-traditional activities particularly those related to occupations of the future; encourage the participation of girls in higher education…making efforts to steer them towards key areas of new technology.
Subsequently, in accordance with the objectives of the Third Action Programme for Equal Opportunities (1991-95) it was considered essential that women, and young girls in particular, be kept better informed of the most recent economic, structural and technological changes affecting and possibly widening their career choices and job-seeking strategies. Promoting women’s contribution to the vital issue of sustainable development as expressed in the Agenda 21 (post Earth Summit Action Plan, 1992), was also a priority.
In this context a Portuguese EC civil servant, Mrs Margarida Pinto, initiated a study to address an information deficit about new qualifications and new competencies in the field of the environment.
Objectives
This exploratory and qualitative study involved over 600 students and teachers from 34 environmental courses throughout Belgium, France, Germany, Greece
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