The second edition of the Bilbao Youth Employment Forum, which will take place on 26 November in the Hotel Carlton, will deal with the issue of how to promote employability within the framework of the Millennium Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved at the United Nations Headquarters on 27 September. Organized by the Novia Salcedo Foundation, the promoter of the international campaign for the proclamation of the Youth Employment Decade, which has already attracted over 400 institutions in 60 countries, the forum will discuss the factors that facilitate or hinder young people’s access to employment. “The initial diagnosis is that technology, globalization and social individualization are the key dimensions of the great change on which we must embark all together”, according to the Foundation.

The planned programme is divided into three sessions. During the first, political, business, trade union and youth representatives will discuss three topics: what productive model, what organizational culture and what skills will be favourable for people and help them to overcome the new socio-economic challenges of the future.

The discussion will be moderated by Joaquín Nieto, director of the ILO Bureau in Spain, who will also be in charge of summarising the main ideas. As a novelty, attendees will have access to a document that is being prepared on employability and its connection to the SDGs and be able to contribute their views and ideas during the debate.

In the afternoon, theory will give way to practice. During the second session, five best practices will be presented regarding projects dealing with aspects relating to access to employment and the topics being discussed. Finally, during the closing session, a representative of the Global Compact and another from the ILO will present the Sustainable Development Goals that should guide the actions of governments until 2030.

The first edition of the BYEF, which was held one year ago, brought together 400 representatives from different fields who discussed the main factors that need to be activated to promote employment in the societies of the future. In particular, five barriers were identified that are holding back the creation of employment: cultural change and the need to redefine the concept of ‘work’ , the need to define a new labour model, a new corporate culture that focuses on competitiveness, innovation and creativity, the educational system and the role the various educational agents can play, and public employment policies.