The national level tripartite social round tables initiative, which will be piloted in Argentina, also emerged from the recent event held in Lima.
A document has been published featuring the conclusions reached by the Seminar held in Lima on April 1 and 2 regarding devices that integrate training and work as an instrument for promoting improved youth employability at the same time as increasing corporate productivity. The seminar was attended by representatives of employment ministries, national training institutes and business, trade union and civil society organisations from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as international bodies. The event was organised by the Social Policies Department (coordinated by the IILA) of the European Union EUROsociAL+ Programme and the EU-LAC Foundation, in close collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Labour and the Promotion of Employment and with the backing of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Inter-American Centre for the Development of Knowledge in Vocational Training (CINTERFOR-ILO).
The conclusions document presents the main points discussed over the two days by the working groups, in particular the convergence of views on the characteristics that the “apprenticeship” contract, namely the main instrument that combines paid work with training, both in the classroom and in-company – must have and the steps to follow for the implementation of devices of this type within the countries. In addition, these conclusions renew the partnership between EUROsociAL+, the ILO, ILO/CINTERFOR and the EU-LAC Foundation set up to deal with this issue and urges these institutions to continue drawing up a common plan to support the development of apprenticeship strategies in Latin America. Said plan will consider supporting the installation of tripartite social round tables at national, intersectoral or multi-stakeholder level as a primary action within the countries. These initiatives can reflect on the conclusions reached by the seminar held in Lima and agree on a work agenda aimed at facilitating and promoting learning experiences for young people in their respective countries, identify the roles of each player and the specific types of support required to achieve them.
The first-round table will be held in Argentina next July and a similar initiative is currently being studied in Chile. Other interested countries are already planning and defining the implementation of these round tables, which will greatly help towards disseminating this initiative throughout the continent.
