Addressing the employment and labour challenges in the UfM region: 4th UfM Ministerial Meeting on Employment and Labour

1-3 April 2019, Cascais, Portugal. The member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will convene next 1-3 April in Cascais to give a new impulse to the economic integration efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Ministerial Conference will be co-chaired by Marianne Thyssen, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, and Samir Said Murad, Ministry of Labour of Jordan and hosted by José António Vieira da Silva, Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal, in the presence of Nasser Kamel, UfM Secretary General.

In the Euro-Mediterranean region, youth unemployment is twice as high as adult unemployment. If we consider only the Southern Mediterranean shore, young people are even three times more likely than adults to be out of a job.  Women continue to be underrepresented on the labour market due to persisting barriers and a remaining gap between legislative efforts and actual implementation. With the aim to discuss these pressing challenges, the Conference will encompass two side-events, a Ministerial Policy Conference on “Job, skills and opportunities for all” and a Ministerial Meeting:

• UfM side event “The employment of Mediterranean university graduates: Bridging the employability gap between advanced skills and markets” (1 April)
  
  One of the reasons for high levels of youth unemployment in the Mediterranean is the persistent gap between the skills acquired at universities and the specific needs of businesses. Representatives from international universities, innovative research institutes and employers’ associations will discuss how to connect successfully academia and industry. More information about this side-event here.
• UfM Ministerial Policy Conference “Jobs, skills and opportunities for all” (2 April)
  This Ministerial Policy Conference intends to build on the key priorities and political impetus of the 2016 Dead Sea ministerial declaration. It will be an opportunity to exchange further on the most pressing employment and labour challenges in the Mediterranean region and on experiences, best practices and lessons learnt since 2016.
• Side-event on the presentation of a “Charter to promote social dialogue in the Southern Mediterranean: Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco” (2 April)
• Ministerial Meeting (3 April)
  UfM Ministers in charge of employment and labour will address a broad spectrum of issues. These discussions will also contribute to shaping the agenda for the years to come, towards an effective, genuine and inclusive employment policy based on job creation, social dialogue, skills and employability, inclusive labour markets and mobilization of actors and stakeholders in the Mediterranean region.

Agenda of the conference