— The Director General for External Relations and the EU of the government of Galicia opened the sixth meeting of the year of the ‘FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia’ series.

— This new meeting organised by Fundación Galicia Europa addressed the region’s priorities in the framework of the European Year of Skills.

Brussels, September 27th 2023. The Director General for External and EU Relations of Galicia’s government, Jesús Gamallo Aller, opened this morning the sixth meeting of the year of the series of virtual meetings “FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia”, which focused on the European Year of Skills, inaugurated last May 9th during the celebration of Europe’s Day. The session was moderated by the director of the Brussels office of Fundación Galicia Europa, Ana Ramos Barbosa.

The Director General stressed the importance of promoting lifelong learning and skills at a European level, as more than three quarters of European companies report difficulties in finding workers with the necessary skills and only 37% of adults receive training regularly. Jesús Gamallo also highlighted how the European Year of Skills aims to promote some of the EU’s social objectives, such as ensuring that at least 60% of adults participate in training activities each year, at least 78% have a job, and at least 80% have basic digital skills.

To explore their priorities for the European Year of Skills, the session featured Marta Caminas Mora, policy advisor at the Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission. After her report, and with the aim of addressing the Galician perspective, Zeltia Lado Lago, the Director General for Employment Training and Guidance of Xunta de Galicia, intervened and presented the Galician Skills Agenda for Employment, inspired by the European Skills Agenda. It should be noted that the approval of this initiative in 2022 made Galicia the second European region to have a specific strategy in the field of job skills.

Virtual meetings between Galicia and the European institutions

The series of meetings ‘FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia’ brings together the Xunta de Galicia with representatives of the European institutions on a monthly basis to jointly address the policies promoted by the EU. Organised by the Fundación Galicia Europa since September 2020, it fosters debate on a multitude of EU issues, such as the Industrial Strategy for Europe, the European Green Deal or the Digital Agenda for Europe.

More information: Virtual meetings “FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia”