The World Bank hosted a Skills for Jobs Conference on 14-15 May, 2019 in Chisinau, where participants discussed skills-related constraints to productive employment, and how to address these challenges in order to expand job opportunities in Moldova.
The World Bank hosted a Skills for Jobs Conference on 14-15 May, 2019 in Chisinau, where participants discussed skills-related constraints to productive employment, and how to address these challenges in order to expand job opportunities in Moldova.
This conference brought together representatives from the public sector, business community, academia, development partners, think-tanks, and civil society to discuss policies and approaches to supporting the development of skills and the creation of more and better jobs for people in Moldova.
A distinguished panel held discussions on a wide range of topics, including skills missing from Moldova's labor market, demand for Moldovans' skills abroad, supporting youth in transitioning to productive jobs, opportunities brought about by technological change, and policy actions to foster skills development.
Discussions at each of the sessions were infomed by research and analysis produced by the World Bank Group, the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency, and the European Training Foundation.
TIME | ACTIVITY | |
08:30 - 09:00 | Registration | |
09:00 - 09:30 | Opening session Introduction: Julia Smolyar, Senior Social Protection Specialist, the World Bank (Setting the stage by informing the purpose, structure, logistics of the conference) Welcome remarks:
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09:30 - 10:00 | Keynote speech: “The drivers of Moldova’s productivity growth” Elisa Gamberoni, Senior Economist, the World Bank She will present key messages of Country Economic Memorandum on policies that would help unleash the new forces of growth, including reforms related to the enterprise sector and human capital/skills formation that are essential to increase productivity. | |
Theme 1. What is the future of jobs in Moldova? Objective: To understand better the demand for types of skills and gaps in human capital accumulation, and policy innovations to seize opportunities poised by technological changes. | ||
10:00 - 11:15 | 1. Digital Jobs study for Moldova Bilal Khan, Assistant Professor at University of International Business and Economics, Beijing. He will zoom into country-specific challenges/opportunities stemming from technology advances and how the technology is changing the skills that employers seek. 2. Are we ready?: Key issues and policy innovations (Panel discussion) Chair/facilitator: Anna Akhalkatsi, Country Manager for Moldova, the World Bank Panelists:
The discussion will delve into whether Moldova is prepared to step up to the challenges and seize opportunities of the on-going digital transformation that disrupts traditional production patterns and how building strong foundational skills, as well as the workers’ skills in demand in the labor market, must be a priority for the government’s human capital investment. | |
11:15 - 11:45 | Coffee break | |
Theme 2. What are the jobs opportunities and demand for Moldova’s skills abroad? Objective: This session aims to improve understanding on policies and programs to foster labor mobility across borders. | ||
11:45 - 13:00 | 1. Migration and Connectivity David Gould, Lead Economist, the World Bank He will present findings on how migration contributes to filling gaps in market information between countries in the Europe and Central Asia region and boosting knowledge and technology sharing. 2. Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets Soonhwa Yi, Senior Economist, the World Bank She will provide global evidence on impacts of labor mobility and relate that to patterns and implications of labor mobility for Moldova. 3. Policies to facilitate labor mobility across countries and seize economic benefits of migration and to expand job opportunities for Moldovan citizens at home (Panel discussion) Chair: Viorica Cretu, Deputy Director of Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Panelists:
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13:00 - 14:30 | LUNCH followed by Intellectual Café offering an opportunity to chat with experts and discuss reports/themes presented at the conference: - Digital Jobs: hosted by Bilal Khan, Assistant Professor at University of International Business and Economics, Beijing - Skills Development: hosted by Soonhwa Yi, Senior Economist, the World Bank, and Olga Kupets, International Expert, the World Bank - Critical Connections: Promoting Economic Growth and Resilience in Europe and Central Asia: hosted by David Gould, Lead Economist, the World Bank | |
Theme 3. How to activate the youth and increase their chances of productive employment in Moldova? Objective: This session is to better understand barriers to youth employment and programs/ practices to enhance employability of the youth. | ||
14:30 - 16:30 | 1. Challenges of youth employment Ummuhan Bardak, Senior Specialist in Labor Market and Migration, European Training Foundation Challenges faced by the Moldovan youth in finding employment in the dynamic job markets 2. Practices to enhance skill-sets of the youth [A talk show about success stories of youth activation and employment]
Bernhard Kaufmann, Sector Manager Education, Foreign Trade Department, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Oana Vodita, Project Manager, GIZ
Natalija Gelvanovska-Garcia, Senior Digital Development Specialist, the World Bank
3. Youth voices: Young people to share their school-to-job transition experience and to reflect on policies and programs to facilitate productive employment of the youth Facilitator: Feng Zhao, Human Development Program Leader, the World Bank | |
16:30 - 17:00 | Wrap-up of Day 1
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17:00 | Reception | |
TIME | ACTIVITY |
08:30 - 09:00 | Registration |
09:00 - 09:15 | Introduction to Day 2 Julia Smolyar, Senior Social Protection Specialist, the World Bank |
09:15 - 09:45 | Keynote speech: “The Human Capital Project: investing in human capital to increase country’s productivity” Harry Patrinos, Education Practice Manager for Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank |
Theme 4. What are the skill gaps that constrain job creation? Objective: This session is to improve understanding on skills gaps in Moldova and on policy actions/ programs to foster skills development. | |
09:45 - 10:45 | 1. What skills are in demand on Moldova’s labor market? Soonhwa Yi, Senior Economist, the World Bank She will present analyses on demand for skills drawing from various World Bank studies on skills and their policy implications. 2. What are the skills of the current labor force? Olga Kupets, International Expert, the World Bank She will discuss findings from an analysis of the survey on skills measurement and labor market barriers in Moldova. 3. Panel discussion Chair/facilitator: Harry Patrinos, Education Practice Manager for Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank Panelists:
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10:45 - 11:15 | Coffee break |
Theme 5. How can skills expand job opportunities of Moldovans? Objective: This session aims to highlight the role of skills in enhancing productivity and looks in depth at the role and the reforms needed to ensure that education provides the skills demanded by the market. | |
11:15 - 12:30 | 1. The role of Moldovan higher education in building skills for labor market: challenges and perspectives Lucia Casap, Operations Officer, the World Bank 2. Higher education in support of innovation and productivity growth: best international practices and policy options for Moldova Janssen Teixeira, Senior Education Specialist, the World Bank 3. National policies to connect skills development to the labor market needs and cooperation with the private sector (Panel discussion) Chair/facilitator: Elisa Gamberoni Panelists:
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12:30 - 13:00 | Closing remarks: Moldova’s skills development policy priorities and the World Bank’s support for them.
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13:00 | Lunch |