The ILO has addressed the need for lifelong learning throughout working life in Barcelona
On the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the High Level Conference on active labour market policies as a pillar of the European Year of Skills was held on 19 and 20 October in Barcelona to examine training needs in the face of changes in the world of work.
24 October 2023
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MADRID (ILO News) - The event was attended by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, together with representatives of European institutions and other ministers of employment from different member states, representatives of public employment services from different European countries, Spanish and European social partners and experts in the field of training and apprenticeships such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and ILO-CINTERFOR.
The keys to be more effective in terms of apprenticeships, "improving policies and funding, strengthening the skills and competencies needed to cope with the transformations, fostering innovation, promoting flexible learning programmes and inclusive and quality apprenticeship programmes", highlighted the ILO specialist, Ashwani Aggarwal. To do so, the ILO's action plan focuses on adopting international standards, supporting social partners and governments, research and knowledge through a gender-sensitive perspective that promotes just transitions in the face of labour market changes.
The importance of cooperation at regional, national and international level and public-private partnerships to identify training needs and to ensure the success of training programmes and address the problem of the shortage of workers was also highlighted. "We need to look at best practices in other countries and evaluate their results because there is a lack of policy follow-up. Coordination between departments or ministries within countries is essential to ensure that the adaptation of the education system goes hand in hand with the labour market and its demands and can then be implemented at the local level."
The high level of informality means that the debate in these areas is focused on not leaving anyone behind and on solving the existing gap between those who have access to training plans and those who do not, especially people belonging to the most vulnerable groups, as in the case of women and young workers, which is why the ILO is focusing on improving access to upskilling and reskilling for these people, as was pointed out in the aforementioned panel.
As for the green transition, it was also the subject of debate, as it represents a great opportunity for Latin America, where the creation of an appropriate framework for moving towards a more inclusive, sustainable and productive model would lead to increased productivity and where training is also a key factor in promoting the inclusion of women in the world of work.
To this end, state public employment services must help workers to adapt to the new transformations through training and by unlocking the potential of domestic work, women, the disabled, etc.
Lifelong learning
On the part of the ILO, the Skills and lifelong learning department addressed the existing mismatch between the skills and supply-demand of workers, which continues to be a challenge and how adopting and defining strategies with the social partners is key.The keys to be more effective in terms of apprenticeships, "improving policies and funding, strengthening the skills and competencies needed to cope with the transformations, fostering innovation, promoting flexible learning programmes and inclusive and quality apprenticeship programmes", highlighted the ILO specialist, Ashwani Aggarwal. To do so, the ILO's action plan focuses on adopting international standards, supporting social partners and governments, research and knowledge through a gender-sensitive perspective that promotes just transitions in the face of labour market changes.
The importance of cooperation at regional, national and international level and public-private partnerships to identify training needs and to ensure the success of training programmes and address the problem of the shortage of workers was also highlighted. "We need to look at best practices in other countries and evaluate their results because there is a lack of policy follow-up. Coordination between departments or ministries within countries is essential to ensure that the adaptation of the education system goes hand in hand with the labour market and its demands and can then be implemented at the local level."
ILO-CINTERFOR
The event also featured the participation of Anne C. Posthuma, Director of ILO-Cinterfor, in the panel "What Skills and employments are needed in a changing global world?" in which she addressed how the pandemic accelerated the digital and green transitions of the world of work in Ibero-America and especially in Latin America, exposing the pre-existing deficiencies in training in the region.The high level of informality means that the debate in these areas is focused on not leaving anyone behind and on solving the existing gap between those who have access to training plans and those who do not, especially people belonging to the most vulnerable groups, as in the case of women and young workers, which is why the ILO is focusing on improving access to upskilling and reskilling for these people, as was pointed out in the aforementioned panel.
As for the green transition, it was also the subject of debate, as it represents a great opportunity for Latin America, where the creation of an appropriate framework for moving towards a more inclusive, sustainable and productive model would lead to increased productivity and where training is also a key factor in promoting the inclusion of women in the world of work.
Subjective right
During the event, many of the speakers called for the recognition of a real subjective right to lifelong learning for all workers in order to cope with the various transformations in the world of work in which the EU would be the appropriate general framework to do so.Training
Throughout the debate, there was agreement among the participants that training is the key to achieving better quality jobs, improving the productivity and competitiveness of companies and to face the demographic, green and digital transformations in which the world of work is immersed and as a way to solve the existing shortage of workers, especially in the European Union (EU). Moreover, this training must be cross-cutting and be provided in all sectors and in all territories, being a way to improve the situation of people in the most rural areas and an effective tool to attract female talent to more masculinised sectors, and where public-private collaboration is essential.To this end, state public employment services must help workers to adapt to the new transformations through training and by unlocking the potential of domestic work, women, the disabled, etc.