PUNTA CANA.- The 46th Meeting of the Technical Commission (RCT) of ILO-CINTERFOR concluded with a further strengthening of the Network of Vocational Training Institutions of the Region and with the mission of promoting the fair, digital transition and carbon-free economies.
With the National Institute of Professional Technical Training (INFOTEP) as the host institution, the Dominican Republic hosted in Punta Cana more than 140 representatives from 45 institutions, from 25 countries, as well as governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations, summoned to this RCT Meeting.
Rafael Santos Badía, director general, and Maira Morla, deputy director general of INFOTEP, respectively, thanked the director general of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, for their participation; to the director of ILO-CINTERFOR, Anne Posthuma, to the minister of labor, Luis Miguel de Camps; and all the representatives of the different vocational training institutions. Also representatives of governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations.
“Without a doubt, the main purpose of the meeting has been fulfilled, which is to join forces for the continuous improvement of the quality of technical-professional training in the countries present,” they explained.
The director of ILO-CINTERFOR, Anne Posthuma, highlighted that the results of the 46th RCT commit that organization to continue supporting all the institutions of the Network of Vocational Training Institutions and the tripartite constituents to face the challenges effectively.
“We will continue to work together to develop innovative training programs, foster regional collaboration and ensure that our training systems are inclusive and equitable,” he highlighted.
Posthuma said that when looking to the future we must remember that the success of these institutions is not only measured in terms of numbers and statistics, but in the transformation of people’s lives and in the positive impact that is generated in communities and societies
The deputy regional director of the ILO for Latin America and the Caribbean, Claudia Coenjaerts, explained that vocational training and, in general, policies aimed at developing skills, are a fertile field for social dialogue.
“In fact, social dialogue must be considered a necessary condition for VET policies that effectively contribute to productive development, social justice and decent work,” he noted.
For Coenjaerts, cooperation is based on generosity. And this RCT has been an example of this. He stated that all institutions and organizations present have invested resources to share their experiences.
In this conclave, the central topics involved green jobs or sustainable economies, as well as the impact of digitalization and its use to prevent inequalities from accentuating.
The implications of the great transitions of these times, in technological, environmental and demographic terms, were addressed. Also inclusion and equal opportunity strategies, anticipation of training demands, certification of skills and institutional innovation and social dialogue in training.
Next venue
At the closing ceremony, the venue for the next Meeting of the ILO-CINTERFOR Technical Commission was announced, which will be held in two years.
Chile was selected to bring together, once again, the technical training institutions of the member countries.
The debates
Representatives of vocational training institutions, employers, workers and labor ministers present at the event agreed on the need to establish inclusive vocational training systems, because all transitions run the risk of accentuating inequalities that already exist.
They also saw it as an important element that institutions and organizations linked to vocational training make sure to accompany technological change, to have control over the process that technologies allow, beyond being simple users.
Likewise, it was proposed that the jobs of the future will require transversal elements of skills, such as critical thinking and creativity, because these types of skills take time to develop.
Another central point of the debate at the 46th Meeting of the ILO-CINTERFOR Technical Commission was the articulation of training institutions with public policies, given that these bodies have a limit in their capacity for action.
In this regard, some experts who participated in the presentations considered that vocational training institutions have to be mainly part of productive development and inclusion policies.
These aspects were analyzed in conferences, panels and discussions, where topics such as collaborative innovation initiatives, Regional Alliance for dual training, Advances in vocational training in the Dominican Republic and Challenges of productive transformation with justice and social inclusion for the vocational training.
In addition, professional training was addressed in inclusion strategies and equal opportunities, institutional and training experiences within the framework of the digital and fair transition towards carbon-free economies.
The 46th Meeting of the Technical Commission was not only an opportunity to discuss relevant topics, but also to strengthen existing cooperation ties and forge new collaborative initiatives between countries and institutions.
This event has been, simultaneously, a space for historical celebration, for taking stock of what has been done and for projection into the future.