The Social Policies Area in IILA of the European Union EUROsociAL+ Programme has promoted exchanges between public employment services in Europe and Latin America in coordination with the Uruguayan Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) and the National Employment Directorate (DINAE).
Foto: Vivian Morales
On 23, 25 and 26 March 2021, Public Employment Services held three exchange webinars to generate knowledge and share learning generated in the framework of the pandemic. A total of nine countries (Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, Guatemala, Italy, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay) took part with 175 attendees, who included leaders, officials and technicians from different public institutions.
The EUROsociAL+ Programme has been assisting DINAE to design the Comprehensive Employment Promotion Plan and constructing the Labour Market Prospecting System Since February 2021. The work to design and prepare the Employment Plan is strongly determined by the COVID pandemic that is significantly affecting workers and companies, highlighting gaps, fragilities and social inequalities. The COVID situation has also made it necessary to promote and rethink processes, policies, programmes for the post-crisis that facilitate access to options to contain and mitigate the consequences for the population, especially in the most vulnerable sectors. It is in this general framework that these exchanges were generated.
The cycle was opened by Uruguayan Minister of Labour and Social Security Pablo Mieres, the Director for Latin America with DG INTPA/European Commission, Jorge de la Caballería and the National Director of Employment DINAE/MTSS Daniel Pérez. Employment directors from Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Spain and Germany then gave speeches. In addition to the Uruguayan DINAE/MTSS, the experiences of the National Employment Agency at the National Learning Institute (INA) in Costa Rica were presented during the three seminars, along with those of the Public Employment Service at the Colombian Ministry of Labour, the Argentine Secretariat of Employment in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the German Federal Employment Agency, the Tuscany Regional Employment Agency (ARTE, Italy), Public Employment Services (SEPE) from Spain and the European Union EURES Network. Officials from the Guatemalan Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Dominican Republic Ministries of Labour and Economy participated as special guests.
