1. Introduction to Europass (brief overview)
Introduction to Europass
The new Europass portal is available at www.europa.eu/europass as a free online tool for presenting skills and planning your learning or career in Europe. The platform is available in 30 European languages and serves toas support people to take the next step in their professional development. The aim of Europass is to help European citizens to identify their skills and competences, present them in a transparent way, and apply for jobs or find suitable learning opportunities throughout Europe. The Europass portal also provides information on the most important issues relating to education and employment, including information on the recognition and equivalence of qualifications, in different European countries. This makes Europass an important tool, not only for those who want to apply for learning and work opportunities, but also for career guidance practitioners, their clients, employers and educational institutions who need reliable tools and information to assess the competences and qualifications of applicants.
Being a pan-European platform, which stores important documents and personal data, Europass places a great emphasis on data protection and user-friendliness. It is important to highlight that Europass is a non-commercial and advertising-free service of the European Commission.
The following section provides an overall understanding of the different tools available on the Europass portal, identifying the purposes for which the Europass portal and its functionality can be used for different target groups.