The agency gives advice and support on professional education policy, programmes, and practice to governments, social partners, and training providers in countries ranging from Morocco to Kazakhstan and from Belarus to Jordan [link to list below].

[2] The Tempus Programme got off the ground in Poland and Hungary almost immediately, but the launch of the ETF got caught up in the decentralisation process that was underway to bring the EU closer to its citizens.

The geographical scope of the ETF was extended with the Balkan countries that emerged from the disintegrated Yugoslavia, as well as North Africa, the near Middle East and the former Soviet states in central Asia.

Fifteen years of networking activities of the ETF eventually led, in 2010, to the launch of the Torino Process, a biennial reporting exercise through which countries share their progress in training for skills.

The ETF’s annual Green Skills Awards3 were launched in 2021 to provide ideas and inspiration supporting the reform of education and training for a greener future.

Albania Algeria Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Egypt Georgia Israel Jordan Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Libya Moldova Montenegro Morocco North Macedonia Palestine Serbia Syria Tajikistan Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan The ETF also works in sub-Saharan Africa on some very specific activities.

Peter de Rooij (NL, 1994-2004) Muriel Dunbar, (UK, 2004-2009) Madlen Serban, (RO, 2009-2017) Cesare Onestini (IT, 2017-2022) Xavier Matheu (interim) (ES, 2022-2023) Pilvi Torsti (FI, 2023- )