Jobs, skills and youths in the EU was the first theme discussed at a seminar organised by MEUSAC about Europe 2020 Strategy. This was the first in a series of five to be held over the coming months as part of a project financed by the European Commission.

The project falls under the remit of the Operations of the Joint Communication Plan as agreed by the government, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

It aims to provide information and discuss the Europe 2020 Strategy as agreed upon by all member states with stakeholders and the public.

The first seminar last week focused on the employment targets of Europe 2020 Strategy: member states are committed to having 75 per cent of citizens aged between 20 and 64 working with a stable income.

Four workshops were held during the first seminar about employment and young people, in which the participants drafted concise messages which will be included in a publication to be distributed to the public.

The workshops dealt with improving job quality and working conditions, in particular ‘flexicurity’ and family-friendly measures; skills upgrading in response to labour market needs; undeclared work and precarious jobs; and youth employment and job mobility.

An Employment and Training Corporation official presented the employment targets in view of the Europe 2020 Strategy, while an Agency for Youth representative delivered a detailed overview on youth mobility and employment.

The Europe 2020 Strategy is the EU’s strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth focusing on five main targets, namely work and employment; research development and innovation; climate change and energy; education and poverty and social exclusion.