The seminar “Lessons learned from the pandemic and reflections for the future: Education as a key factor in employment, reconstruction and economic recovery in Europe” was held in accordance with the scheduled programme on 22-23 March 2024 in Torremolinos, Spain, organised by CEAT (Centro Español para Asuntos de los Trabajadores) in collaboration with EZA and funded by the European Union. The seminar was attended by 62 representatives of workers’ organisations from various European countries.
OPENING SESSION OF THE SEMINAR
The opening session was a presentation by the President of EZA, D. LUC VAN DEN BRANDE, the MEP for Germany, Mr. DENNIS RADTKE, Ms. CINDY FRANSEN, MEP for Belgium, and the President of CEAT, Mr. DAVID CERVERA, who described the challenges we must confront, particularly in the areas of education and work, with a specific focus on the upcoming European elections.
FRAMEWORK PRESENTATION
Dr. ISMAEL SANZ LABRADOR, Vice Chancellor of the King Juan Carlos University, presented the results of the latest PISA report in his talk “Learning from the pandemic to understand the socio-economic reality in an era of change”. The report, which was delayed due to the pandemic, includes some generally poor results, mainly due to the closure of schools during the period of the health crisis. He highlighted the existing inequalities and the fundamental role of education as a building block for society.
OTHER IMPORTANT PRESENTATIONS
Ms. MARTA ENCINAS-MARTIN, Senior Advisor for Global Relations at the OECD, gave a presentation on “Gender, education and digital transformation: an intersection analysis of careers, workforce and digitalisation and the gender gaps”, and described how, although women generally perform better academically in secondary education, they still go on to have careers that are lower paid and very few choose careers in the “STEM” fields. With respect to gender equality issues, she highlighted the importance university-level studies for women, as women who attend university earn 40% more than those who do not.
Mr. JOSÉ LUIS PEREA BLANQUER, General Secretary of the National Federation of Self-Employed Workers Associations (ATA), stated that there are 3,339,845 self-employed workers in Spain, and the numbers of self-employed people have increased by 9.4% in the last 5 years. Andalusia has 572,659 self-employed workers, and self-employment has grown by 21.6% in the last 10 years. A relevant fact is that, in both the national and Andalusian scenarios, growth has been notably predominant in female entrepreneurship compared to male entrepreneurship over the 5 and 10 years respectively, with more women moving into self-employment.
He concluded by stating that it is essential to dignify the figure of the entrepreneur, which has been vilified lately in the public sphere. Education plays a vital role in achieving this aim, in terms of raising awareness in the primary stages and in the university environment of what it means to be an entrepreneur and what the company contributes to society as a creator of employment and social well-being.
INTERNATIONAL PANEL DISCUSSION – “The role of training to confront the challenges of the labour market”
This discussion was moderated by Dr. BENITO CADENAS NOREÑA, Professor of Economics at the King Juan Carlos University, who opened the discussion by highlighting the importance of an education in topics and skills that will help workers to enter the labour market.
Mr. PEDRO ROQUE OLIVEIRA, Deputy of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, started his presentation by describing the changes arising from the pandemic and the opportunities it created. He stated that, while the pandemic had prompted a positive change in the use of new technologies, a gap had opened up in remote education due to a lack of tools, equipment and space in homes and owing to the challenge posed for parents who were under an obligation to help their children.
Mr. DAVID AGIUS, Member of the Parliament of Malta, presented several studies and surveys carried out in his country which highlighted the absence of a clear protocol which hampered communication between teachers and students, and the difficulties experienced by students who lacked access to the basic tools and equipment, had no appropriate spaces in their homes for their studies available to all participants in the seminar; and this was the outcome.
Mr. SILVIU TRAIAN ISPAS, President of the IFES Economic and Social Training Institute of Romania, spoke about the trends, challenges and opportunities after the pandemic, highlighting that immigration, inflation and the banking crisis are having a negative effect on the labour market in his country. On a more positive note, opportunities have emerged relating to new job skills, automation, remote working and green jobs.
Mr. ADRIANO MORENO, Secretary General of the Justice Sector of Andalusia and from the USO union, stated that workers are a company’s most important capital, and companies must take care of their employees and provide training as a key to improving productivity. He emphasised that training must be carried out by companies in all sectors and, more specifically, those in the service sector and construction, where job security and specialisation are currently essential.
OPEN DISCUSSION
All the attendees from the various countries joined in this open debate on the "Challenges and proposals regarding the issues of development and social integration in Europe in the important year of the European elections", and offered six perspectives, opinions and experiences from the participating countries. Participants discussed the different realities in their country focusing on this topic, and the final conclusions highlighted the importance of introducing the correct use of technologies and artificial intelligence in educational systems so that young people are prepared for employment and professions that are undergoing a huge change, some of which no longer exist, but in which technology will be a strong factor. They also emphasised the importance of entrepreneurship as a driving force for European society.
CLOSING ADDRESS
The closing address was made by Mr. PIERGIORGIO SCIACQUA, Co-President of EZA, and Mr. JAVIER MORILLAS, Vice-President of the UETDC. They concluded with a summary of the lessons learned during the seminar and the difficult situation we are currently facing with the European elections, war and conflicts both within and outside European territory. We must therefore stand more united than ever to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
To conclude, the President of CEAT thanked all attendees for their participation and contributions, which will be gathered by CEAT and expressed the good wishes of the CEAT Executive for a safe journey home.