● The courses start for about 200 union cadres who will become facilitators in their respective organizations
● The goal is that in the coming months they train other workers in digital skills
UGT and Google held today in Madrid the opening ceremony of the program “Training in Digital Competences for Professionals”, following the agreement reached between the two last September.
The Minister of Labor, Migrations and Social Security, Magdalena Valerio; the Secretary General of UGT, Pepe Álvarez; the Training Secretary of UGT, Sebastián Pacheco; the General Director of Google Spain and Portugal, Fuencisla Clemares; and the Director of Institutional Relations of Google Spain and Portugal, Francisco Ruiz Antón, attended the event held this morning at Google for Startups Madrid.
First formations at UGT
The first trainings to the UGT facilitators start next February in Madrid, where people from the union will come from all corners of the country. In total, three training sessions will be developed for a maximum of 200 people.
These, in turn, will have the function and intention of taking this training to others and other affiliates, delegates and workers from the different economic sectors and from all the provinces of the country over the coming months. , with the aim of contributing to the fact that digitization does not become a factor of inequality, precariousness or exclusion.
The Minister of Labor, Magdalena Valerio, has indicated that the option of the Government and its Ministry is not to leave anyone behind. And for this, “the training of citizens as a whole in skills for the use of tools and digital information is fundamental. Therefore, initiatives such as the one that brings us together are necessary both to improve the qualification of its participants, and to take steps towards real and effective equality in the workplace, a successful way to integrate into the 21st century. ” Spain -has pointed- “has a deficit of around 70,000 jobs a year linked to technology, which are not covered due to the absence of these profiles. And he stressed that, in the Ministry, we are reorienting all our resources so that training and occupation go hand in hand. And that goes for promoting Vocational Training in areas such as technology, in intensifying Dual Training in companies and also in retraining programs for workers to adapt to the changes that the market demands.
For his part, Pepe Álvarez has said that it is necessary to address digitalization from a social and employment perspective. And, in this sense, he pointed out that the union, faced with the challenges it poses, and the concern for the possible destruction of employment, “has decided to carry out this partnership with Google to train workers in the goal of maintain and promote their employability, their ability to access a job and prosper in it “.
During his speech, Fuencisla Clemares pointed out that “This collaboration agreement is unique throughout Europe and the first of its kind, since thanks to UGT we can cover the entire national scope and reach workers from all sectors of production – including those in positions that are more vulnerable to digitalisation- and give them the tools so they can adapt and continue to add value “.
Cristina Antoñanzas, meanwhile, has influenced the necessary commitment of all parties involved in this digitalization process to ensure that future employment is of quality and in solving the digital gender gap in education, training and employment. As Sebastián Pacheco has highlighted the influence of technological tools applied to the training of people as fundamental elements for development.
Finally, Francisco Ruiz Antón explained that “The European Commission estimates that 37% of the workforce has insufficient levels of digital skills, while 4 out of 10 companies in Europe claim to have difficulties to fill positions related to the use of technology. In this context, the biggest challenge is to help workers acquire the digital skills that will soon be essential in the labor market. ”
Challenges of the digitalization of the world of work
During the opening ceremony, a round table was held on the challenges of digitizing the world of work for public-private collaboration, which was attended by the CEOE CEPYME Vice President, Ms. Pilar González de Frutos; the Director of the ILO Office for Spain, Mr. Joaquín Nieto; the Director of Digital Economy of Red.es, Mr. Luis Prieto; and the Deputy Secretary General of UGT, Ms. Cristina Antoñanzas.
Participants have agreed on the importance of public-private initiatives to address the growing digitalization of the labor market, so that it is possible to capitalize as a country the great opportunities offered by digitization for workers, companies, the economy and the welfare of citizens.
MOOC “Digital Competencies for Professionals”
As part of this project, Google has developed the online course (MOOC) “Digital Competences for Professionals”, of 40 hours, designed for all people who are interested in acquiring digital skills or improving their employability.
The course addresses the basic use of technology and different operating systems, social networks, online work platforms and data processing programs, among other topics. It is a free training that is already available on the online platform of Google Activate yourself.
Google’s commitment to digital training
The project “Training in Digital Competencies for Workers” is part of Google’s commitment to the EU Coalition for Digital Jobs and Skills (EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition) to help 1 million people find work or grow their jobs. business in 2020.
In Spain, this commitment is developed through Google Actívate, a training program in digital skills to promote employability and entrepreneurship, which was born in 2014 and has already trained more than 330,000 people throughout the country. In addition, 43,000 have obtained a job or an internship after going through Google. Activate yourself, either as an employee or launching your own business.
Also published on Medium.