The world economy is changing rapidly and the competitiveness of the EU economies is in danger of lagging behind in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. A knowledge society and economy in Europe requires its human capital to continuously update its skills and competencies and to foster a mobility-enabling culture in order to remain competitive. In this context, language skills arise as a common priority shared by many EU policies which are based on strategy outlined in the Lisbon Agenda.

Few EU regions or countries have developed a true Linguistic Policy oriented to their economic strategies and business needs, and to the enhancement of the human resources employability and mobility. Current main efforts rather respond to the general provision of language training services, extremely focused on English, forgetting the pre-eminence of other languages. Moreover, the translation of the European Framework of Reference for Languages (ERFL, Council of Europe, 2002) to such Labour Market oriented Linguistic Policies still remains a challenge. Regions who are increasingly prioritising the need of linguistic policies closer to their economic and business needs, face a lack of access to updated and relevant experience and policy recommendations that might guide their efforts.

The LILAMA Network is born with the mission of becoming a mutual learning platform for the exchange and dissemination of guidelines, best practises and policy recommendations contributing to the design and implementation of linguistic policies oriented to labour market needs.

LILAMA…

… will create and implement a methodology for the identification and validation of best practice in this field.

… will allow the exchange of best practice identified, by practical sessions involving field study visits and seminars.

… will produce a Guide of Good Practice, including their transferability analysis to regional contexts.

… will research the transferability of the European Framework of Reference for Languages (EFRL) into such linguistic policies.

… will elaborate an EU model and policy recommendations for the development of such policies taking into consideration the EFRL.

… will disseminate to the widest EU level the Network’s mission and results by traditional and digital means.

… will involve more than 100 Stakeholders (policy-makers with competencies in linguistc policies at the EU level) that will ensure the Network’s sustainability and legitimacy.

LILAMA will have a positive impact on the design and improvement of linguistic policies oriented to the labour market at the EU level, which will ultimately lead to the strategic redirection and increase of the quality on the language training services available at the VET and adult education level, in new innovative ways.

The second LILAMA meeting (Languages for the Labour Market) took place in Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, from September 28th to October 1st 2009.

LILAMA is a network observing best practices of language policy aimed at increasing employability among the citizens of Europe. LILAMA is supported by the European Commission as part of the Leonardo-Grundtvig programmes. LILAMA members are the Servicio Navarro de Empleo (Spain), Iniciativas Innovadoras (Spain), Regional Language Network East (the United Kingdom), the Instituto per la Ricerca Sociale (Italy), the Basilicate region (Italy), the Adult Education Committee of Göteborg (Sweden) and Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV (France). LILAMA has created a method of analysis of these best practices and is to write recommendations of language policy at regional level.