Skills and Careers without Borders – Third Session: How to promote skills without borders?
17 October 2017 at 11:45 in Conference Room A
In partnership with the European Commission, Cedefop, and the European Training Foundation (ETF)
In the concluding session examining the transnational character of skills and careers, a panel representing education, business, and policymakers, will ask why vocational qualifications are not covered by existing, international agreements on recognition. It will pinpoint the concrete steps that must be taken to address the globalization of skills and careers, and attempt to lay the groundwork for a pilot scheme for international VET mobility.
Presentations
WSCP2017_10_EuropeanCommission_CristinaCofacci.pdf
Speakers
James Calleja (Moderator)
Director, Cedefop
Joachim James Calleja has been involved in vocational training since 2001. Before his appointment as Director of Cedefop in October 2013, he served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Employment (2011-2013) in his native Malta. In 2005 he was entrusted with setting up the Malta Qualifications Council where he served as Chief Executive up to December 2010. Joachim is a graduate of the Universities of Malta, Padua (Italy) and Bradford (UK). In the UK he obtained his PhD from the Department of Peace Studies on a thesis on education and international relations in the context of Kant’s political philosophy. A prolific writer, Joachim has published books and articles and has edited various publications. He is the co-author of the Malta Referencing Report of the Malta Qualifications Framework to the EQF and the QF-EHEA.
Cristina Cofacci
Industrial Relations and Labour Law Manager, Enel
Cristina graduated in Law in Pisa – Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari S. Anna, where she went on to do a post graduate degree in Comparative Law. She is a lawyer and has been Associate Attorney in a legal firm for two years, focusing on labour law issues.She joined Enel in 1996, starting her career as Industrial Relation and Labour Law Specialist. Several different Human Resources Management roles followed until, in 2006 she assumed responsibility for the Group European and International Social Dialogue, managing the negotiation process for the Enel European Works Council. During the past three years, Cristina has negotiated and managed the Enel Global Framework Agreement with the Global Trade Union Federations IndustriAll and Public Services International (PSI).Since 2015 she has also served as a member of the EU Sectoral Social Working Group representing the employers’ associations Assoelettrica and Eurelectric in the relationship with the European Trade Union Federations IndustriAll Europe and European Public Services Union (EPSU). In June she was appointed Chairman of the Social Working Group, on behalf of the Italian employers association Elettricità Futura, for the work programme 2017-2019.She coordinates the Enel school-work Apprenticeship Programme, ruled by a collective agreement, and she is the HR focal point for the Education/Enterprise projects and for Sustainability themes (Pact for Youth at EU and Italian level, Enel Sustainability Report, UN SDG’s). Cristina is also the Enel Group’s point of reference for the European Alliance for Apprenticeship.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-cofacci-b5048518/
Montserrat Gomendio
Head of the OECD Centre for Skills, OECD
Monserrat works with the Director of the OECD to support the Secretary General’s strategic orientations in the area of education and skills. Together their aim is to help countries strengthen employability, social participation and inclusiveness and to build effective and efficient educational institutions to make reform happen. She ensures effective collaboration with other areas at the OECD dealing with common issues. Monserrat was Secretary of State for Education, Vocational Training and Universities at the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, from January 2012 to May 2015. During this period the Spanish Government undertook an education reform. Earlier in her career she enjoyed a productive period in academia. She worked at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) from 1991, where she became a Research Professor. In 1997 she was appointed Director of the Natural History Museum, and from 2003 until 2004 served as Vice-President for Organisation and Institutional Relations of the CSIC. Monserrat, a Spanish national, holds a General Management Program degree from the IESE Business School, a PhD in Behavioural Ecology from the University of Cambridge (U.K.), and a BSc in Biology from the Complutense University of Madrid.
Kenneth King
Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Professor Kenneth King was Director of the Centre of African Studies and Professor of International and Comparative Education at Edinburgh University for many years. He is now Emeritus Professor in its Schools of Education and of Social and Political Studies. His research has focused on the politics and history of international education, aid policy, and skills development, especially in the informal sector. He has also edited NORRAG Newsfor 30 years. Since 2006, he has analysed China’s educational aid to Africa, and published China’s Aid and Soft Power in Africa (2013) In 2016 he began research on India’s development cooperation with Africa, with a focus on skills and human resource development.
Jose Luis Fernandez
International Affairs Director, Tknika
Alongside his role at TKNIKA, Jose is also a member of the Board at the International Network WFCP (World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics) and leads its forum on Applied Research and Innovation. He is also a member of the European executive committee at the international network TA3 (Transatlantic Technology and Training Alliance) and serves as President of CREANOVA (Association of professionals of Creativity.) He has been involved in designing and developing the Project VETIBAC (Vocational Education and Training International Basque Campus). Jose is a regular speaker at International Conferences and he has appeared at events in the USA, Turkey, Canada, China, Qatar, Tunisia, Brussels, Slovenia and United Arab Emirates. He formerly served as Coordinator of TKNIKA UNESCO-UNEVOC centre in the Basque Country and was also previously responsible for mobility projects for students and teachers in the region. Jose has a degree in Anglo-German philology by the University of Deusto in the Basque Country.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josé-luis-fernández-maure-08225117/