The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), represented by its Deputy Executive Secretary Antonio Prado, took part in the panel Finding the Opportunities: Matching Education and Skills to Market Demands, held this Wednesday 1 April in New York as part of the 2015 Integration Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The panel, moderated by Mr. Prado, was formed by Elizabeth A. Vazquez, CEO and Co-Founder, WeConnect International; Ron Bruder, Founder, Education for Employment; and Zach Sims, Co-founder and CEO, Codecademy.
The experts discussed on building innovation and competitiveness through targeted interventions and active labour market policies, particularly in the areas of entrepreneurship, apprenticeships and skills development. They also debated on the implications of new technologies, in particular in the field of ICTs, on education, skills and training.
During the session, the ECLAC Deputy Executive Secretary highlighted the importance of a fair treatment to women in their access to labour markets as well as the need to close the structural salaries gap between women and men in jobs of equal responsibilities.
The panelists stressed that in most cases women are the engines of family economies since they hold a great entrepreneurship potential. However, they acknowledged that there are still many obstacles to their full insertion in the world labour markets.
Regarding the implications of ICTs in the skills development, the experts said that thanks to the masification of the internet education is no longer something received only in certain physical places. They added that $4.4 billions of dollars of work will be created by internet in the next five years.
