CESI-supported European Policy Centre (EPC) study and high-level conference on the future of work

The project, -in which CESI, the World Employment Confederation (WEC) as well as Zurich Insurance were supporting partners,- saw interventions from the new European Commissioner for Jobs Nicolas Schmit, the national employment ministers of Finland (Timo Harakka), Germany (Hubertus Heil) and Norway (Anniken Hauglie) as well as from other high-level speakers including MEP Yana Toom, Member of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee, Heinz Koller, Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and Joost Korte, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission.

CESI was represented by its VET Spokesperson Stefan Nowatschin, who intervened in a panel on ‘Access to training in the 21st century’.

A study that the EPC published in conjunction with the conference takes an in-depth look at how labour is evolving throughout Europe and put forward a set of policy recommendations for the EU, which despite its limited competences, can still be the driving force behind a progressive agenda for the future of work.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “The evidence that the EPC research team found suggests that despite a rapid evolution, how the future of work unfolds is still in human hands, and that with sound decision-making the EU and its Member States can harness the benefits of new technologies, counter the polarisation of labour markets and make sure that no one is left behind. This proactive attitude also reflects CESI’s stated take on the issue, and we call on the European Commission and the Member States to take the new EU legislative term to make labour markets and employment in Europe future-proof – based on the credo ‘All workers count’”.

Further information about the conference is also available on the EPC website. The full study is available for download here.