Blog

University of Barcelona, Spain, 28-29 September 2016. The UfM Secretariat will participate on 28-29 September 2016 in Barcelona in the 1st Training Conference of the RESeaU Méditerranéen pour l’Employabilité (RESUME) project which will tackle the issue of reinforcing the adequacy between training and labour market. The RESUME project aims to empowering staff from higher educationRead more

The member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) have defined key measures to address the persisting challenge of unemployment in the Mediterranean region, particularly for young people and women.

The upcoming UfM Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting which will be held in Jordan in September 2016 will bring together the Mediterranean partners and EU Member State Ministers in charge of employment and labour. Moreover, social partners – employers’ and workers’ organisations – will have an opportunity to exchange views with invited Ministers.

The main objective of this meeting is to discuss labour market challenges in the region, take stock of successful initiatives that could be replicated, and agree on concrete actions to be implemented.

The meeting will be also an opportunity to discuss current labour market challenges, with the main objective of bringing youth into employment.

• The YouMatch – Toolbox Project, promoted by Germany’s Development Agency GIZ in coordination with the UfM Secretariat, falls under the UfM Med4Jobs initiative
• The project is centred on the link between labour demand and supply with the key idea to improve employment services for youth
• Commissioned and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), the project is implemented by GIZ in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia

• Youth unemployment in those under 25 years of age is approximately 50% in Spain, where around 22% of young people abandon the school system.
• The aim of Second Chance Schools of Spain (E2O) is to construct a recognised national model through an innovative pedagogical approach addressed at unemployed young people without any qualifications. It is already working successfully in other Mediterranean countries under the UfM-labelled project New Chance Mediterranean Network (MedNC).
• The Spanish Association of Second Chance Schools (E2O), formed in March this year, met today, in its first national meeting, with more than 150 representatives in attendance from national schools, public administration, businesses, private foundations, universities, experts in the education and social sectors, trainers and students and ex-students of Spanish E2Os.

• The Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs) is currently targeting more than 100,000 young beneficiaries and supporting the development of over 800 SMEs from the region.

• More than 20 international high-level experts from international organisations, international financial institutions, European institutions, the private sector, technological centres and industrial clusters met at the UfM headquarters, in Barcelona, to discuss the next steps of the initiative.

• Fostering youth employment is a key priority for the UfM as it is essential for regional human development, stability and integration. Ministers of Employment from the 43 UfM Member States will meet at the 3rd UfM Ministerial Meeting on Employment and Labour on 26 September 2016 in Amman, Jordan.

Med4Jobs is a flagship initiative of the Union for the Mediterranean to help increase the employability of youth and women, close the gap between labour demand and supply, and foster a culture of entrepreneurship and private sector development. Developed by the UfM Secretariat, Med4Jobs is a cross-sector initiative driven by the need for an integratedRead more

• The Employability in the Mediterranean Conference took place on 14 April in Marseille in the presence of the Minister for Professional Training and Employment of Tunisia, Zied Ladhari, and with the attendance of over 120 participants including Young Mediterranean Leaders and representatives of local, national and international institutions as well as representatives from the Mediterranean private sector. Young beneficiaries of the UfM-labelled project New Chance Mediterranean (MedNC) were also present.

• Minister Ladhari said:“There are many synergies between Mediterranean countries on topics concerning unemployment and there are so many interregional actions that can regenerate opportunities for businesses, people, job seekers, states and governments. This is the time to take action for young people and for all of the Mediterranean. We talk about the neighborhood policy but we are more than neighbors. The Mediterranean is a family. We have a shared history and a common destiny. The future cannot be prosperous on only one side of the Mediterranean.”

Digital Economy: Concrete actions for the current challenges in the region 19-20 April 2016, Barcelona The DEWoG (Digital Economy and Internet Access Working Group) had its inaugural meeting last December in Barcelona. The participating countries agreed by consensus on the DEWoG’s Rules of Procedures, the DEWoG’s Work Plan for 2016 and the list of permanentRead more

Brussels, 14 April 2016 For further information please contact the Business Development divison: business@ufmsecretariat.orgRead more