ILO becomes observer member of the Ibero-American Network of Public Employment Services (RISPE)

At the Network's constituent assembly, which was held virtually, the ILO was unanimously approved as an observer member. The network aims to address the challenges in the region, the promotion and creation of quality employment and the fight against unemployment by means of the implementation of active employment policies. Specifically, it promotes cooperation and collaboration between the Public Employment Services of the Member States, fundamentally with regard to employment policy and, in particular, on the management and promotion of programmes to promote employment and the placement of unemployed people, vocational guidance, the improvement of vocational training and on-the-job training in order to have a workforce with better skills for employment, the management of unemployment benefits as protection against unemployment.

The RISPE network initially includes the participation of nine countries: Chile, Portugal, Costa Rica, Cuba, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador and Spain. However, it is open to the participation of any of the 22 countries that make up the Ibero-American Conference. The ILO will contribute to the network with its normative instruments on employment policies as well as its knowledge and technical and human resources in the region.

Since its conception, the network has been promoted by the Government of Spain and with the support of the ILO Office for Spain and the ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Spain will chair the network for a two-year term, with the presidency rotating for two-year periods in order of incorporation into the network.