Quality jobs: how to make them happen?

Date: Wednesday 28 June 2023

Time: 13:00–14:30 Irish / 14:00–15:30 CET / 15:00–16:30 Bulgarian time

The European Commission declared 2023 as the European Year of Skills, stating ‘Helping people get the right skills for quality jobs and helping companies, in particular small and medium enterprises, address skills shortages in the EU is what this year is all about.’

An analysis of data from Eurofound's European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) shows that labour shortages are particularly prevalent in sectors with poor job quality. It finds that the health sector is the most ‘strained’, followed by transport, agriculture, commerce and hospitality.

While an initiative such as the European Year of Skills is welcome, and improving skills can certainly go some way to help to address labour shortages, it is not a silver bullet. To address these challenges effectively, what is needed is a clear grasp of the drivers behind shortages in specific sectors and occupations and the policy context.

This conference, organised by EURACTIV Bulgaria, together with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), with Executive Director Ivailo Kalfin, brought together stakeholders for an in-depth debate on how to make quality jobs happen. Working languages are EN and BG.

Watch the video (in Bulgarian)

Speakers

• Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director of Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

• Antoine Kasel, Head of Cabinet to Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit (online)

• Ivanka Shalapatova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy

• Plamen Dimitrov, President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria

• Maria Mincheva, Vice President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association

• Svetlozar Petrov, CEO at Jobtiger

• Maria Trifonova, Chief Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University, research fellow at the Energy and Climate Programme of the Center for the Study of Democracy (online)

Moderator

• Georgi Gotev, Senior Editor of EURACTIV.com, Publisher of EURACTIV Bulgaria

Links

• Publication: Working conditions in the time of COVID-19: Implications for the future

• Data: European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021 - Data visualisation

• Podcast: Eurofound Talks – Episode 12 – Job quality

• Topic: Job quality