The economic and social crisis that emerge cyclically, as well as the great transformations that we are currently facing -particularly the digital, climate and demographic transitions- have a clear disruptive and transformative impact on the society and on the labour market, both nationally and internationally. In fact, the globalization of the economy, with mass production (through transnational companies and international supply chains), and the placement of products and services in a global market force us to rethink employment policies at national and European level, to respond to the current and future needs of a company in constant transformation. For a correct diagnosis of business' challenges and for providing appropriate solutions, the different international organizations - such as the EU, the ILO, or the UN - are sure that maintaining the level and quality of employment requires adequate employment policies at institutional level. Such a policy should pay special attention to the synergies between labour supply and demand, to the disappearance and emergence of new jobs and to the training and requalification needs of the current workforce (active or not active depending on whether they are working or unemployed) and the future one (students). At this point, we should not forget the importance of training all the citizens, which facilitates their active aging and participation in the society.
As pointed out, this International Conference is related to highly topical issues. The aim is to provide an adequate response to the enormous number of legal problems that can arise from these major labour and social transitions. For this reason, the organizers of this International Conference invite all the researchers and stakeholders to participate in it in Santiago de Compostela, on April 11th, and 12th 2024.
1. TOPICS OF STUDY:
- Transitions, employment, and global labour market.
- Transitions and vocational education and training (VET) systems.
- Transitions and lifelong learning.
The first thematic track is “Transitions, employment and global labour market”, so the proposals can deal with international issues, such as: the regulation of employment and training in the European Pillar of Social Rights and in its Action Plan of 2021; the European Skills Agenda of 1st July 2020 and the European Year of Skills (from 9th May 2023 to 8th May 2024); the European Vocational Skills Week (annual event); the classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO); the skills shortage in the EU, intra-European mobility and the attraction of talent from third countries (proposal for a new EU Talent Pool, 2023); the recognition of qualifications of third-country nationals (Commission Recommendation 2023/2611, of 15th November 2023); international mobility for learning (Proposal for a Council Recommendation 'Europe on the Move'); EU fund in the field of employment (for example, SE+, NextGenerationEU, Just Transition Fund). Likewise, other topics that are also relevant are UN 2030 Agenda and the impact of transitions on employment, the ILO position on employment and just transitions, and, in short, employment policies in different regions of the world (Latin America, Asia or Africa) or in specific countries.
At national level, it is worth considering the employment policy in Spain (or in other countries): Strategy, planning and governance of this employment policy; the Spanish Employment Agency and employment services; active labour market policies, training and employability; intermediation and placement agencies; priority attention groups for employment and training policy; the gender perspective in employment and training policies; the most affected or benefited productive sectors by technological, climate and demographic transitions; areas in demographic decline and employment in a global market; artificial intelligence and employment; the climate crisis and green jobs; social dialogue, collective bargaining and just transitions, and other similar topics.
The second topic of study is “Transitions and VET systems”, which requires examining aspects such as those listed below. From a national perspective, the reform and integration of Spanish VET systems (the educational and the employment ones) (Organic Law 3/2022 and its regulations); the vocational training system for employment: its funding (training credit), management and coordination between the different public entities (State and regions); the foundations, especially FUNDAE; educational centres and training entities; the new catalogues of the VET system; funding, governance and evaluation of the VET system; the offers of training; dual VET; the certification acquired through non-formal or informal learning; the new role of the company and comparable organizations and their training staff; career guidance systems; the digital gap in VET; VET and disadvantaged groups; VET and new forms of work; training rights in the Employees' Statute (art. 23 Workers Statute, individual training leaves); the training contract (art. 11 WS); good practices in collective bargaining on VET and other similar matters in different countries.
At international level, it is possible to analyse the EU's position on VET as a facilitator of recovery and fair transitions towards digital and green economies (Osnabrück Declaration of 30th November 2020); the role of VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (European Parliament resolution of 17th December 2020 on the Council Recommendation); individual learning accounts and micro-credentials (two Council Recommendations of 16th June 2022); European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (Council Recommendation of 15th March 2018) and the role of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP).
Other topics of interest are the ILO's position on vocational training and retraining of different groups (Convention 140, on paid educational leave, 1974; Convention 142, on human resources development, 1975, and Recommendation 195, 2004; Recommendation 205 on employment and decent work for peace and resilience, 2017) and on quality apprenticeships (Recommendation 208, of 16th June 2023, and the action plan of the ILO Council, of 9th November 2023) or the role of the specialized service CINTERFOR (Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training). Likewise, vocational training policies in different regions or countries of the world are of interest.
The third thematic block is “Transitions and lifelong learning”. Here, for example, the following topics can be addressed: the relationship between employability, inclusion and lifelong learning; the active aging of citizens and lifelong learning; the European Qualification Framework (EQF) (Council Recommendation of 22nd May 2017); the ILO position on decent work and lifelong learning (ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work); UNESCO's Institute for lifelong learning (UIL) role in the culture of lifelong learning; the recognition of the subjective right to lifelong learning and the so-called 'Tripartite Declaration of Barcelona' (signed by European stakeholders, the government of Spain and presidents of the Council and European Commission) of 19th October 2023. Lifelong learning policies can also be addressed in different regions or countries of the world.
In Spain, for example, the Spanish framework of qualifications for lifelong learning (MECU; Royal Decree 272/2022, of 12th April); the experience of lifelong learning in the Basque Country (Law 1/2013, of 10th October, on lifelong learning, and Decree 118/2019, of 23rd July); good practices for lifelong learning; social dialogue and lifelong learning; non-discrimination by age and lifelong learning, as well as other non-formal or informal learning and lifelong learning initiatives, are interesting topics to be studied too.
2. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
-Duarte Abrunhosa e Sousa. Lawyer. CIJ FDUP. Portugal.
-Malgorzata Kurzynoga. University of Lodz. Poland.
-Juan Carlos García Quiñones. University Complutense of Madrid. Spain.
-Mijke Houwerzijl. Tilburg University. Netherlands.
-Giorgio Impellizzieri. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Italy.
-Belén López Martínez. Services Federation of CCOO. Spain.
-Nicole Maggi-Germain. University Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne. France
-Denisa Meirosu. Independent expert. Romania.
-Javier Miranda. DigitalES. Spain.
-Tiago Pimenta Fernandes. University Portucalense. Portugal
-Gaabriel Tavits. Tartu University. Estonia
3. INSTITUTIONAL ORGANISATION:
-University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) España www.usc.es
-Team of researchers and experts of the Project funding by the Spanish Agency of Research “Aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida en una sociedad digital: formación y recualificación para las nuevas profesiones del mercado de trabajo global” (PID2020- 113151RB-100, funded by AEI /10.13039/501100011033), coordinated by Professors Lourdes Mella Méndez and Consuelo Ferreiro Regueiro.
ACADEMIC DIRECTION:
-Lourdes Mella Méndez. Professor of Labour Law and Social Security University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). Principal Researcher (1) of the Research Project. General Coordinator of the International Network CIELO Laboral www.cielolaboral.com
-Consuelo Ferreiro Regueiro. Associate Professor of Labour Law and Social Security University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). Principal Researcher (2) of the Research Project.
ACADEMIC COORDINATION:
-Alicia Villalba Sánchez. Associate Professor. USC.
-Silvia Fernández Martínez. Assistant Professor. USC.
-Lara Munín Sánchez. Assistant Professor. USC.
-Bárbara Torres García. PhD in Law USC and lawyer
ACADEMIC SECRETARY:
-Miriam Pena Suárez, Francisco J. Romero Bustabad, María Otero Canabal
NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:
-Eva Mª Barreira Cerqueiras. Associate Professor. USC. Spain.
-Luis de Castro Mejuto. Associate Professor University of A Coruña. Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia. Spain.
-Juan C. García Quiñones. Associate Professor Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Spain.
-Raquel Mariño Fernández. Associate Professor. USC. Spain.
-Fernando Lousada Arochena. PhD in Law. Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia. Spain.
-Belén López Martínez. Representative of the Services Federation of CCOO.
-Javier Miranda Gil. Representative of the employers' association DigitalES.
-Antonio de Luis Acevedo. Managing Director of the State Foundation for Employment Training (FUNDAE).
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:
-Duarte Abrunhosa e Sousa. Lawyer. PhD and Associate Professor CIJ FDUP. Portugal.
-Malgorzata Kurzynoga. University of Lodz. Poland
-Nicole Maggi-Germain. Professor in Private Law, University Paris I, Panthéon- Sorbonne. France
-Denisa Meirosu. Independent expert. Romania
-Tiago Pimenta Fernandes. PhD and Associate Professor Universidad Portucalense.
Portugal
-Achim Seifert. Professor. University of Jena. Germany
-Gaabriel Tavits. Professor Tartu University. Faculty of Law. Estonia
-Michele Tiraboschi. Professor University of Modena. Scientific Director of ADAPT. Italy
4. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE CONFERENCE
Participation in the Conference may consist of:
-Attendance and intervention in the debates with the speakers.
-Presentation of an original paper as speaker.
Attendees who wish to participate as speakers should submit a paper proposal about some of the topics included in this call, following the given instructions. The approach of the work may be interdisciplinary, for example, legal, economic, sociological or from other relevant disciplines for the purposes and content of the conference.
Interested researchers may submit paper proposals to the Conference organising committee, until 20th March 2024, by filling out the following form.
Once received, the paper proposals will be reviewed by the organising and scientific committee (at the end of each month). The result of the assessment, which will determine the acceptance or rejection of the proposal, will be notified to the authors.
Accepted proposals will be included in the final programme of the conference.
The presentation of the paper in the conference may be, from a formal point of view, in two ways:
A-Lecture: 15 minutes maximum of oral presentation. The author should send, at least a first version of the written paper to the organising committee before the Conference. This paper will be reviewed for publishing.
B-Poster: 5 – 7 minutes maximum of oral presentation. The presentation of the poster will be in PDF and projected in the Conference Room. The PDF should be sent by e-mail in advance to the organising committee. Sending the poster to the conference will not be necessary, as it will not be physically exhibited. In this case, it is not necessary to send the written paper, if the author does not wish to submit the paper for publishing.
Once the proposal is accepted, the speaker should formalise the registration in the Conference according to the instructions provided in the following section. In the case of a paper with two or more co-authors, all the authors that attend the Conference will need to formalise the registration. Otherwise, the proposal will not be included in the final programme. Registration will be performed according to the instructions given.
5. REGISTRATION IN THE CONFERENCE:
Registration in the Conference will be formalised by filling out the following registration form
Payment of the registration fee will be formalised through the following link (an English version is available)
*Instructions to fill out the self-settlement form:
-In the 'Concept' section (in the drop-down menu), select the option “Congresos, xornadas, reunións científicas, etc. --> Empleo, formación y aprendizaje a lo largo…”.
-In the 'Comments' section, indicate, again, the name of the Conference, the name of the person registering, and the type of registration chosen (reduced or ordinary).
*IMPORTANT: To complete the registration, it is necessary to send a copy of the payment receipt from the bank to the email Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
The registration deadline is the 31st March 2024.
- A) Reduced registration: 30 euros. This registration includes:
-Attendance and participation in Conference sessions.
-Conference documentation and materials: folder, pen, paper, booklet.
-Coffee on the 11th and 12th April.
-Certificate of attendance and, if applicable, certificate of active participation as speaker with the title of the paper (the modality of lecture or poster will not be indicated).
- B) Ordinary registration: 120 euros. This registration includes:
-Attendance and participation in Conference sessions.
-Conference documentation and materials: folder, pen, paper, booklet.
-Coffee on the 11th and 12th April.
-Networking lunch on the 11th and 12th April.
-Dinner on the 11th April.
-Certificate of attendance and, if applicable, certificate of active participation as speaker with the title of the paper (the modality of lecture or poster will not be indicated).
- C) Cancellation of registration and refund of the paid fee
The deadline to cancel the registration is 5th April 2024 at 14:00. The refund will be issued after applying a penalty of 10€. After this date and time, the cancellation of registrations will not be possible, and no refunds will be made.
To request a refund, please send an e-mail to the following address: Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. It is necessary to attach the copy of the payment.
6. LANGUAGES OF THE CONFERENCE:
Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, and French.
There will not be translation service of any language during the conference.
The oral or written presentation of the papers in the conference can be given in any of the aforementioned languages.
7. POSIBILITY OF PUBLISHING THE PAPERS:
Once the Conference has ended, a new period will be opened for the review of the papers to be published. From there, the organization and the scientific Committee will select the best papers based on their quality and scientific contribution, which will be published in a volume (paper or e-book) or legal journal, depending on the possibilities.
8. SUMMARY OF DEADLINES:
- Deadline for submission of paper proposal: 20th March 2024
- Deadline for notification of accepted proposals: the first week of each month, regarding proposals sent the previous month, until 25th March 2024
- Deadline for registration in the conference: 31st March 2024
- Deadline for cancellation of registration in the conference: 5th April 2024
- Deadline for sending, at least, a first version of the written paper: 5th April 2024
9. CONTACT:
Contact for specific information regarding registration in the conference, submission of papers and similar issues: Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
For more information, please visit the Conference's website in the following link
