Final Report

Transcription

1 ESF Transnational Learning Network Kick-off event July 8th - 9th, 2010 Final Report Purpose of the event The ESF Transnational Learning Net@work kick-off event took place in Rome on 8-9 July The general purpose of the meeting was to present the Italian proposal for sharing and redefining the goals, activities and results of the new network with other Member states and to give participants all the necessary information for joining the future activities. The Italian Ministry of Labour and the European Commission introduced the meeting, stressing the importance of sharing information on employment measures adopted by Member States to tackle the current recession. After presenting the present European and Italian labour-market scenarios, experts from ISFOL, Italia Lavoro and the Italian Ministry of Labour mapped out Net@work s macro-area themes (flexicurity, integration tools for active and passive policies, employment services) supported 1

2 by national contributions from Germany, Regione Piemonte and Belgium. For the second day it was proposed to illustrate priority themes and identify sub-themes on the basis of participants areas of interest. The organization of potential Working Groups and their work plan were also presented. Participants ESF Management Authorities, intermediate bodies and organizations - identified by MAs operating at national and regional level took part in the meeting; nine Italian regions (Lazio, Umbria, P.A. Bolzano, P.A. Trento, Emilia-Romagna, Toscana, Veneto, Puglia, Lombardia) were represented as well as Poland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia and Latvia (see attached Participants List ). Event Overview First day The meeting started with greetings from Lucia Scarpitti, Transnational Contact Point for Italy who, bringing greetings also from Matilde Mancini, Ministry of Labour - Director General for Vocational Guidance and Training Policies described the evolution of the Italian proposal to set up a new ESF network for exchanging information and good practices on employment measures created to tackle the current socio-occupational situation. Following the interest several countries have shown in an exchange of national experiences on this topic, the 2

3 Italian Ministry of Labour, with the support of the European Commission - DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities decided to promote a network that would continue to support this dialogue, using the ESF s well-proven Learning Network methods. In particular Lucia Scarpitti stressed the importance of sharing information on using the ESF, since the Member States had already tested its validity in tackling the critical unemployment situation. Paola Bertolissi - European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities then took the floor, confirming the EC s support for the new Transnational Network s themes considered as priorities on the basis of the evolution of the European occupational situation. In particular, the European Commission views active and passive policies as central to the agreements on workers skills, so important for boosting the European economy. The EC is thus certain that the new Network Italy is promoting will foster not only the exchange of information but also contribute to sharing the effectiveness of the ESF s intervention in training and skills upgrading. Francesca Giovani of the Coordination of Regions also stressed the importance of a consultation on active and passive policies. She recalled that the majority of the Italian regions initiatives are ESF financed, undertaken in a particular employment scenario characterized by the low participation of young people and women in the labour world as well as strong north/south and permanent/shorttime job disparities. Francesca Giovani then pointed out the Italian regions great interest in Net@work themes and proposals, adding that the Coordination Office has drafted common guidelines based on local situations. The Italian regions are 3

4 also participants in some already established transnational networks whose outcomes could feature in the new s exchanges. After greetings from the institutions, the thematic session was opened by Lucia Scarpitti who illustrated the objectives, working areas and features of the system Italy is proposing. One of its most important governing bodies is the Steering Group. It will be made up of EU Member States representatives (Managing Authorities or their representatives) who will plan and monitor the s actions and outcomes. Davide Bonagurio Commission, DG Affairs Equal and - European Employment, Social Opportunities - presented an overview of the current European scenario and its labour market prospects based on a work by Kurt Vogler-Ludwig of Economix Research & Consulting. The trend of European rates of employment over recent years were illustrated with particular attention paid to 2009, stressing challenges and future prospects also in view of the Europe 2020 goals. 4

5 The first session then concluded with an analysis of the current Italian employment scenario by ISFOL s Claudia Villante with particular reference to the Net@work themes of integrating active and passive policies and employment services. The three thematic areas of the future European network - flexicurity, integration tools for active and passive policies and employment services - were then illustrated with the presentation of national experiences. Sofia Rosati ISFOL s Employment Policy Analysis and Evaluation Unit introduced the topic of flexicurity as a new employment policy model, describing ISFOL s latest research on the subject. After having presented the fundamental aspects, the Europe 2020 goals were illustrated with reference also to the current states of progress in European countries. 5

6 The introduction completed Harnold with to the a presentation Hemman theme German was by Federal Ministry of Labour of the main tools used in Germany to tackle the current economic and employment situation. Particular attention was paid to flexible work, measures for upskilling workers and short-term benefits. Alessandra Tomai, Italian Ministry of Labour - DG Policies for Guidance and Training, introduced the session on Integration Tools for Active and Passive Policies reporting the Italian experience. The measures initiated by Italy in this area have involved a growing number of workers, managed also thanks to the strong cooperation between public and private training, guidance and employment agencies. This cooperation, together with the training agencies who have had to review and adapt their type of activities, has enabled large numbers of workers to be managed. The presentation of the Italian situation was then concluded by a detailed analysis of the Piedmont Region s experience by Ludovico Albert Regione Piemonte ESF MA on models for integrating active and passive policies and on applications for the special redundancy fund the region had to manage. A description of the type 6

7 of resources and interventions used to implement the Piedmont anti-recession model followed. The third topic Employment Services proposed within the framework of the project s activities was introduced by Pio Carotenuto of the Italian Ministry of Labour - DG Labour Market and by Maurizio Sorcioni of Italia Lavoro Spa. The two papers focused on the measures for combating undeclared work, a topic that the majority of European countries consider vital. In particular, Pio Carotenuto detailed the role of employment services in combating undeclared work, presenting the Italian regional scenario and illustrating the causes, sectors and types of work involved in the trend. He illustrated the actions carried out in Italy to combat undeclared work, dwelling in particular on some experimental projects in the Italian regions involving various employment services. Maurizio Sorcioni then presented the topic by inserting European scenario it in the and current listing the possible approaches to adopt or already adopted by countries to combat the trend. The rates and types of undeclared work vary from country to country according to local situations, also involving 7

8 territories that had hitherto believed they were free of it. Hence the importance of an IT system able to ensure traceability of workers for a better understanding of the dynamics of this trend (e.g. a considerable amount of workers resignations without their corresponding re-entry in the labour market can mean that employers have requested them to resign and then pay them off the book). Sorcioni ended his paper with a parallel analysis of the Italian situation, presenting future prospects and aspects to be studied. Didier Verbeke - Belgian Federal Ministry of Labour concluded the third and last session, pointing out that undeclared work places an obstacle to the achievement of the European Employment Strategy goals. It is essential to encourage consultation among countries for defining effective solutions, hence the importance of Net@work and other initiatives such as the EU-backed ICENUW project for strengthening coordination among countries to combat undeclared work and foster cooperation among employment agencies and services through a series of tools for publishing outcomes. It is to be hoped that a legal EU-level regulatory framework can also be accomplished. 8

9 Second day On the second day, three Working Groups discussed the three themes proposed. The aim was to share the working methods of the system with all the participants, confirming or redefining the thematic areas identified by the Italian ministry. It was proposed to set up three Working Groups within the each responsible for planning, implementing and disseminating the results of the activities. Particularly important was the figure of the Working Group coordinator, who will be responsible not only for the agenda and organization of group meetings, assisting communication among members and reporting to the Steering Group on the group s decisions on activities and aspects to be discussed but, as thematic expert, will support the group s work and draft a series of reports on its activities. For each session, the debate on the topics and types of activities to propose for the new network was prompted by an activity survey to be presented at the first meeting of the Steering Group and a list of themes and sub-themes drafted by Italy and integrated with proposals from participants emerging from a questionnaire compiled before the launch event. 9

10 Listed below are the main considerations emerging from the three sessions and, where possible, the themes and sub-themes chosen for starting up the Working Sessions Report : FLEXICURITY Coordinator Massimiliano Deidda ISFOL Participants: P.A. Trento, Italy Employment Agency Latvia - Ministry of Welfare of the Republik of Latvia - Head of Labour Market Policy Unit Italy Presidency of the Council of Ministries Equal Opportunities Department Italy Italia Lavoro Poland Deputy Director Italy - P.A. Bolzano, ESF MA Department European Commission - DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Regione Veneto, Italy Direzione Lavoro Italy - ARIFL (Agenzia Regionale Istruzione Formazione Lavoro) Technical Assistance to Regione Lombardia ESF ROP Finland - Ministry of Employment and the Economy Germany - Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Division Z EF1, ESF Czech Republic - Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Head of Employment and Public Administration Unit 10

11 ISFOL ESF Transnational Cooperation Support Unit ISFOL Employment Policies Analysis and Evaluation Department The aim of the session was to identify sub-themes and describe the Working Group s organization. The workshop was opened by the coordinator Massimiliano Deidda. After the first round-table contributions, the coordinator illustrated the Working Group s organization, specifying its duration (October 2010 December 2013), activities (exchange and learning events, at least 2 events per year), management (Managing Authorities or intermediate bodies) and estimated human resources ( 1 coordinator and 2 assistants). The Working Group coordinator s tasks were: Planning activities (type of event, period, outputs, etc..) Managing the information flow among WG partners Preparing the agenda and chairing the meetings (2 per year, in conjunction with SG meetings) Actively attending WG events Drafting an interim report on annual WG activities to be shared with Net@work Steering Group Drafting the final report (2013) on WG results in coordination with the other two coordinators Attending Steering Group meetings (2 per year) to report on WG activities and working plan The coordinator then presented ISFOL s proposal for three sub-themes: 11

12 Reduce labour market segmentation Combination security Income security These sub-themes were defined on the basis of the Europe 2020, Integrated Guidelines for the Economic and Employment Policies of the Member States 1 with special reference to Guideline 7: Increasing labour market participation and reducing structural unemployment. The Working Group redefined Combination Security, described in the proposal as the best combination of measures for supporting a work-life balance, in a broader sense to include the combination/integration of active and passive labour market policies. The group agreed that the sub-theme Income Security was still a priority during economic recession. After intensive debate, the Working Group decided to concentrate activities on Flexicurity in a Recession to analyse each Member State s measures for tackling the continuing high rate of unemployment triggered by the 2008 financial recession. A short discussion followed on whether to focus on the recession for the three years of the Agenda, with a possible economic recovery in sight. Since the most effective measures against the occupational crisis were those started up before the recession and since the time lag means it will affect the labour market in the medium-long term, the Working Group considered it was a priority to extend and implement the flexicurity measures proved to be most effective in times of crisis. The Working Group thus decided to organize workshops to collect and analyse the 1 European Commission, Recommendation for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION of on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union Part I of the Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines {COM(2010) 193 final} SEC(2010) 488 final, Brussels,

13 best practices in each Member State. The EC Officer, DG Employment Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, stressed the importance to focus the work on ESF role into the development of recovery measures. The first workshop is scheduled for early next year (February 2011). In any event, the Working Group agreed to a certain flexibility on both thematic and organizational aspects to enable changes if and when necessary. Since the participants did not present any candidate for managing the Working Group for the next three years, ISFOL will coordinate the Flexicurity Working Group until the Net@work Steering Group meeting scheduled for October next. Working Sessions Report : ACTIVE AND PASSIVE POLICY INTEGRATION TOOLS Coordinator: Claudia Villante ISFOL Participants Belgium Francophone Belgium - ESF Agency European Commission D.G. Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Finland Ministry of Employment and Economy Regione Lazio (Italy) ESF Managing Authority Regione Lombardia (Italy) ESF Managing Authority Lithuania Ministry of Social Security and Labour Regione Puglia (Italy) ESF Managing Authority Slovakia Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family 13

14 Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) Employment Agency Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) ESF Managing Authority Regione Veneto (Italy) ESF Managing Authority The theme of active and passive policies has aroused great interest in all participants albeit in the different regulatory and institutional context of the countries represented. Whereas active policies require initiatives and mechanisms common to all EU countries, for passive policies there is a radical difference in terms of target group typologies and intervention methods and duration. This in itself represents an element of particular interest for possible exchanges and consultations within the new network. Hence the priority for a joint glossary to highlight and clarify these differences. The themes chosen during the session as appropriate for further study were (in bold the sub-themes for in-depth study) : - The role of social dialogue in policies for combating the economic recession (Slovakia) - The development of the social economy as a possible way out of the social and economic crisis (Slovakia) - The present and future role of the ESF also in relation to the EU Europe 2020 strategies (Finland) - The role of NGOs and social partnership in the integration of active and passive policies (Lithuania) 14

15 The participating Member States also highlighted the need to further investigate youth unemployment (Puglia and Slovakia), mobility and defining new skills for new jobs (Slovakia) and skills analysis (Belgium). Finally, the need emerged for an analytical approach that takes into account the different governance models used on a European level. On this latter aspect, the Autonomous Province of Trento announced experiments on the reform of social buffers (authorized by the Italian government) that the Working Group intends to monitor over the next few months. Working Sessions Report: EMPLOYMENT SERVICES Coordinator: Mauro Di Giacomo Italia Lavoro Spa, Italy Participants: Italia Lavoro Spa (Italy) ISFOL (Italy) Italy Ministry of Labour and Social Policies DG Labour Market Italy Presidency of the Council of Ministers Equal Opportunities Department European Commission D.G. Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) - Employment Agency Regione Lazio (Italy) - Regional Vocational Training Directorate Autonomous Province of Bolzano (Italy) ESF Managing Authorities 15

16 The Working Group on the role of employment services was held with the Italian participation alone, albeit initially representatives of employment agencies from Catalonia, Poland and the Czech Republic were also expected to attend. During the meeting, all the possible areas of activity for employment services were defined and discussed, and especially: 1 Cooperation with social partners: it was firstly chosen to further study the theme of cooperation between employment services and social partners, in the awareness that in the current period of serious economic recession it is necessary to develop and define all possible cooperation strategies with these partners, sharing responsibilities, analyzing training needs and promoting employability strategies. 2 Strengthening microcredit and business support measures: the focus was on the support of self-employment through forms of microcredit, an area coming under employment service policies aimed at promoting the labour supply and supporting those either seeking a job or inactive or changing their job. It involves typical services such as early identification and intervention, support of employability and lifelong learning, extensive support/self-help strategy balance, career planning/advice/guidance. This working hypothesis means examining practices already underway in the different European countries. 16

17 3 Combating undeclared work: mainly prompted by the Italian experience where combating undeclared work through active policies implemented by the employment services is achieving significant results. The Italian employment services are helping both to analyse their members targets (also aimed at pinpointing possible areas of risk on which to act with targeted policies) and to study incentives for hiring disadvantaged targets exposed to the risk of undeclared work, with the aim of transforming this kind of work into legal employment contracts (Employment Policy Guideline no. 9 on transforming undeclared work into regular work). The Working Group concluded that, since the theme of employment services can be related to the other two Net@work, pillars, i.e. flexicurity and the integration of active and passive policies, the relative European consultation should be organized by creating a sub-group inside one of the other two groups. Plenary Session The initial outcomes of the three working sessions were presented at a plenary session of coordinators who, as can also be seen in the aforesaid reports, stressed the interest of the countries present for the Network s working areas and, in some cases, offered to implement activities. Lucia Scarpitti stated that ISFOL would write up the results of the event in a document to be presented during the Steering Group s first meeting. 17

18 To conclude, Claudia Villante of ISFOL proposed integrating the s activities with a sub-project for monitoring Member States policies and measures for tackling the recession. Next steps At the end of the two days Lucia Scarpitti presented the next actions: 1. Establishment of the Steering Group at its first meeting that will take place in Rome on October 2010 (date to be confirmed). On the basis of ISFOL s start-up document, containing the main aspects and suggestions emerging from the Net@work event about activities, themes and organization, the meeting will confirm the project and map out the Net@work programme. In September, the Italian Ministry of Labour will send all ESF Member States Managing Authorities (MA), with copy to all Transnational Contact Points (TCP) and Net@work event participants, an invitation to the meeting with a final report on the event outcomes. 2. The formal establishment of the Net@work project with the adherence of Member States. After the first Steering Group meeting, the Italian Ministry of Labour will ask those who intend to join to sign a Letter of Commitment for a formal support of the Net@work project. 18