Foundation seminar series - Developing workers' skills: actors and actions, 2008
1st session - Developing workers' skills: actors and actions, 23-25 June 2008, Dublin, Ireland
Venue: Raymond-Pierre Bodin Conference Centre,
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions,
Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Dublin 18
Speakers
Marita Aho is a senior adviser in the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) the main employers’ organisation in Finland.
She is responsible for policy analysis and working life co-operation
in the field of university education. She manages the project 'Education
Intelligence' and is in charge of the networking, skills foresight
and educational futures.
As project manager of the Business Strategy Forum of EK, she analyses
the operational environment of Finnish companies. Marita graduated
in marketing,
economics and business law in Turku School of Economics and Business
Administration. [presentation, pdf, 1mb]
Dominique Bé, an economist by training, is deputy head of the unit for the coordination
of the European Social Fund, in the Directorate General for Employment
and Social Affairs of the European Commission. He is the secretary
of the Committee
of the European Social Fund. Prior to his current post, he dealt with
issues related to social dialogue and corporate social responsibility.
He joined the
European Commission in 1985. [abstract, pdf, 12kb] [presentation, pdf, 2mb]
Sanja Crnković is the director of the first independent SME and Entrepreneurship
Policy Think Tank in Croatia which does policy oriented research, the
most prominent being the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. CEPOR participates in EU funded projects in the field of labour market issues
and SME development. It is a voice for small enteprises in Croatia
with considerable influence. Sanja Crnković has been advisor to the
Prime minister in
the first
government following the independence of Croatia. She continues working
in government services as the director general of the Croatian Employment
Service. [abstract, pdf, 54kb] [presentation, pdf, 266kb]
Torsten Dunkel is project manager for education/training and the labour market
in the network for the early identification of skill needs (Skillsnet)
in the Area Research and Policy Analysis at Cedefop. He is an economist
and his research interests cover European forecasting of skill needs
and supply,
the relations between HE, CVET and IVET, credit systems for education,
competence development as well as mobility barriers and knowledge transfer.
[abstract, pdf, 10kb] [presentation, pdf, 153kb]
Helen Hoffmann is an adviser for Social Affairs, Education and Training at UEAPME,
the employers’ organisation and European Social Partner representing
the interests of crafts and SMEs. She works on a wide-range of European
education and social policies and is a member of various committees
at EU level,
such
as the Advisory Committee on Vocational Education and Training. Before
joining UEAPME, she worked on social affairs and education issues at
the British
Embassy, Berlin. [abstract, pdf, 10kb] [presentation, pdf, 605kb]
Kasia Jurczak is a research officer working on the Foundation seminar series, company survey (ESWT) and global comparisons of working conditions in the EU,
USA and Japan. She contributes to work of the European Industrial Relations
Observatory (EIRO) and European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO).
Her main research interests are in the areas of gender and work, youth
employment policies and skills development. Kasia was trained as a
social policy
analyst
at the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Catholic University
of Leuven in Belgium. [abstract, pdf, 15kb] [presentation, pdf, 92kb]
Agnès Parent-Thirion is head of the newly created Monitoring and Surveys unit at Eurofound. She manages
the European Working Conditions Survey and works on
the European Company Survey as well as on the Foundation Observatories.
She
was previously head
of the Working Conditions team of the Foundation. Before joining Eurofound,
Agnès worked with the European Commission for a number of years. [presentation, pdf, 200kb]
Dermot Stokes is the national coordinator of Youthreach for the Irish Department
of Education and Science. He is also a member of the National Children's
Advisory Council and the Children Acts Advisory Board. He has enjoyed
a number of careers during his working life, as a teacher, curriculum
developer and
national programme director. Throughout, the principal focus of his
work has been young people and especially their transition from childhood
to adulthood.
He has a particular interest in educational disadvantage and social
exclusion on which he has written extensively. His doctoral research
explored the matrix
of influences involved in early school leaving. [abstract, pdf, 54kb] [presentation, pdf, 75kb]
Donald Storrie is acting head of the Employment and Competitiveness Unit at Eurofound. Before
joining the European Foundation in 2005, he was Director of the Centre
for European Labour Market Studies at the University
of Gothenburg. He has participated in numerous European research projects
and was for many
years member of the European Employment Observatory. He holds a BSc
in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics. [abstract, pdf, 14kb]
William Thorn is a senior analyst in the Indicators and Analysis Division in
the Education Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development. He joined the OECD in August 2007 to work on the Programme
for
the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Prior to
joining the OECD, William Thorn held a wide range of senior positions
in the Australian
federal Department of Education and Employment. [abstract, pdf, 17kb] [presentation, pdf, 430kb]