Better education and lifelong learning a prerequisite for a better future of young people

From October 8 to October 10, 2020 the city of Zagreb in Croatia hosted a seminar about the „Better education and lifelong learning a prerequisite for a better future of young people“, organized by HKD Napredak (Hrvatsko kulturno društvo Napredak), supported by EZA and by the European Union

Due to the conditions caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the seminar was organized in such a way that those who could have the possibility to be physically present at the seminar were present, and all the other participants participated online. However, even with these difficult conditions the seminar was attended either physically or online, by representatives of workers’ organisations from 8 different countries including the host country.

At the beginning of the seminar Nikola Čiča, President of the HKD Napredak, read the letter from Piergiorgio Sciacqua, Co-President of the EZA.

“Dear friends, the Covid-19 situation prevents me from being at your seminar but I wanted to let you have a message.

The attention your organization pays to these issues is always very careful and punctual and these moments are fundamental to discuss together the role that the social dialogue has in involving the Balkans area. The theme you have chosen is not only current but important to try to give answers. Napredak has always been involved in the training not only of young people but also of adults with permanent paths and this represents a good practice in the Balkans area which it obtains thanks to the promotion of Social Dialogue. Strengthening education and training is certainly the commitment of all of us and this seminar of yours represents an example.

I thank you again and I wish you a good job”.

The participants emphasized in their presentations that the issues of the better education and lifelong learning are among the most important issues and challenges for the future especially in these times of crises. Especially in times of social distancing, education and practical teaching suffer great consequences. Education at primary and secondary schools in 2020 was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the corona virus. As a result, education at all primary and secondary schools in most countries was suspended, somewhere for a longer period, somewhere for a shorter one. School instruction in this period took place as distance learning.

The participants also agreed that education largely determines the future of young people. Those societies with a better education system provide a greater chance, and individuals who have a better education in most cases have greater opportunities in the labour market. It was also pointed out that the Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of:

• employment
• continued education
• apprenticeship
• traineeship

within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. But it was also added that this is often dead writing on paper, this is especially true for non-member countries because they do not even have this commitment.

Everyone agreed that population measures and government policies were something that greatly affects the future of young people and their position in society. It was pointed out that some countries, in addition to the problem of youth unemployment, mostly with a lower level of education, have a problem of lack of certain occupations. This is because young people with better education and occupations that are more in demand - medical staff, engineers, IT occupations, etc. go to more developed countries due to working conditions and salaries.

The representatives of the trade unions expressed concern that this time of crisis could be used by employers to reduce workers' rights, which should certainly be avoided, and that this crisis should be shared in solidarity. This requires constant social dialogue among all stakeholders in this process.

The role of lifelong learning was especially emphasized due to an increasing number of jobs for which there is no formal education. In favour of that claim one of the assumptions is that 65% of the young people today will do jobs that have not been invented yet.

Conclusions

Some of the conclusion were: the key for a better competitiveness of young people in the society and economy is the opportunity for contemporary knowledge and information, along with motivation and training for rational use of these resources in the service of the community and the individual in general. The constant changes in the labour market and in society continuously make new demands on the skills and adaptability of individuals. Participation in adult education and continuing training helps young people participate actively in the labour market throughout their lives. Educational and career pathways are less defined; the need for perpetual learning is the new normal.

In the end, the common stance of all the participants in the seminar was that better education and lifelong learning is the key to success of young people, and without it the future especially in these times of crisis is very uncertain.

All participants have expressed hope that this situation with Covid-19 virus will soon improve and that the next seminars will be "normal" again.