OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2011. Austria will launch a pilot project on transfer of experience in vocational education in Moldova till late 2011, via the public association "Concordia", at the request of the Economics Ministry.

Austrian Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer made statements to this effect at a today's meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar. The discussions focused mainly on the need to synchronize the Moldovan education system with the labour market, according to the Economics Ministry's communications and media relations service.

"There is a paradox in Moldova. We earmark a rather high quota of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education and we have labour force, nonetheless, the latter is not correlated with the demand on the labour market," Lazar said. He asked for Austria's assistance to take over the experience in the vocational education sector.

For his part, the Austrian official highlighted willingness to provide Moldova with assistance in this field, including by developing a component of minors' vocational training, assisted by the "Concordia" association. "No matter how important the universities are, we need craftsmen as well," Rudolf Hundstorfer said.

Deputy Prime Minister Valeriu Lazar thanked Austria for the support given in the social assistance area, and voiced hope that this cooperation will extend to other fields too. After 20 years of independence, Moldova should develop an efficient economy and be able to finance its social programmes. The government should carry out the reforms necessary for the development of the business environment and promotion of reforms.

Lazar reviewed the government's priorities in the economic and social fields, among which the launch of a comprehensive programme on public property's de-nationalization, programmes in the energy efficiency sector, etc.