19. Draws attention to the importance of high-quality early childhood education for the early acquisition of key competences, including a child’s ability to communicate both in his or her mother tongue and in the language of the host country concerned, and in particular for supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special (learning) needs in order to fight against future poverty and social exclusion;

19. Draws attention to the importance of high-quality early childhood education for the early acquisition of key competences, including a child's ability to communicate both in his or her mother tongue and in the language of the host country concerned, and in particular for supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special (learning) needs in order to fight against future poverty and social exclusion;

I welcome your support for many reasons, particularly for improving the quality and accessibility of adult learning, including through better childcare and e-learning, and in particular for groups with special needs, as well as for speeding up the assessment of skills and valuing informal learning, for investing more in general and also for adapting to the needs of women, migrants and the ageing population.

Actions in this area related to the contribution of ICT to learning, particularly for people who could not benefit from conventional education and training, owing to their geographical location, social situation or special needs.

16. Notes with satisfaction that the vast majority of schools in the EU currently have network-connected computers designed for teaching purposes; urges the Member States to ensure that all EU educational establishments have access to sufficient broadband connections for the purposes of e-Learning and to take an active part in eliminating the gender divide that exists in IT educational and training systems from the first years of school; stresses in particular the importance of lifelong learning and re-training in a rapidly developing digital technology environment; considers that education should take account of girls" needs in parti ...[+++]cular and be designed to increase their participation;

So e-learning techniques and applications, as a complement to traditional ways of learning, may be especially important to SMEs in managing the e-business skills requirements of their personnel.