> 35th Meeting of the Technical Committee of Cinterfor/ILO
> Brasilia, 30 August - 1 September 2001
> FOREWORD
> The Thirty Fifth Meeting of the Cinterfor/ILO Technical Committee, convened by the Director General of the International Labour Office, was held in Brasilia from August 30th to September 1st, 2001, at the invitation of the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It was cosponsored by the Ministry of Labour and
> Employment of Brazil through the Secretariat of Public Policies for Employment. The meeting was attended by 204 participants from 25 countries of the
> Americas and Spain, among them: Ministers of Labour and Education from
> countries within the region or their representatives; directors, officials, and
> members of the governing bodies of vocational training institutions,
> representatives of employers> '> and workers> '> organisations; officials from the ILO
> and from other international organisations; and national and international
> observers. Several national delegations were tripartite.
> As usual in these meetings of the Technical Committee, where top vocational
> training authorities gather, issues of great importance to the participating
> organisations were dealt with. Besides considering matters pertaining to the
> activities carried out in the preceding biennium and establishing lines of action
> for 2001-2002 while assessing the administrative and financial aspects of the
> Centre, the Meeting also analysed major trends and approaches in the field of
> training that attract the attentions of Cinterfor/ILO members. Six sub-regional
> and sectoral groups were formed and issued declarations that are included in
> this Report.
> "> Decent work requires decent training> "> was the theme chosen for the series of
> presentations made during the course of the meeting. Mr. Agustín Muñoz
> Vergara, Director a.i. of the ILO for the Americas, gave the opening speech,
> followed by Mr. Francisco Dornelles, Minister of Labour and Employment of
> Brazil. The event comprised four panels including presentations from
> distinguished experts, who discussed different approaches to the
> aforementioned theme.
> 2
> DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEETING
> The 35th Meeting of the Technical Committee of Cinterfor/ILO was held from
> August 30th to September 1st, 2001 at the invitation of the Government of the
> Federative Republic of Brazil in the conference room of the Hotel Nacional of
> the city of Brasilia. Working sessions were held throughout those three days.
> On Thursday, August 30th, the Meeting was officially opened by Mr. Agustín
> Muñoz Vergara, Director a.i. of the ILO for the Americas and by Mr. Francisco
> Dornelles, Minister of Labour and Employment of Brazil.
> Following the inaugural address, the Panel entitled Decent Work and Vocational
> Training I, was comprised. Panel member were: Ms. Madhuri Supersad, from
> the Ministry of Labour, Human Resource Development and Industrial Relations
> from Trinidad &Tobago; Mr. Javier Ferrer, President of the Foundation for
> Lifelong Training (FORCEM) of Spain; and Mr. José Olivio Miranda Oliveira,
> workers> '> representative at the ILO Governing Body. The moderator of this panel
> was Mr. Agustín Muñoz, Director a.i. of the ILO for the Americas.
> The afternoon period was used to establish the day> '> s agenda, the Board and
> the Report Committee, which were proposed by the Programme, Budget, and
> Administrative Committee and approved by the plenary. The Director of
> Cinterfor/ILO, Mr. Pedro Daniel Weinberg, submitted his report of activities
> carried out in the 1999-2000 biennium. The Programme, Budget, and
> Administrative Committee presented their report, which was drafted the evening
> before and was unanimously approved by the plenary. The sub-regional and
> sectoral groups were then set up.
> In the morning of Friday, August 31st, the groups mentioned above submitted>
> their reports. The programme of activities and budget for 2001-2002 were
> examined, as well as other financial issues and the voluntary contributions
> made by member countries. Still in the morning, the National Vocational
> Training Plan (PLANFOR) of Brazil was presented, followed by a Panel on
> Decent Work and Vocational Training II, comprised of: Mr. Enrique Brú, Director
> of the ILO Area Office and Multidisciplinary Team; Mr. Agustín Ibarra,
> Cinterfor/ILO consultant; and Mr. Oscar Ermida Uriarte, Cinterfor/ILO Vocational
> Training Specialist. The moderator of this session was Mr. Pekka Aro, Director
> of the ILO In Focus Programme on skills, knowledge and employability.
> In the afternoon, the Panel on Decent Work for Youth: Building up the present,
> assuring the future was held. This panel was comprised of: Ms. Ruth Cardoso,
> President of Comunidade Solidária, Brazil; Mr. Pekka Aro, Director of the ILO In
> Focus Programme on skills, knowledge and employability; and Mr. Sergio
> Mindlin, President from the Fundação Telefônica, Brazil. Mr. Oliver Flax,
> Chairman of the National Training Agency of Trinidad Tobago, moderated the
> panel.
> On Saturday, September 1st, the Panel on Health and Safety at Work:
> Vocational Training Challenges was held, with the participation of Mr. Carlos
> Rodríguez, Cinterfor/ILO consultant; Mr. Jaime García Dimotoli, Head of the
> 3
> Center for Health Services of SENA in Bogotá, Colombia; and Ms. Sonia Maria
> Bombardi, Special Advisor for Projects of FUNDACENTRO, Brazil.
> Next, the floor was opened for the participants to discuss different issues and
> afterwards the Report of the Technical Committee was distributed to them.
> OPENING OF THE MEETING
> 1. In the morning of August 30th, 2001, the 35th Meeting of the Technical
> Committee of the Inter-American Research and Documentation Centre on
> Vocational Training (Cinterfor/ILO) was opened. For the purpose of opening the
> meeting, an Inaugural Committee was set up composed of the Minister of
> Labour and Employment of Brazil, Mr. Francisco Dornelles; the Director a.i. of
> the ILO for the Americas, Mr. Agustín Muñoz; the Secretary of Public Policies
> for Employment, Mr. Nassim Mehedff; the Director of the ILO In Focus
> Programme on skills, knowledge and employability, Mr. Pekka Aro; the
> President of the > "> Jorge Duprat Figueiredo> "> on Safety and Labour Medicine
> (FUNDACENTRO), Mr. Humberto Carlos Parro; the Executive Secretary of the
> Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Paulo Jobim; the Representative of the
> Brazilian Co-operation Agency, Mr. Marcos César Naslauski; the Director of
> Cinterfor/ILO, Mr. Pedro Daniel Weinberg; and the Director of the ILO Office in
> Brazil, Mr. Armand Pereira;.
> 2. In his speech, the Director a.i. of ILO for the Americas, Agustín Muñoz,
> conveyed words of gratitude and recognition from the Director-General of the
> ILO, Juan Somavía, and from the Regional Office for the Americas to the
> Brazilian authorities and, very specially, to the Brazilian Minister of Labour and
> to the Brazilian First Lady, Mrs. Ruth Cardoso, for her keen interest and
> ongoing support to institutional issues, and to representatives of Cinterfor/ILO
> member countries from Latin America and Spain, as well as to workers> '> and
> employers representatives and to all those participating in the Meeting.
> 3. He referred to the wide-reaching changes in the political, social and
> economic scenario which the world and Latin America have undergone since
> Cinterfor/ILO was created. Other points that were made include the
> consolidation of the democratic system and the enhanced awareness of
> citizenship issues in the world, and the general recognition of the importance of
> social and labour issues in globalisation processes as crucial elements to fight
> inequality and poverty. Productivity and competitiveness are essential elements>
> to promote development, but they can only last if based on sound living and
> working conditions for all men and women, he said. This conviction led the
> region to advance gradually towards a modern concept of vocational training
> processes which must support the insertion of national economies in a world
> which is more liberalised and competitive, but also increasingly solidarityoriented.
> According to the speaker, this process poses four major challenges:
> *> promoting the development of domestic vocational training systems that
> involve all social actors and are capable of meeting actual market
> requirements;
> 4
> *> addressing institutional changes experienced by vocational training
> organisations to ensure efficiency, strict financial control mechanisms,
> and progress toward decentralisation;
> *> the increasing involvement of civil society as a whole through bipartite or
> tripartite management arrangements in vocational training;
> *> developing steps to labour competencies and their accreditation within
> corporations and society at large as a means of linking individual and
> collective aspects while promoting a clear notion of the need to ensure
> permanent and continued vocational training.
> 4. He underscored the role played by Cinterfor/ILO in these processes and
> how it relied on the support provided by affiliated organisations and various ILO
> units. Among the most important results of these contributions, include:
> *> efforts creatively applied in defining a working program that
> incorporates and mobilises its resources in an effective, innovative,
> and progressive program based on sound scientific criteria;
> *> links and contacts with domestic and international organisations and
> with academic circles;
> *> dissemination of knowledge through different publications;
> *> enhanced use of the Internet as a teaching and dissemination tool.
> 5. The speaker highlighted the importance of the integration and
> complementation achieved between Cinterfor/ILO and the ILO, which allowed
> them to develop a single institutional position and to focus on a single objective.
> This co-ordination with the ILO can be felt not only in the increasing financial
> support currently available to Cinterfor/ILO, but also in the positive exchange of
> technical experiences between them and in their joint actions and events. Such
> co-operation is demonstrated by the fact that the Meeting was attended by
> Directors and specialists of the Regional Office, Area Offices, the Brasilia
> Office, the Turin Centre, and of IFP/Skills, among other officials.
> 6. Mr. Muñoz repeatedly referred to the relationship between decent work and
> vocational training. In a scenario where consolidating democracy requires a
> radical commitment to promote social justice, the value of the proposal
> presented by the ILO Director General for decent work resides both in its
> innovative political contents and in the fact that it sets forth actions aimed at
> integration. He said that at a moment when essential rights tend to be ignored,
> this proposal was designed to engage political, union, corporate and academic
> groups and civil society at large in actions to reaffirm democratic values and
> equity in labor relations. The decent work proposal was designed to eliminate
> inequalities and enhance respect for basic rights promoted by the ILO. It also
> raises the challenge for increasing the amount of decent work on a global scale,
> so that economic growth and development be combined with the political and
> social objective of promoting social justice and equity. He said > "> vocational
> training has a major role to play in society because, as pointed out in the
> Cinterfor/ILO document, it constitutes a fundamental human right and creates
> favorable conditions for making decent work feasible> "> .
> 5
> 7. The presentation closed by praising the commitment assumed by all>
> organizations attending the meeting and emphasized the efforts being made by
> Cinterfor/ILO. He assured all participants that the ILO would use all its might to
> support them in their efforts to promote social justice.
> 8. In his presentation, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr.
> Francisco Dornelles, expressed his satisfaction for taking part in the 35th
> Meeting of the Cinterfor/ILO Technical Committee and recognised the work
> being carried out by the ILO - and specifically by the Centre - in order for all
> workers to be able to obtain the necessary knowledge to access labour
> markets.
> 9. Furthermore, he said that vocational training is consistent with the decent
> work concept and that it is instrumental in pursuing its objectives. > "> We all know
> that job creation is a requirement for economic growth and stability,> "> he
> affirmed. > "> However, this is not enough,> "> he added. It is also necessary to ensure
> decent working conditions, which stands as an even more daunting task for
> Governments, workers and employers.
> 10. Regarding the efforts being made by Brazil in the field of vocational
> training, he said that within the framework of the National Vocational Training
> Plan (PLANFOR), which is being conducted and managed on a tripartite basis
> and financed by resources from the Workers> '> Support Fund (FAT), over one
> billion dollars have been invested and more than 14 million workers have been
> trained in recent years. Linked to other policies of the Federal Government and
> established as a set of programs designed to generate jobs and income, the
> employment policy of the Brazilian Government is largely characterised by
> decentralisation and participation. In this regard, it is not the Ministry of Labour
> and Employment or the Secretariat of Public Policies for Employment that
> establish paths to be followed, but rather the tripartite Municipal and State-Level
> Employment Committees, which define the supply of vocational training
> opportunities required to meet local needs. This decentralisation can be felt not
> only in geographic terms, but also in the participation of union and employers> '>
> organisations in the definition and implementation of public programmes. As a
> result of this strategy, opportunities can be afforded to corporations and unions
> on an equal basis, he said. The main target of the Government is to provide
> vocational training opportunities to at least 12% of the economically active
> population, approximately 16 million workers, by 2002. For this purpose, the
> efforts being made by the Government must be complemented by actions of the
> "> S System,> "> of Technical Schools, Universities, Union Organisations and other
> civil society organisations through effective social dialogue.
> 11. He closed his presentation saying that he expected to be able to discuss
> the experience of his country during the meeting and to learn from the
> experience of other countries which, much like Brazil, are devising means to
> promote decent work and professional training as a right of all workers and a
> basis for awareness of citizenship rights and obligations.
> PANEL ON DECENT WORK AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING I
> This panel was chaired by Mr. Agustín Muñoz, Director a.i. of ILO for the
> Americas.
> 6
> 12. In her presentation, the representative of the Ministry of Labour, Human
> Resources Development, and Industrial Relations of Trinidad & Tobago,
> Ms. Madhuri Supersad, stressed that vocational training is a crucial
> mechanism to promote and consolidate the decent work concept. After clearly
> describing the decent work concept and its components, she addressed the role
> of the State within the current economic and social scenario. In this regard, she
> highlighted the role of the State in developing skills and competencies, in taking
> steps to compensate the lack of skills resulting from subcontracting, and in>
> ensuring equal access to vocational training, among other responsibilities.
> Likewise, she stressed several aspects that vocational training efforts should
> focus on as well as the responsibility, importance, interest, and role of
> employers in promoting vocational training opportunities.
> In closing, she explained the policies developed by Trinidad & Tobago in
> relation to decent work. These policies include the ratification of fundamental
> agreements with the ILO, institutionalisation of social dialogue on vocational
> training, as well as the need to take into special consideration the difficulties
> faced by underprivileged groups in accessing decent work.
> 13. Javier Ferrer, President of the Continuous Training Foundation
> (FORCEM), of Spain and representative of the Spanish Federation of
> Business Organisations (CEOE), expressed his gratitude for the opportunity
> to express the opinions of Spanish employers on this important issue.
> He said the term > "> Dignified work> "> , as it is known in Spanish, seems more
> appropriate than > "> Decent Work> "> . This is the sixth definition in the Dictionary of
> the Royal Spanish Academy. In any case, what decent work refers to is work
> that is in sufficient quantity and quality, he affirmed. Peoples> '> work should not
> need labels or adjectives that make direct reference to human dignity.
> Ultimately, there is no work that is not dignified in and of itself, since work is a
> human activity, an extension of human beings. What does exist are undignified
> working conditions, which we must undoubtedly make great efforts to
> overcome. Indeed, vocational training plays an essential role. In the opinion of
> Spanish employers, the role of vocational training with regard to decent work is
> unquestionably important, which is why we need to move from words to actions
> in the formulation vocational training policies. Furthermore, the elimination of
> undignified working conditions entails investments both in general basic
> education and in vocational training.
> 14. On the other hand, he insisted that vocational training is a meeting ground
> for workers and employers that is especially appropriate for social dialogue, as
> well as for the role it can play in reducing the informal economy, and in
> softening the pressure that migration exerts on the most developed nations.
> He closed by reinforcing the need to turn discourse into concrete actions, based
> on the belief that the best medicine for undignified working conditions is
> vocational training.
> 15. José Olivio Miranda Oliveira, workers> '> representative at the ILO
> Governing Body, from Brazil, began his presentation by highlighting the quality
> and usefulness of the Cinterfor/ILO Reference Document on Training for Decent
> 7
> Work, while also underlining that, regardless of semantic discussions
> surrounding the expression > "> decent work> "> , the basic impetus of ensuring
> worker> '> s rights and decent working conditions must be preserved. He added
> that this is a driving force that beckons us to place social objectives at centre
> stage so as to overcome neo-liberalism, a notion he expressed by saying that
> we are straying from the > "> Washington Consensus> "> to a sort of > "> Washington
> Dissent> "> .
> 16. He also insisted in not being satisfied with merely devising a precise
> definition for decent work; rather, he believes that we must take actions aimed
> achieving the target of decent work in practical terms.
> 17. In addition we must realise that vocational training and social dialogue in
> Latin America unfortunately are objectives that are yet to be fulfilled, target that
> must still be pursued. This was in keeping with the focus of the speech
> delivered by the Director General of this year> '> s International Labour
> Conference, who underscored the need to increase the amount of decent work
> while pondering what could be done in his country.>
> 18. Making special reference to the increase of unions> '> autonomy while also
> enhancing the participation of social actors in vocational training, he proposed
> that a wide-reaching tripartite discussion be initiated immediately.
> 19. Following this last presentation, the chairman of the panel handed the floor
> over to the members of the plenary to make remarks.
> 20. One member underlined the need to breed competitiveness and
> employability through modern and efficient vocational training, pointing out that
> in his country, Brazil, the Constitution includes a definition of decent work, which
> lays the groundwork for decent living. Other remarks pointed out that the
> relationship between vocational training and Decent Work is seen differently by
> workers and employers, which reinforces the need to foster social dialogue.
> 21. Additionally, in accordance with several ILO instruments, some members
> criticised at the same time notion of employability as an obligation or
> responsibility held by workers, while also defending a tripartite management of
> public funds aimed at vocational training,.
> 22. Finally, the representatives set forth a series of imperatives surrounding the
> relationship between vocational training and decent work, such as: extending
> basic education, formulating specific policies for people with different capacities,
> levelling out the knowledge base of those who have lagged behind in school,
> while ensuring that the work centres contain training programmes, including
> safety and health in the work place. Additional imperatives include
> environmental protection in training programmes, knowledge on labour rights in
> such programmes, as well as the fact that vocational training is essential for
> employability and for good governance.
> INITIAL PROCEEDINGS
> 8
> 23. Mr. Pedro Daniel Weinberg, Director of Cinterfor/ILO, announced the
> presence of 25 representatives from vocational training institutions, Ministries of
> Labour and Education and employers> '> and workers> '> organisations appointed by
> the ILO Governing Body, which attested to the fact that the Meeting was highly
> representative and that the quorum needed had been established.
> He also announced that according to the agenda agreed upon on the previous
> day, the Board and the Report Committee, which would be in charge of drafting
> the Final Report of the Meeting, could be elected. Next, he presented a
> proposal for designating both committees submitted by the Programme, Budget
> and Administration Committee, which suggested that Mr. Nassim Mehedff,
> Secretary of Public Policies for Employment of the Ministry of Labour and
> Employment of Brazil should be the Chairperson of the Meeting. The suggested
> vice-chairpersons were Donald Foster, Programming Director of HEART/NTA of
> Jamaica, and Arlette Valdez, Director-General of INFOTEP of the Dominican
> Republic. For the Report Committee, the names proposed were those of Clifford
> Marica, Minister of Labour of Suriname, Fanny Arón, President of the
> Vocational and Technical Training Council (CETP/UTU) of Uruguay, and Jorge
> Gallardo, Assistant Manager of INTECAP of Guatemala. These nominations
> were unanimously approved.
> REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF CINTERFOR/ILO ON THE ACTIVITIES
> CARRIED OUT DURING THE 1999-2000 PERIOD
> 24. Mr. Nassim Mehedff accepted the Presidency and expressed his gratitude
> on his own behalf and of on behalf of his country for the honour of presiding
> over a forum with such a strong tradition of holding deeply rooted discussions
> on the paths of vocational training in the Americas. He reminded the
> participants about the responsibilities they hold in making decisions on how to
> reduce the social debt that their countries have with their peoples, who are
> always excluded from social and economic development processes.
> 25. After setting up the Board Committee, the Director of Cinterfor/ILO>
> presented the Report and expressed his joy for the warm welcome extended to
> him, which could be seen by the large number of officials and countries
> represented, many of which with tripartite delegations. Also expressed special
> thanks to the Labour Ministry as host, for holding the event in Brasilia - a city
> that is a heritage to South Americans and also one of the most outstanding
> endeavours undertaken by a politician in the 20th Century- as well as being the
> cradle of institutionalised vocational training. Mr. Weinberg expressed his
> satisfaction at having representatives from English-speaking Caribbean
> Countries and Suriname as well as colleagues from the ILO, representatives
> from the Regional Office and Headquarters, which is run by highly qualified
> staff, which makes the Centre> '> s staff easier.
> 26. The Director said he was proud that the Centre had managed to find a
> place for itself, develop an identity that fits the organisations> '> needs, which in
> and of itself justifies the existence of Cinterfor/ILO, as does the presence and
> commitment made by the organisations. Throughout the last few years, the
> 9
> Centre has been strengthened as a necessary institution in the continent,
> changing to the times, to new players, and to their needs, while also maintaining
> a firm path within its historical commitment to training assumed by the first
> Director and reaffirmed by those who followed him. The Director of
> Cinterfor/ILO paid homage to this legacy through Mr. Mauricio Carvalho and
> João Carlos Alexim, who were present, and who duly passed this legacy down
> to him. Indeed, after delineating this passed trajectory, he stated that the true
> power and vitality of the Centre rests in the deep commitment as well as the
> financial and human resources that countries provide to the Montevideo Centre,
> which administers this continental effort for enhancing training. In recent years,
> Cinterfor/ILO has tried to pinpoint and get ahead of problems, following up
> organisations within the ILO training and employment programme, thus joining
> efforts with members of the different departments and Multidisciplinary Teams.
> This Centre has been seen as a catalyst of the ILO efforts aimed at meeting the
> needs of Latin American and Caribbean countries and Spain. The Centre
> mobilizes international resources but above all its member organisations seek
> to promote co-operation and efforts that defend joint interests.
> 28. He then, gave a brief summary of the activities performed, which are fully
> contained in the Activities Report, with three main themes:
> *> Performance of the biennial work plan, which focused on five subject
> areas:
> institutional strengthening in training, following up efforts made by institutions
> to develop quality control systems, while also fostering the emergence of new
> players as well as the development of national training structures and tools for
> enabling this process;
> fostering social dialogue in training, developing important activities with
> workers> '> and employers> '> organisations considering that social dialogue will only
> prosper if there are strong and deeply committed social actors;
> youth training and employment, continuing youth programmes identifying
> best practices and relevant aspects thus, it was possible to increase and
> systematise accumulated knowledge and make it available as widely as
> possible. Aid and technical co-operation for online activities were also
> strengthened, which is reflected in the importance and impact achieved by the
> web site in this field.
> supporting the design and implementation of training policies that
> incorporate gender issues. This has been possible thanks to the support of the
> IDB, through the regional program FORMUJER that Cinterfor/ILO co-ordinates
> and supervises technically, and is executed by the Ministry of Labour,>
> Employment and Human Resources Training of Argentina, Fundación
> INFOCAL of Bolivia and INA of Costa Rica;
> development of the labour skills approach, which has been done through the
> ILO Regional Office that supported the consultancy that enabled agencies to
> receive technical assistance from the Centre. The report contains details on the
> extensive activity that was carried out.
> 28. Lastly, although this is not a subject area in itself, the Centre has provided
> important services to its host country and has been funded by the Uruguayan
> 10
> Government. It has been constantly present within CETP/UTU, which has
> enabled the publication of one of the most important teaching aids for training
> institutions, a Training Manual for Directors of Training Centres developed by
> CETP/UTU and generously disseminated throughout the region. The Centre
> has also worked jointly with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the
> Employment Board in three projects and is now implementing an equal
> opportunity programme for women.
> *> The modalities developed by Cinterfor/ILO. The Centre has undertaken
> the same types of activities as usual, such as events, technical meetings,
> seminars, regional and sub regional workshops, while also invested heavily in
> both printed materials and desktop publishing. As an example of published
> material, the Director of Cinterfor/ILO stated that a book is published every 18 to
> 20 days which, besides being an activity in itself, this endeavour has raised
> additional revenues in the order of US$70,000 from book sales alone. This was
> possible due to the support of some institutions that have purchased entire
> collections for distribution, which stands as yet another incentive for this task.
> Lastly, the Centre has truly enhanced its web page, which went from 2,287
> users in 1998 to over 62,000 in 2001, and from 1,981 pages in 1999 to over
> 9,500 currently.
> *> The consented and joint way in which the Centre> '> s activities were
> performed together with member institutions and the ILO. The latter has
> put all its structure to support training and labour activities. Cinterfor/ILO
> supports the ILO In Focus Programme on skills, knowledge and employability,
> as well as the Regional Office, the Area Offices and Multidisciplinary Teams
> and the International Training Centre in Turin in all activities for which it is
> called. It has built partnerships with universities and academic circles in the
> region to bring research and higher education studies closer to the
> consolidation and modernisation of vocational training processes. It has also
> been careful not to duplicate efforts with the IDB, UNDP, ECLAC, and other
> bilateral agencies such as GTZ, the Organisation of Ibero-American States, the
> World Youth Organisation in order to accomplish the tasks established at the
> 34th Meeting held in Montevideo, two years ago.
> 29. Next, the Director of Cinterfor/ILO rendered account on the Centre> '> s
> financial and administrative situation, highlighting that the financial situation is
> good and that there are no major risks or concerns with regards to the
> accomplishment of the work plan. The funding has come from the ILO biennial
> budget, the Uruguayan annual contribution and the voluntary contributions of
> the countries of the region, as well as other forms of funding: the ILO
> Headquarters contributed over US$250,000 aimed at technical co-operation
> and practical activities, and the Regional Office contributed over US$ 300,000,
> which were allocated to accomplishing the work plan and updating the Centre> '> s
> equipment. Mr. Weinberg also mentioned that the enormous effort made by the
> member organisations enabled the Centre to receive most of the late fees and
> very few countries are still outstanding, therefore he has committed to doing
> everything in his power to recover the fees that are still outstanding.>
> 11
> 30. Finally, the speaker expressed that the programme may be executed and
> that institutional requests may be met if essential factors are present: the ILO
> contributions; when housing, logistics and transport costs are covered by the
> host institution; attempts at fundraising within national and international
> organisations and above all, a commitment with vocational training institutions,
> Ministries of Labour and Education, employers> '> and workers> '> organisations in
> the region, without whom this work could not be performed, not even if the
> funds were available.
> 31. Then, the Chairman of the Meeting submitted the Director> '> s Report for
> analysis and discussion by the plenary.
> 32. A representative from works union of Brazil not only acknowledged the
> major efforts made by the Centre in training union leaders, but also the
> exchange of experiences -specially with countries outside of Mercosur- and the
> increase of technical training.
> 33. A representative from Colombia set forth the major actions to be
> undertaken and strengthened by Cinterfor/ILO: supporting the modernisation of
> training institutions; extending the analysis of impacts made by information
> technology on employment and training; establishing links with the business
> sector so that programmes are designed jointly by workers and business
> people; support to teacher> '> s training and competence-based training. He also
> requested support for imparting entrepreneurial attitudes upon participants in
> the training process.
> 34. Another workers unions representative from Brazil, stated the difficulties
> that trade unionists face in having to use the Spanish language and also asked
> for easier access to Cinterfor/ILO published materials in Brazil.
> 35. A representative from Spain, suggested as one line of work, setting up
> structure of online activities so as to take a qualitative leap by using the website
> to catalyse exchanges and analyses of common fields of interest.
> 36. Lastly, an observer asked about the possibility of extending Cinterfor/ILO
> services to NGOs, and the representative from CGT of Brazil requested that the
> promotion of sound use of energy, water and limited natural resources be
> included into Cinterfor/ILO fields of interest.
> 37. The Director answered the suggestions, promising to include, in the work
> agenda, the development of online activities, which had already been
> mentioned in the draft version, as well as the issue of sound natural resource
> use and the intensification of the lines of work pointed out by the representative
> from SENA and the incorporation of the impact of new technologies. With
> regard to the technical training requested for social actors, he guaranteed that
> these efforts will be follow through although he also mentioned the lack of
> human resources. He also announced the inclusion of a line of work, with the
> support of the Regional Office, aimed at systematising and disseminating the
> entrepreneurial training actions, an issue, which is still pending in the Centre> '> s
> work agenda to this day. With regard to the language problem, he
> 12
> acknowledged that this is one of the Centre> '> s major concerns because it is not
> only a matter of publishing books, but also ensuring that they make it into the
> hands of their users. It is actually more expensive to translate and distribute -
> given the high transport costs - then it is to publish and pay authors> '> fees. In
> any case, he promised to make great attempts at extending publishing in
> English so as to meet the needs of countries in the Caribbean and improve
> shipping capabilities, especially through the web page. Finally, with regard to
> paying greater attention to NGO, he said that these requests must be made
> through member institutions or trade unions or commercial associations,
> because this is how the Centre generally functions.>
> MEETING OF THE PROGRAMME, BUDGET, AND ADMINISTRATIVE
> COMMITTEE
> 38. The Vice-President of the Meeting, Ms. Arlette Valdez, from the Dominican
> Republic, read the report from the Meeting of the Programme, Budget, and
> Administrative Committee drafted the evening before, and which, following
> consideration by the plenary, was unanimously approved. (The complete
> document of this report is in Annex I).
> MEETINGS OF THE SECTORAL AND SUB-REGIONAL GROUPS
> 39. The last part of the session held on Thursday, the 30th, dealt with the subregional
> and sectoral group meetings. The following groups were set up:
> -Southern Cone: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
> -Andean Countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela
> -Mexico, Central America, Panama and the Caribbean: Costa Rica, Cuba, El
> Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican
> Republic.
> -English-speaking Caribbean and Suriname: Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica,
> Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Belize.
> - Representation from workers> '> groups.
> - Representation from employers> '> groups.
> On the morning of Friday, the 31st , the group reports were submitted.
> ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME FOR 2001-2002 PERIOD
> 40. Mr. Fernando Vargas, Cinterfor/ILO consultant, submitted the Work Plan for
> the next two-year period, which is included in the Report presented to the
> meeting, and then submitted to the plenary. Thus, the Fourth Item of the
> Agenda was introduced.
> 41. One representative from the Central America Isthmus Group and the
> Caribbean expressed that the plan was in accordance with his opinions and
> expectations and requested that Cinterfor/ILO continue to make available to
> member organisations the greatest amount of information and materials
> 13
> possible through the Internet. Thus, he wishes that the support promised during
> the 34th Meeting of the Technical Committee for the dissemination and
> exchange of experiences between countries in the sub-region be continued. A
> representative from Mexico proposed that in order to increase the dissemination
> of published material, agreements would have to be made with employers and
> workers> '> organisations so that they can serve as sale venues in the countries or
> sub-regions. The workers> '> group also expressed its satisfaction and agreement
> with the Work Plan since it meets most of its needs.
> 42. Following these remarks, the Plan was fully approved, with the
> recommendation of incorporating the suggestions made to the greatest possible
> extent.
> ANALYSIS OF THE 2001-2002 BUDGET AND OTHER FINANCIAL
> MATTERS
> 43. The sixth point on the agenda, the issue of the voluntary contributions
> made by member countries, was raised by the Director of Cinterfor/ILO. He
> outlined the most common resources of funding and the supplementary funds
> stemming from the ILO, from the In Focus Programme on skills, knowledge and
> employability. He underscored the need to intensify punctual payment of
> voluntary contributions by member countries so as to enable the fulfilment of the
> ambitious and demanding Work Plan that was approved. Then plenary thus
> approved the Budget for 2001-2002 included in the Report; then consideration
> of fifth item of the Agenda was finished.
> LECTURE
> "> THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NATIONAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING PLAN OF
> BRAZIL (PLANFOR)> ">
> 44. Mr. Nassim Mehedff, Secretary of Public Policies for Employment,
> from the Ministry of Labour and Employment of Brazil stated that
> PLANFOR was conceived as a way of putting into practice all of these ideas
> and notions surrounding the decent work agenda within the ILO. So in
> response to a need of the Brazilian society to rely on specific programmes that
> foster the integration of workers, as part and parcel of employment and wage
> policies of the country.
> 45. This cannot be done for isolation from other actors and initiatives that play>
> a role in the Brazilian reality, but rather it must be carried forth as a means of
> integrating the capacities and resources available in society. This goal is met
> through a tripartite and equally divided management of the Worker> '> s Support
> Fund (FAT), funded by PLANFOR, and founded in 1990 as a fund for gathering
> contributions from public and private companies, from workers and from the
> Federal Government to fund employment and wage policies. For instance, he
> mentioned that vocational training stands as an essential element for improving
> skills within workers> '> populations.
> 46. He also underscored that those who decide on training actions are national,
> state, and municipal tripartite councils. Governments do not make decisions
> 14
> alone; rather, public policies are discussed and managed with the participation
> of the civil society, employers and workers, so governments do not directly
> execute training.
> 47. The Plan is mainly geared towards the most needy populations, which are
> hard pressed to obtain qualification, and do not have access to traditional forms
> of vocational training, as well as to workers in the informal sector. In this regard,
> it is not a matter of doing away with the informal sector, but rather of eliminating
> precarious and undignified working conditions, be they formal or informal. Freelance
> work through cooperatives, associations, or other organizations should be
> as dignified as formal and traditional jobs.
> 48. He stated those employers> '> participation safeguards traditional vocational
> training initiatives such as SENAI, SENAC, SENAR, and SENAT. At the same
> time, however, the new system also encompasses union organisations, which
> so far have not had the opportunity to participate. With regard to one of the lines
> of action presented by Cinterfor/ILO in its Activities Report that aims to support
> processes of modernisation of vocational training institutions, he stated that
> they should mainly be strengthen as conscious and effective executors of public
> policies, without however losing their private nature. Thus, he indicated that
> PLANFOR had long term vision for vocational training from both economic and
> social standpoints, which reinforces even further the need to adopt tripartite
> management as an essential tool.
> 49. PLANFOR is an absolutely decentralised mechanism, he stated. The
> Labour Secretariat from each State will sign agreements and hire the executing
> bodies, based on the recommendations of the CODEFAT (Steering Committee
> of the Workers> '> Support Fund). Thus, vocational training can be rendered more
> democratic so that it is not merely at the service of the most privileged sectors
> of society. In the past, vocational training in Brazil was totally forgotten by the
> underprivileged, by rural populations.
> 50. In order to illustrate the features and achievements of PLANFOR, a video
> was shown on this issue. Then, final remarks he made his final remarks by
> adding that vocational training constitutes only one of the lines of action within
> PLANFOR, which is co-ordinated with other agencies, such as job placement
> and credit access programmes.
> PANEL: DECENT WORK AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING II
> 51. The panel was chaired by Mr. Pekka Aro, Director of the ILO In Focus
> Programme on skills, knowledge and employability. Before giving the floor to
> the panelists, the moderator made some comments on the progress of
> deliberations up to the current moment and spoke about the In Focus
> programme he chairs.
> 52. He proceeded to describe the goals of the ILO> '> s In Focus programmes and
> gave special attention to the conclusions of the 2000 ILO International Labour
> Conference. One of these conclusions includes the petition for ILO to create a
> 15
> database on current investments in vocational training and to suggest a number
> of references on the investments in that field, classified wherever possible by>
> region, size of business and sector.
> 53. As to the In Focus programme he directs, he emphasized the close
> relationship he has with Cinterfor/ILO. The approach used by ILO is to maintain
> the action of the organisation as a whole while incorporating the efforts of the
> different workshops and services. He stated that this will generate more
> benefits for the countries in the region.
> Following those comments, the chairman introduced each of the panelists.
> 54. Mr. Oscar Ermida Uriarte, Cinterfor/ILO Expert began with his paper
> based on the Reference Document No 1 that Cinterfor/ILO prepared for the
> meeting, titled > "> Vocational Training for Decent Work> "> .
> 55. In the introduction, he included a thought or two on the concept of decent
> work and on the potential for training in this sense. He stressed particularly the
> idea of dualism to be found in vocational training; on one hand this is a basic
> human right of workers and on the other, it is an economic instrument of
> employability, productivity and competitiveness.
> 56. This rare quality displayed by vocational training, where we have a
> confluence of otherwise conflicting interests, makes it an ideal environment for
> dialogue and an excellent launch pad for decent work.
> 57. Indeed, decent work could not exist without vocational training. This is a
> basic requirement for access to work with dignity, it is one of the conditions that
> decent work must satisfy. Finally, decent work is also a good environment for
> training, since nowadays it is no longer conceivable for a job not to include an
> appropriate environment and stimuli for continuous training, competence
> updating and vocational re-qualification.
> 58. After that he went over the contributions that vocational training makes to
> the strategic goals of the ILO, components of the greater central goal of
> diminishing the deficit of decent work: the fostering of respect for labour rights,
> the generation of quality jobs, the development of social protection and
> strengthening of the social actors. At this point the speaker underlined some
> initiatives that the different organisations qualified to offer vocational training
> have been working on. This train of thought led him to the conclusion that the
> region> '> s vocational training social actors have already been carrying out some
> actions that guide their training towards the reduction of the deficit of decent
> work and to highlight the fact that training is a point of convergence of the
> commonly conflicting interests of employers, workers and governments and of
> the activities and policies of the different vocational training organisations. The
> exploitation of this relative advantage will be crucial to the pursuit of decent
> work through vocational training.
> 59. Mr. Agustín Ibarra Almada, Consultant for Cinterfor/ILO, began his
> presentation by mentioning the existence of past experience on the goals of
> 16
> vocational training, and said that the association of vocational training with the
> concept of decent work is evident. He then illustrated this statement using the
> example of the goal that seeks vocational training that will enable workers to
> obtain a productive, remunerative and humanly satisfactory job, established in a
> Cinterfor/ILO document several years ago.
> 60. He highlighted the dialectic relationship between vocational training and
> decent work, which overlap in such concepts as job incentives, social protection
> and social dialogue. Training provides a meeting point and an opportunity for
> dialogue between the social actors.
> 61. Organisations today depend more on the ability to generate and gather
> knowledge, both in terms of learning and of abstract ideas, than on material
> resources, size or raw materials. In the knowledge society the trainee is not just
> the individual, but rather the whole organisation. This link between the>
> individual and the organisation helps to create equality, individual development,
> productivity and well-being. With these concepts we may observe a widening of
> the horizon of training, which tends towards wide-reaching lifelong training with
> an emphasis on learning to learn.
> 62. He then went on to discuss the traditional conceptual dichotomy between
> training for work and training at work, general education and technological
> education, traditional education and permanent education, academic
> accreditation and competence certification, formal education and non-formal
> education. This drift towards polarisation is now being overcome; the idea now
> is to foster integration and to join the efforts of different actors in order to create
> a common environment.
> 63. We now have a new profile of a productive employer and the paradigm of
> vocational training is oriented towards demand, diversification, decentralisation,
> flexibility and so forth.
> 64. He finished by pointing out that the transformation of training may generate
> an > "> educational capital> "> that will help develop individuals> '> competence and the
> creation of what he termed an > "> educational spiral> "> that would unite labour
> experience, the acknowledgement of learning and the development of
> competence.
> 65. Mr. Enrique Brú, Director of the San José Area Office and
> Multidisciplinary Team, stated that the goal of his participation would be to
> analyse the relationship between decent work and vocational training and the
> indicators which may be found to measure the concept of decent work.
> 66. He went on to point out the fact that the positive effects of globalisation are
> distributed unequally, both among nations and within nations. Mechanisms to
> diminish such differences are necessary. Globalisation brings with it both a rise
> in job outsourcing and an increase in informal jobs - both of which lead to an
> even greater insecurity than that which we have experienced in former time
> periods. This forces them to deal with the problem of quality and quantity of
> labour positions.
> 17
> 67. A definition may thus be established of decent work as any productive
> occupation that is remunerated fairly, and that is exercised under the conditions
> of freedom, equity and security. The latter subject bears relation to health and
> hygiene at work but also involves an economic aspect having to do with the
> assurance of security in different jobs coupled to the concept of productivity.
> 68. In order to associate decent work with vocational training it will be
> necessary to integrate training into the group of other forms and levels of
> education, including primary and adult education. At any rate, the different
> issues surrounding decent work point to the need for increasing productivity and
> competitiveness. Unfortunately, productivity has oftentimes been sought by
> reducing labour costs, so this concept must be reassessed.
> 69. In summary, he added, more and better training is required, and it must be
> carried out in an integrated manner, with a long-term view on the part of the
> employers regarding investment in training.
> 70. This speaker also discussed the operationalisation of the concept of decent
> work, which entails designing indicators with which to measure the levels of
> decent work in order to reduce its deficit. This measurement must be
> performed in each country so as to create a quantitative basis for each nation to
> evaluate structural progress made in the sphere of decent work.
> 71. He then presented some of the indicators, which are still experimental, that
> can be utilised to measure decent work. Indicators mentioned include such
> issues as levels of full-time employment, the volume of the informal sector,
> levels of remuneration, respect for labour rights, the incidence of workplace
> accidents on lost work hours, social protection coverage, director positions held>
> by women and so forth. Other indicators, used to correlate decent work with
> vocational training, have been tested for labour insertion for those who have
> participated in the program. Usually such indicators for these parameters
> reflect employability, and the effective response to demand and equity.
> PANEL: DECENT WORK FOR YOUTH: BUILDING OUR PRESENT DAY,
> GUARANTEEING OUR FUTURE.
> 72. This panel was chaired by Mr. Oliver Flax, Chairman of the Trinidad and
> Tobago National Training Agency. He prefaced the session by placing
> technical training in its historical context in Trinidad and Tobago, making special
> reference to the role played by the oil and energy industries in providing
> technical training for that industry. The current role and achievements of the
> NTA were mentioned in the context of current challenges in the Caribbean, not
> so much for decent work - thanks to the effectiveness of the region> '> s Trade
> Union movement- but to the need for support for the region> '> s Government in
> their drive for more work, especially for young people.
> 73. Mr. Pekka Aro, Director of the ILO In Focus Programme on skills,
> knowledge and employability, first of all showed his concern over the
> 18
> unemployment situation currently affecting youth. ILO data show that there are
> an estimated sixty-six million unemployed youth in the world, representing 41%
> of all unemployed people. Under these conditions, he stated, education and
> vocational training are necessary, not only as a way of reducing unemployment,
> but also as a tool for social and economic development. Specifically regarding
> the access by youth to job markets, and how appropriate vocational training
> may contribute to their adaptation to the rapid changes taking place in the world
> of work, as well as the reduction of gender discrimination and to the reduction
> or eradication of the so-called > "> digital gap> "> .
> 74. This speaker finished his presentation with an allusion to the Youth
> Employment Network, established by the UN Secretary-General, in a joint effort
> with the World Bank and ILO. Among the recommendations that these
> organisations have made to the Network, some stand out, such as the one on
> employability, which proposes that countries should revise their educational
> systems and vocational training, as well as their labour policies, in a manner
> that will make it easier for youth to find a place in the work markets, particularly
> those who are more vulnerable to unemployment for reasons of race, religion,
> disability or gender. More precisely, those recommendations are aimed at
> acknowledging the central role played by educational goals, at making primary
> education available to everyone, at guaranteeing universal access to vocational
> training as a basic right and at supporting decent work, among others.
> 75. Mr. Sergio Mindlin, President of the Brazilian Fundación Telefónica,
> began by informing that both the Group and the Foundation are currently
> seeking solutions for the problems faced by youth, to the point that they are
> participating in the High-Level Network constituted by the United Nations, the
> World Bank and the ILO. He explained that the Telephone Foundation operates
> in the same countries that the company does. It is actually a number of national
> foundations that work together with the companies that belong to the Group.
> The Foundation> '> s main mission is doublefold: first, with the community, it
> improves the quality of life of the underprivileged; second, with the businesses,
> it seeks to help them fulfill their social responsibilities. The basic strategy
> consists of trying to bring together business skills and social projects,
> supporting the projects> '> management in order to increase their efficiency. He
> added that the most of the foundation> '> s actions are aimed at children and youth.
> 76. Referring specifically to Brazil, he pointed out that the Foundation has>
> decided to work with the mediation of the Children> '> s Rights Councils, which
> were created in 1990 and comprised of representatives of public power,
> business and civil society organisations. These councils are responsible for
> formulating the policies for assistance to children in the states. The Telephone
> Foundation has been working along three lines of work: financing initiatives for
> the good use of and incorporation of information and communications
> technology into social projects; supporting projects that deal with the problem of
> juvenile delinquents, with aims at helping them to gain access to the work
> market; and training the members of the Children> '> s Rights Councils.
> 77. With regard to youth and decent work, he stated that decent work for
> youths respects the condition of their being young, such as the condition of
> 19
> being in the process of growing up, with all the potential that this implies and
> also with all the limitations; second, decent work for youths means that it
> respects legal principles such as those established in the Children> '> s and
> Adolescents> '> Statute, and in international covenants. He ended his speech with
> information on the educational and labour situation of Brazilian youth,
> highlighting the need for inclusion policies in a context of shared responsibility
> between the public powers, businesses and society.
> 78. Ms. Ruth Cardoso, President of the Comunidade Solidária do Brasil
> (Brazilian Solidarity Community), expressed her satisfaction at being able to
> share experiences and knowledge in this forum on a subject that is so
> significant for all of the region> '> s countries, the labour situation of the youth. The
> problem of employment is very important, not only because overall
> unemployment levels rise, but also because this leads to a string deterrent to
> their social integration. She added that aggregated statistics reveal very
> diverse situations between countries and between regions of one country, and
> this is especially significant and determining in a country the size of Brazil, with
> such diversity as Brazil displays. Therefore, she considers it is extremely
> important to view this issue through a prism of disaggregated, in-depth analyses
> that will make it possible to know and unveil these situations in order to be able
> to face them with specific measures and methodologies that are appropriate
> under the current conditions. Mrs. Cardoso> '> s thesis is that in general a more
> disaggregated point of view is needed and that one of the greatest challenges is
> to take advantage of the experience and contributions of international
> organisations, such as ILO, to guide local and regional adaptations and
> improvements.
> 79. The first consideration has to do with the necessary link between juvenile
> unemployment and the crisis of the production system. Juvenile unemployment
> is a function of overall unemployment but possesses its own dimensions. To
> acknowledge this does not mean that it must be accepted as an irreversible
> phenomenon nor that specific policies and interventions are not necessary, but
> it does require a realistic stance and the identification of effective opportunities
> for the access of youths to the markets.
> 80. A second analysis attracts our attention to the demographic fluxes that
> strongly influence the labour market. Brazil, for instance, is now at the end of a
> period that was called > "> onda jovem> "> (young way of being), which means that the
> young component of the population is decreasing on the whole, but this is not
> uniform nor does it apply to all regions. On the contrary; there are periods in
> which the proportions between age groups change in a way that makes lots of
> jobs available to this group.
> 81. In this context, the most complex and important issues are those of training
> adequateness, conception and contents of vocational training. This is a>
> problem that deserves our attention and that requires our ability to innovate -
> we must understand what employability means today. Citizens must be
> capable of analysing things today, and must know the value of the choices
> available, in order to be able to choose responsibly. They must be able to face
> new types of problems with a clear vision of how to blend in with their
> 20
> environment and be active. Social policies must be aimed at eliminating
> exclusion and creating conditions for individuals to become active participants.
> This will not eliminate poverty, but it will be the first step in combating exclusion.
> It will require > '> 1 changing our ideas about what training means. Our
> current model comes from the process of industrialization, and thus professional
> improvement was conceived as a form of specialisation. Now, however, what is
> required is to train people so that they will have skills and abilities that will not
> limit their creativity - people who are flexible and motivated, and this is basic if
> we want to offer employability.
> 82. According to this speaker, such an effort cannot be restricted to the
> responsibility of public policy-makers but must also include the civil society
> organisations. Thus, the innovative model of alliances between the state and
> society is the most effective form of intervention currently available to us. Such
> an association is effective because it brings into play the experience and
> knowledge of the business sector and makes possible a cost-benefit analysis,
> so that quality is maintained in a cost-efficient manner.
> 83. Mrs. Cardoso shared her experiences about the Comunidad Solidária,
> which she considers to be a positive example for the model under discussion.
> Considering the issue of youth employment as an urgent problem that requires
> different types of solutions that must not demand long periods of time spent on
> training, the idea was to focus on each group individually and to seek the
> participation and collaboration of civil society. The program was launched in
> 1996 and has since undergone a never-ending growth process. All sectors of
> civil society participate and projects are chosen by means of a system of public
> tender which defines in a very transparent manner the rules and criteria for
> budget distribution. This gives the NGOs autonomy and the possibility to
> present creative innovations and to come up with new employment ideas,
> according to the requirements of each area and population. Mrs. Cardoso gave
> a few examples of successful results arrived at by NGOs, which prove - she
> said - that this type of alliance is not only possible, but also very good for
> progress in this new idea of training. This new idea, she says, strays from the
> centuries-old educational structure of long periods of classroom studies, and
> instead co-ordinates quick training with effectiveness in terms of access to the
> labour market, the final goal being to offer youth the possibility of becoming
> participating and creative citizens. This is the basic goal and it is this that
> effectively changes the lives of youth. The speaker underscored as the most
> important indicator of the success of this type of program the fact that 50% of
> the youth that participated in the program went back to school.
> 84. Mrs. Cardoso ended by inviting the audience to renew their view on the
> meaning of qualification and employability today, and to take into account that
> these require good sociability, flexibility in order to face new situations and
> develop personal creativity. The ultimate goal of such programs, she said, must
> be to integrate youth into society, which would not be possible without obtaining
> self-confidence and a hopeful outlook on their future.
> PANEL: HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: CHALLENGES IN
> VOCATIONAL TRAINING
> 21
> 85. Mr. Carlos A. Rodr> íguez, consultant for Cinterfor/ILO, began by pointing
> out that current workplace characteristics make it difficult to incorporate
> knowledge on health and safety at work into vocational training, though there
> are ways of doing this. Based on annual statistics on occupational accidents
> and diseases, he stated that there could be no decent work as long as unethical
> situations were not combated. He complemented this by saying that this type of
> situation also brings about important economic losses.
> 86. With a focus on the content that will need to be incorporated into vocational
> training, he highlighted in first place the need to teach preventive measures and
> rules at each stage of the work process. This need becomes even more
> evident when one analyses the transformations that have been taking place in
> the organisation of work and the new demands that this places on workers. As
> to the means to achieve this, he emphasised the need to adopt certain basic
> principles that have to do, among other things, with the defense of workers> '>
> compensation. To this end, such principles should be incorporated as
> transverse contents in the teaching of different subjects, and to this regard he
> underscored the fact that most schools ignore this aspect.
> 87. Thus it becomes evident that vocational training must necessarily fill these
> gaps. Workers, however, frequently find themselves in situations where the
> risks of work force them to act in order to contribute towards transforming the
> reality of labour into an environment that fosters health and safety. For this
> reason, training must include the goal that work should serve the purposes of
> health, since this is the only reserve that workers have.
> 88. He then highlighted the idea the > "> in order to transform something we must
> be familiar with it> "> but, nonetheless, it is not enough to be familiar with it,
> workers must also have an active role in identifying risks and finding ways of
> neutralizing them. To this regard he stated that it is not enough for vocational
> training to include contents about safety and health; it must also integrate these
> with the practice of work. In order to achieve this, actions must be carried out to
> train teachers who will show them the need to include the workers> '> point of
> view.
> 89. He finished off by pointing out how important it is that schools respect and
> obey work health and safety rules.
> 90. Mr. Jaime García Dimotoli, Chief of the SENA Health Services Centre,
> Bogotá Regional, began his speech by mentioning the occupational health
> activities that have been carried at his institution. He reminded us that the
> SENA Manual de Seguridad e Higiene Ocupacional (Occupational Health and
> Safety Manual) was published in 1984, and established that the subject is a
> mandatory one for all vocational training specialties. Specialties related to the
> field of health were regulated by the Bloque Básico de Salud Ocupacional
> (Occupational Health Basic Block) starting 1997. In 1998, the SENA Steering
> Committee approved the training programs for Occupational Health
> Professional Technician, Occupational Health Technologist and Occupational
> Health Professional Technician specialised in Mining. During the year 2000,
> 22
> under the orientation of the sectoral committees, the transversal competence
> unit in occupational health was elaborated - today, it is being unified as a
> standard for all workers. This is a basic module for occupational health and is
> designed to serve as a vehicle to disseminate the basic knowledge involved to
> the different health aides. This serves two purposes: as a student worker, to
> identify risk factors, and as a health agent, to foster healthy work habits at work.
> 91. He then commented on what he called a strategic alliance to compose,
> within SENA, a manager of occupational risks and a training centre. The>
> purpose of this alliance is to train leaders in occupational health projects with a
> focus on active teaching, implementing new change-generating factors within
> their companies, under the methodological strategy of de-schooling. Finally, he
> went into detail to describe the specific goals, teaching materials, and the
> phases and contents of the program.
> 92. Ms. Sonia María José Bombardi, Special Assesor for Projects for
> FUNDACENTRO, Brazil, explained the relationship between the Brazilian
> Programme for Quality and Productivity -PBCP- and health and safety at work.
> She said the goal is to reduce work accidents by 40% over the next five years.
> PBCP has been working closely along the lines of the sectoral goals of the
> Ministry of Labour and Employment from 2000 to 2003, especially where they
> establishing the > "> amplifying of actions to regulate, investigate, train and
> disseminate technical support information in the fields of safety and health in
> order to improve the conditions of the work environments, with an emphasis on
> avoiding accidents> "> . One of such programmes of the Ministry of Labour and
> Employment is designed to obtain a safe and healthy workplace. Adopting the
> expression > "> Work is Life> "> PBCP englobes more than eleven different work
> fronts, one of which is the > "> Programme for Education on Workers> '> Health and
> Safety> "> .
> 93. He then described the specific goals of the programme, which are to make
> knowledge and experience on occupational safety and health at work available
> to the workers; to contribute towards the development of competence in
> prevention and to foster the dissemination of experiences obtained from
> research, studio and educational activities. The programme is designed to
> meet the needs of the workers by providing education oriented towards solving
> social and environmental problems so that collective work and democratic
> participation become possible. He put across the point that the programme acts
> in various manners, among which he mentioned studies and research,
> specialisation courses, publications, the creation of CDs and video films, as well
> as the production of events and the dissemination of information. Finally, he
> described the results obtained in the field of education - such as 51
> publications, 18 videos, 7 multimedia disks, and two collections of slides.
> 94. In closing, he listed some of the upcoming challenges for the programme
> members, such as including the subjects safety and health in the curricula of
> technical education, covering distant regions, and to include subjects such as
> citizens and human rights.
> 23
> OTHER BUSINESS
> 95. The Chairman of the Meeting declared the floor open under the Item Other
> Business.
> 96. The representative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Uruguay
> started by congratulating Cinterfor/ILO for binging to the fore the subject of
> decent work and vocational training. He specifically remarked on the interest of
> the approach whereby vocational training is considered to be an essential
> component of decent work, but also a dynamic element promoting the strategic
> objectives pursued to make up for the current shortage of decent work. He said
> it was possible to go further in that conceptualisation of vocational training,
> which he deemed essential no only for the attainment of strategic objectives like
> wider social protection, equality of opportunities, promoting employment and
> social dialogue, but also for the promotion of the fundamental human rights. He
> added that decent training for decent work was then a great challenge. He
> finally concluded that that challenge consisted of a concept to put our ideas in
> order and at the same time set objectives and priorities.
> 97. A representative of the workers> '> organisations of Dominica congratulated
> Cinterfor/ILO for its efforts to promote a form of vocational training aiming at>
> decent work. He pointed out that among current challenges to vocational
> training was dealing with the rapid technological changes that were affecting
> work and production. Trade unions in Dominica had been concerned with
> strengthening the type of training for workers (union members in particular)
> taking into account such challenges. He urged Cinterfor/ILO to provide
> continued support to vocational training institutions, Ministries of Labour and
> Education, employers> '> and workers> '> organisations to disseminate the notion of
> decent work. He then went on to explain what > "> decent work> "> meant to him.
> "> Decent> "> meant that the worker felt at ease and secure in his job, not stressed
> out, and capable of helping in the search for solutions to improve the
> productivity of nations. That also implied referring to the trade among nations
> and the way in which that commercial exchange took place. He said that the
> WTO talked about > "> free trade> "> , but he wanted trade to be fair as well as free.
> When trade was not fair the conditions leading to decent work were impaired;
> unemployment, and social and political instability then grew, specially in
> developing countries.
> 98. A workers> '> representative from Guatemala asked for the floor to state that
> the new requirements of having qualified manpower had brought consequences
> and problems not only for workers but also for many firms and enterprises that
> had not adequately trained their personnel. He pointed to the need of
> supporting Convention 144 among other fundamental principles, and called on
> the ILO to provide more attention for workers in the informal sector.
> 99. The representative of the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico
> congratulated the ILO for bringing together governments, employers and
> workers at a forum like the Technical Committee Meeting. He likewise thanked
> the government of Brazil for its welcome to all participants. He went on to call
> 24
> attention to the phenomenon of the > '> maquila> '> industry (in bond manufacturing) in
> which there were not only > '> migrant capitals> '> but also > '> migrant jobs> '> . In the
> Mexican state of Jalisco a number of those industries had generated a large
> number of jobs that were now being lost, as the companies were moving to
> Asian countries. He specifically asked Cinterfor/ILO to lead a debate and
> exchange of information in the area of training and certification on the basis of
> competencies.
> 100. The representative of the SENA of Colombia sounded a warning about the
> dangers that threatened vocational training. He referred specifically to poverty,
> unemployment and the social disintegration that undermined peace. The
> framework of vocational training made it capable to a large extent of promoting
> decent work.
> 101. The Director of Cinterfor/ILO stated that he wished to inform the plenary
> about the kind offer of the INTECAP of Guatemala to host the next Meeting of
> the Technical Committee. He added that the operational details would be
> considered in due course. In view of the support expressed to the proposal, the
> INTECAP offer was adopted by acclamation.
> 102. The representative of the HEART Trust /NTA of Jamaica indicated that on
> behalf of his institution, the Government of Jamaica and all training agencies of
> the English-speaking Caribbean he wished to convey sincere thanks to
> Cinterfor / ILO for the opportunity to take part in the event. He underlined the
> importance of building up national leaderships in the area of vocational training,
> which should go hand in hand with the strengthening of regional leadership.
> Regarding the Plan of Activities of Cinterfor / ILO for the 2001-2002 biennium
> he emphasised the high degree of coincidence between its objectives and lines
> of action with those of the training agencies of the English-speaking Caribbean.
> Notwithstanding the importance of the decent work objective, he underscored>
> that the problem also was to secure more investment and generate
> employment. In another part of his intervention, the delegate thanked the
> Brazilian SENAI, an institution with which Jamaica has had co-operation links
> for some years. In connection with the request made by the representative of
> Mexico for closer co-operation in relation with training and certification on the
> basis of occupational competencies, he pointed out the willingness of
> Caribbean national training agencies to participate and contribute. He added
> that working together and as a team it would be much easier to find a timely
> solution to the problems faced by each country. It would be up to Cinterfor / ILO
> to facilitate the exchange of information, and to identify and disseminate best
> practices in all aspects of vocational training.
> 25
> ANNEX 1
> ADDRESSES AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 35th MEETING OF
> THE CINTERFOR / ILO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
> Address by Agustín Muñoz
> Deputy Director of the ILO Regional Office for the Americas
> Ladies and gentlemen,
> First of all I should like to convey the warm greetings and recognition of the ILO
> Director General, Ambassador Juan Somavía, and of the ILO Regional Office to
> all participants at this 35th Meeting of CINTERFOR, and in particular to the
> authorities of the Government of Brazil, represented on this occasion by H.E.
> the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr. Francisco Neves Dornelles.
> A very special message of consideration and gratitude to the first Lady of the
> Nation, Mrs. Ruth Cardoso, for her interest in our concerns and activities and
> the significant support she has lent to the development of this meeting.
> We likewise make this recognition extensive to the representatives of member
> countries from the Americas and Spain, to employers> '> and workers> '>
> organisations and to the members of the ILO Governing Body that honour us
> with their presence and their contribution to this gathering.
> Since the creation of CINTERFOR in 1963 fundamental political, economic and
> social transformations have taken place in the world and in our Region of the
> Americas.
> One of these significant changes was the reassertion of he democratic system,
> the development of an increasing civic awareness about the importance of the
> social and labour dimension of globalising processes, and rapid dissemination
> of the idea of promoting equity and fighting poverty. Reflection has also
> deepened about the fact that competitiveness and productivity are essential for
> development, but they are both more lasting when based on productive and
> technological investment, on the training of human resources and fair conditions
> of wages and employment, rather than on a comparative advantage based on
> exploitation.
> The example of today> '> s highly industrialised countries that have mastered
> technological knowledge shows that, besides capital and technical investment
> and the establishment of democratic, participative schemes of labour relations,
> one of the most decisive factors for industrial development has been the
> investment in human resources through education, training and a process of
> ongoing leaning by wage earners.
> We may currently verify on our continent that, in a gradual manner, progress is
> being made towards a more modern notion of what training processes ought to
> be in order to promote access of our economies into a more open, demanding
> and competitive world, but also a world of greater solidarity. Four basic
> 26
> developments allow us to be optimistic regarding this move towards modernity,
> as indicated in the CINTERFOR Report:
> The first one is closely connected with the policies currently aimed at setting up
> national vocational training systems, linked with employment strategies and with
> the participation of the social actors, in an effort to regulate the training offer by>
> adapting it to the needs of employers and to market demands.
> The second development has to do with the institutional transformations of
> vocational training bodies that, after having contributed to the revaluing of
> vocational training, have readapted their structures and programmes according
> to guidelines of efficiency, financial precision and criteria best suited to the
> requirements of individuals and enterprises, with an emphasis on small and
> medium-sized firms and positive efforts at decentralisation.
> The third one has been a closer link of vocational training institutes with
> society, bringing in the viewpoints of trade unions and employers, and
> establishing the necessary management spaces for their institutional
> participation through tripartite and bipartite arrangements.
> The fourth development is closely connected with two important aspects:
> *> A shift of training towards the development of occupational competencies
> and the certification thereof within enterprises and society, where individual
> and collective interests meet;
> *> Emphasis on the idea of ongoing and continuous training for individuals
> to attain knowledge as persons and as production factors.
> In this process, that I have summarised as much as possible in this address, a
> very important role has been played by our Inter-American Centre on Vocational
> Training - CINTERFOR - with the support of the institutions affiliated to it and
> the collaboration of several units of our International Labour Office. I should also
> like to underscore four results that, to my mind, are highly significant:
> In the first place, the effort at synthesis embodied in the proposals of
> vocational training institutions, that have been creatively channelled into a work
> programme that mobilises resources for effective co-operation in line with the
> changes that our society is undergoing, with an innovative, progressive and
> highly scientific message.
> In the second place, it is very important to underline the contacts and links that
> have been established with a number of national and international
> organisations and bodies in the field of vocational training like, for example the
> GTZ of Germany, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organisation of
> Iberian American States for Education, Science and Culture, the Iberian
> American Youth Organisation, the Youth Institute of Spain and many others.
> This effort at rapprochement and co-operation has also extended to the
> academic and university world, relying on its knowledge and experience in
> many joint activities.
> 27
> Thirdly, the success of CINTERFOR has been evident in the dissemination of
> knowledge through the numerous and valuable publications it has been issuing
> under the form of books, working documents, teaching modules, etc. and its
> use of the Internet for didactic and information purposes.
> And fourthly, I should like to highlight CINTERFOR> '> s constructive task in line
> with the ILO directive that all its services and units should act as a consistent
> whole, with a single institutional voice and aiming at the same objective.
> In that respect, there has been a positive institutional contribution from and
> towards CINTERFOR, made evident not only in the financial support received
> by the Centre but mainly in the profitable exchange of technical experience, in
> joint activities, studies, publications and important events. For instance, the
> presence at this Meeting of the Regional Office, directors of Area Offices and
> MDT> '> s, specialists and a representative of the Employment Sector of our
> Headquarters at Geneva, Mr. Pekka Aro from the ILO International Training
> Centre at Turin and the valuable contribution of our colleagues of the ILO
> Brasilia Office headed by Director Armand Pereira are proof of it.
> Ladies and gentlemen, on the occasion of this 35> th Meeting of the CINTERFOR
> Technical Committee I have been trying to underline how the training effort is
> evolving in the Region, adapting to the economic and social imperatives of the
> present day world and the changes on our continent. I have also pointed out
> that, over and above the civic consensus of reaffirming democracy and the
> need to insert our economies into an open and competitive environment, there
> is also a strong consensus about the need for the fruits of development to
> benefit the majority sectors of the population, that nowadays do not partake of
> those advantages and are deprived of minimal margins of protection.
> The assertion of democracy in our Region and in the world at large demands a
> fundamental commitment to social justice, so that men and women may
> entertain justified hopes that progress will in the future be accessible to all.
> For that reason our Director General, Mr. Juan Somavía, made his proposal on
> decent work at the 87th International Labour Conference in 1999. This proposal
> emphasises the need that, at a time of great changes, the objective of the ILO
> should be to ensure for every woman and man access to productive and Decent
> Work in conditions of freedom, equity, safety and dignity.
> Beyond some semantic discussions that the term - now almost universally
> accepted - aroused at first, its value lies in the profound innovative political
> meaning it implies. Indeed, apart from reflecting the historic ILO objective of
> social justice, the renewed humanitarian concepts of the 1944 Philadelphia
> Declaration, the stress on placing man at the centre of development, as
> expressed by the Copenhagen Social Summit in March 1995, and the values
> embodied in the ILO Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights of
> Labour and its Follow-Up in 1998, the concept also involves an ethical proposal
> for society at large and for the world of labour in particular, with an integrating
> 28
> perspective at a moment in history when, in the midst of stiff competition and
> economic crisis, essential rights tend to be overlooked.
> This integrating movement encompasses the world of politics as well as that of
> enterprises and trade unions, the academic and university world, and civil
> society as a whole.
> This ethical proposal of decent work favours the reaffirmation of democratic
> values as a political system and a form of civic participation. It underscores the
> notion of equity and freedom in society and in labour relations, it promotes
> equality among men and women, enhances the individual as a person and
> points to the kinds o security society should offer, like security in a good quality
> job, safety regarding social protection, security in the education and vocational
> training of the family group, safety in remuneration and working conditions and
> security to prevent children from working.
> Consequently, this concept of decent work precludes inequality and promotes
> compliance with the fundamental rights enshrined in the ILO Constitution, the
> International Agreements and the Declaration of Principles adopted by the 1998
> International Labour Conference.
> It likewise endeavours to co-ordinate efforts to reduce the decent work deficit,
> as indicated by the ILO Director General in his Report to the recent International
> Labour Conference held in June this year. That Report poses reducing the
> deficit of decent work as a global challenge that calls for a solution to the
> difficult equation of reconciling at all levels the objectives of growth and
> economic development with the political and social objectives embodied in the
> idea of decent work, in order to attain concrete results in the everyday life of
> men and women.
> In this institutional objective of decent work for all, vocational training no doubt
> plays a leading role, as indicated in the important study made by CINTERFOR:>
> "> Training for decent work> "> , vocational training is a fundamental human right that
> is part and parcel of the concept of decent work and, in turn, helps to create an
> environment that makes it possible.
> Our task from now on will be to establish strategies on the basis of the policy
> orientations deriving from the concept, to implement initiatives and gradually
> involve society as a whole in the development of such values.
> Ladies and gentlemen participants, I should finally like to thank you for your
> support, welcome your commitment to our institution, acknowledge the effort
> made by the staff of CINTERFOR and its Director, our colleague Pedro Daniel
> Weinberg and convey to the vocational training institutions of the Americas and
> Spain, to workers> '> and employers> '> organisations, that they may rest assured
> that the ILO, with its full potential and drive, will go along with them in their
> strivings for democracy and social justice.
> Thank you very much.
> 29
> Address by Francisco Dornelles
> Minister of Labour and Employment of Brazil
> My best wishes to the elected Board Committee. I should also like to convey the
> greetings of the Brazilian Government to Ambassador Somavía, through his
> representative here, Agustín Muñoz, Deputy Director of the ILO Regional Office
> for the Americas, and underline the important work carried out by the ILO in the
> Region. We have been in permanent and close contact with the Director
> General, and our respect and admiration for his personality grow day by day. In
> the two years that Ambassador Somavía has been at the head of the ILO, Brazil
> has ratified Conventions 138 and 182, on minimum working age and the worst
> forms of child labour, respectively, as witness of the importance for us of is
> presence in the Organisation. I should like to express my great satisfaction for
> being here at the 35th Meeting of the Cinterfor/ILO Technical Committee and
> also to congratulate the Deputy Director, Agustín Muños, for the brilliant
> presentation he has just made. Vocational training is nowadays an integral part
> of decent work, and when we say decent work we always have to think of
> programmes in which workers can manage to improve their condition and
> acquire the knowledge necessary to enhance their value in the labour market.
> Brazil is paying special attention to all its training programmes. From 1996 to
> 2000 it has invested more than one thousand million dollars in that area, having
> provided training for approximately 14 million workers. The Brazilian vocational
> training scheme has the very special characteristic of the decentralisation with
> which it was designed and implemented. We dispense training throughout the
> national territory, in all 27 states and 5000 municipalities that make it up. It is
> not at Brasilia, it is not at the Secretariat of the Ministry of Labour and
> Employment that decisions are made. It is not Professor Nassim Mehedff who
> determines what vocational training courses are to be imparted in the Brazilian
> municipalities. In each one of them there are Municipal Labour Committees
> where workers get together with the local community and say what training
> courses they would like to have. In this manner, regional differences are
> respected in Brazil; in the northern states there is one kind of demand, in the
> southern states a different one, and in the south west yet another, so that the
> whole scheme grows from the bottom up. The Employment Committees in each
> Municipality request from their State counterparts the type of training the
> workers living in that district would like to get; the State Employment
> Committees then consolidate the various requests and submit them to the
> Labour Secretariats of the respective States which manage the programmes at
> municipal and local level with the resources they receive from the Federal>
> Government. Vocational training is also delivered through workers> '> and
> employers> '> organisations, where there also exists a high degree of
> decentralisation. Each trade union belonging to a central or federation
> communicates to it the kind of training course its members would like to have to
> improve or maintain their jobs in the labour market. The 4 trade union
> federations in turn submit a plan to the Federal Government that supplies them
> with the resources enabling them to respond to such demands. Employers> '>
> associations also have their training branch and run very good technical
> schools; such is the case of SENAC in the business area, SENAI in industry,
> 30
> SENAT in transportation and SENAR in agriculture. With resources from the
> Federal government, these schools design and deliver vocational training
> programmes. Consequently it is not Brasilia or the Ministry of Labour that
> determine what training courses are to be dispensed in the different regions of
> the country.
> Very strict control is exerted over this general scheme, at present through the
> internet, from here in Brasilia or anywhere else in the country, we can check out
> what courses are being implemented, their cost, the number of persons
> attending them and their respective names. Operational supervision is at the
> same time effected by an independent public body, that verifies in each state
> that courses are being delivered according to the specifications of the Public
> Administration. We also have an agreement with IPEA, an institute that
> validates the contents of the courses and evaluates that they are in keeping
> with Brazilian realities. The Ministry also has the possibility of receiving
> comments, claims or criticism from any point in the country regarding the
> vocational training programme. Decentralisation has made this transparency
> possible, because in a country of over 8 million square kilometres, we could not
> otherwise have implemented a valid training programme of such proportions.
> This vocational training programme, the credit scheme for small and mediumsized
> enterprises and PRONADE - which is another credit programme for
> family agriculture - are some of the projects that receive resources from the
> Fund for the Protection of Workers. They are all instruments of the Federal
> Government for employment and income generation, managed through the
> Ministry of Labour and Employment.
> I should like to express my satisfaction at attending this Meeting and reiterate
> Brazil> '> s commitment to the ILO and to Cinterfor/ILO, as we are extremely
> interested in this exchange of opportunities and experiences. Professor Nassim
> Mehedff has given me very precise information regarding the significant work of
> Cinterfor/ILO and I should like to emphasise our interest in maintaining close
> links with the ILO and other bodies connected with it. We deem the ILO to be
> one of the most important international organisations in the world, with a vision
> of our need to reform our structures, to change existing social conditions by
> generating income, work and employment. Vocational training is a very
> important instrument for reaching such objectives.
> It is a great honour for me to be present at this Meeting today. Thank you very
> much.
> 31
> ANNEX 2
> REPORT ON THE CINTERFOR/ILO PROGRAMME,
> BUDGET, AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
> The Meeting of the Programme, Budget, and Administrative Committee was
> held on Wednesday, August 29th, 2001, prior to the 35th Meeting of the
> Technical Committee of the Inter-American Research and Documentation
> Centre on Vocational Training (Cinterfor/ILO). The representatives were: the
> Secretariat of Public Policies for Employment of the Ministry of Labour and
> Employment of Brazil; SENAI from Brazil; SENA from Colombia; INA from
> Costa Rica; INTECAP from Guatemala; INFOP from Honduras; HEART/NTA>
> from Jamaica; INFOTEP from the Dominican Republic; the Technical-
> Vocational Educational Council (CETP/UTU) from Uruguay; the National
> Employment Division of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Uruguay;
> and INCE from Venezuela.
> The Director of Cinterfor/ILO opened the meeting welcoming all the participants
> and expressing his gratitude to the Secretary of Public Policies for Employment
> of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, as well as to SENAI from Brazil for
> their participation. He then presented the ILO InFocus Programme on skills,
> knowledge and employability, and mentioned the presence of the Director of
> this Programme in the meeting.
> In his presentation, the Director of Cinterfor/ILO underscored the fact that the
> results achieved during the biennium 1999-2000 were specially due to the
> support of the vocational training institutions, the Ministries of Labour and
> Education, and the employers> '> and workers> '> organisations member of the
> Centre. In summary, these achievements were gained through the efforts of the
> vocational training community surrounding Cinterfor/ILO.
> Next, a brief summary of the Activities Report was presented, including the
> activities carried out by the Centre throughout the biennium. The highlights of
> the aspects were:
> - strengthening of vocational training institutions;
> - strengthening of employers and workers participation in the design and
> execution of vocational training programs and policies;
> - fostering equal opportunity policies pertaining to training, with regard to
> issues such as gender and the insertion of youth into the labour market;
> - developing a competence-based training approach;
> - quality management in vocational training.
> Thus, the speaker underscored the strengthening and expansion of
> Cinterfor/ILO> '> s publishing policy, which is clearly reflected on the high demand
> for a wide range of publications as well as on the fact that, for the first time, the
> sale of publications represents a significant source of income. The
> dissemination of knowledge and information has been fostered by the services
> provided through the Cinterfor/ILO web site, which has become a true portal for
> 32
> vocational training through the internet. The speaker also reaffirmed his
> commitment to provide information in English, not only in order to adequately
> meet the requirements of English-speaking Caribbean countries, but also to
> achieve a greater impact at the international level, by making available
> information on innovations and changes in training organizations underway
> throughout the region and in Spain.
> The Committee made a favourable evaluation of the progress in the Centre> '> s
> financial situation, which was reflected by the voluntary contributions made by a
> large part of its member countries and institutions. The participants understood
> that the collection of these revenues was a direct result of the adaptation of the
> Centre> '> s plans and programs to the recommendations and demands set forth by
> several meetings of the Technical Committee. Thus, it was shown that for the
> members of Cinterfor/ILO voluntary contributions are worthwhile investments
> that are recovered throughout technical services and information provided by
> the Centre.
> Furthermore, the member agencies and institutions offered additional resources
> to co-fund specific activities in their respective countries. Thus, the Committee
> proposed that future activity reports point out efforts made by institutions and
> agencies to finance these activities.
> Additionally, the director underscored the need for Cinterfor/ILO to respect
> national peculiarities, while also continuing to provide support to efforts aimed at
> establishing the main principles and criteria on vocational training in the region,
> which may foster synergism amongst several experiences already underway.>
> This work is founded on similar processes underway within both CARICOM, in
> the Caribbean, and Mercosur. On the other hand, this work is also in keeping
> with initiatives and debates within the ILO, aimed at reformulating its
> recommendation on training and human resource development, as per the
> recent Resolution on human resource development, adopted by the 88th
> Meeting of the International Labour Conference held in 2000.
> The Action Plan to be carried out by Cinterfor/ILO in the 2001-2002 period, was
> unanimously accepted by the Committee, in accordance with the proposal
> formulated at the International Seminar, > "> Apprenticeship in the Vocational
> Training Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean> "> , held in Brasilia on
> June 18 - 20, 2001, and as such recommended that it be analysed by the
> plenary of the 35th Meeting of the Technical Committee. The text of this
> proposal is annexed to this report.
> With regard to the composition of the Board and the Report Commission, the
> Committee made the following suggestions:
> Board:
> President: Nassim Mehedff, Secretary of Public Policies for Employment, Brazil
> Vice President: Donald Foster, Programming Director, HEART/NTA, Jamaica
> Vice President: Arlette Valdez, Director General, INFOTEP, Dominican
> Republic
> 33
> Report Commission for the Report of the 35th Meeting of the Technical
> Committee
> Clifford Marica, Labour Ministry, Suriname
> Fanny Arón, President of the Technical-ocational Education Council (CETPUTU),
> Uruguay
> Jorge Gallardo, Assistant Manager, INTECAP, Guatemala
> Finally, the institutions and agencies that took part in the Committee expressed
> their desire to support the Centre> '> s efforts to put into practice their plans and
> programmes and maintain a strong presence in the region, while also
> expressing their satisfaction for having fulfilled the Cinterfor/ILO Programme of
> activities for the biennium 1999-2000. Thus, it was recommended that the
> Technical Committee approve the Activities Report presented by the Director.
> 34
> Proposal for Action Programme to be carried out by
> Cinterfor/ILO with the Vocational Training Institutions of Latin
> America and the Caribbean, in the biennium 2001-2002
> Whereas it was recommended by the International Seminar on > "> Apprenticeship
> in Vocational Training Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean> "> , held in
> Brasília on June 18 - 20, 2001 (Annex 01);
> Whereas the objective of Cinterfor/ILO is to support the modernisation of the
> VTI within the region in order to increase their vocational training actions;
> Whereas the Cinterfor/ILO work programme was approved for the biennium
> 2001-2002; and
> Whereas the growing importance of international co-operation for regional
> development and thus for strengthening of VTI;
> The Vocational Training Institutions present at the 35th Meeting of the Technical
> Committee of Cinterfor/ILO, propose that the Centre focus its actions in two
> main fields:
> A) Strengthening of Vocational Training Institutions in:
> *> Management of vocational training institutions;
> *> Modernisation of vocational training institutions;
> *> Flexible design of teaching programs, media, and materials.
> *> Use of new information technology;
> *> Participation of private enterprises in vocational training programs;
> *> Quality in vocational training;
> *> Development of training activities on a sub-regional, local, and sectoral
> level;
> *> Training and development of personnel for vocational training;
> *> Lifelong learning;