Activities
EMF participated at UNI ICT Forum
Sector Committee ICT of the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) took part in the annual ICT Forum organised by Union Network International (UNI). The Forum was organised on the topic of "Diversity management in the European ICT sector - Paving the path towards Social Dialogue" and focused on the three areas of age, gender and migration. The conference took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 26-28 September 2007.
The main address was given by Juliet Webster, Work and Equality Research, London and is available here for download.
For more information about the Forum, go here.
European Commission ICT Task Force 2006
An ICT Task Force was launched in 2006 to create a favourable environment for business, growth and jobs in the EU. The European Commission invited representatives from the ICT industry, trade unions, SMEs, chambers of commerce, consumers, investors, and academia to form an ICT Task Force to: identify major obstacles to the ICT sector's competitiveness and the uptake of ICT; help mobilise the sector and draw the attention of Member States to the obstacles identified; and recommend possible policy responses.
The EU ICT Task Force addressed the following topics: ICT uptake; IPR for competitiveness and innovation; innovation in R&D, manufacturing and services; SMEs and entrepreneurship; skills and employability; and achieving a single market. Six working groups were created to analyse these topics and prepare summary topic papers.
The recommendations of the ICT task Force were incorporated in the Thessaloniki Declaration adopted at the European e-skills Conference in 2006.
European e-Skills Forum 2003
The EMF participated in the European e-Skills Forum established by the Commission in 2003. ICT skills are important for employability because the development of e-business is increasing the demand for higher-level conceptual skills. A number of sources confirm a shortage in e-skills. The e-Skills Forum targeted innovative actions and models for higher e-skills in several areas like education and training, as well as industrial and labour policies.
