BRIEFING & RECEPTION

EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN A CHANGING WORLD:
SWISS AND U.S. PERSPECTIVES ON SKILLS FOR 21ST CENTURY JOBS

Since assuming office, President Obama has made clear that education, workforce development and job creation are crucial components of his domestic policy agenda. Switzerland is an ideal partner to discuss questions of workforce development and job creation as it has an unemployment rate of only 4.6% (2010) - one of the lowest worldwide and a highly admired dual system of higher education and workforce training. Further on, Switzerland has been labeled most competitive economy 2010 by the World Economic Forum. This success has also a lot to do with the excellent workforce capacities Switzerland has to offer. Therefore the Embassy of Switzerland will organize a high-level briefing on the topic of SWISS AND U.S. PERSPECTIVES ON SKILLS FOR 21ST CENTURY JOBS in Washington, D.C.
Opening remarks will be given by Manuel Sager, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States.
Issues connected with education and training in a changing world will be addressed by:

• Prof. Dr. Stefan Wolter, University of Berne and President of the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training
  
• Martha J. Kanter, Under Secretary for the Department of Education
  
• Robert B. Schwartz, Co-Chair, Education and Society Program and Academic Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education

The event will be moderated by Christoph Ebell, Counselor for Science, Technology and Higher Education at the Embassy of Switzerland.

The briefing will be followed by a reception.

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