President Luis Abinader led the opening ceremony of the 46th Meeting of the ILO/CINTERFOR Technical Commission (RCT), where he highlighted that the unemployment level in the country currently stands at 4.7%, the lowest in recent decades.
Likewise, the President highlighted that last year 34 % of the new jobs created in the country were for young people in their first job.
He said that despite the crises faced by the government he heads, in his three years in office he has focused not only on improving the nominal salary, but especially the real salary of Dominican workers.
The event was held at the Salón Amarillo of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in Punta Cana, under the name “Vocational Training as an axis of Economic and Social Development”, with the National Institute of Technical and Vocational Training (INFOTEP) as host institution.
Expressing that it is an honor to receive each of the representatives of the different countries present, President Abinader said that the Central Theme “Vocational Training as the Axis of Economic and Social Development” is of particular importance for the agenda of economic development and welfare of the people in which our country and all ILO member countries are engaged.
The Head of State assumed his share of responsibility in this tripartite commitment to promote quality learning through the Technical Vocational Training Institute, as well as the polytechnic high schools of the regular education system.
Exchange of experiences for best practices among countries in the region.
The Minister of Labor, Luis Miguel De Camps, said that this meeting of the ILO/CINTERFOR Technical Commission offers a unique opportunity to exchange experiences, knowledge and best practices among the countries of the region.
“It is a propitious space to analyze the challenges and opportunities we face in technical vocational training, as well as to design joint strategies that will allow us to move towards a future of greater prosperity and equity,” said De Camps.
For the Minister of Labor, vocational technical training must be constantly evolving, adapting to technological changes and the demands of the labor market, and in this sense it is important to seek innovative solutions that promote the acquisition of relevant and updated skills.
Workers thrive and keep pace with constant change.
Likewise, the Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, said that skills development and lifelong learning are essential to ensure that workers thrive and keep pace with constant change.
He said these aspects are also essential to building resilience in enterprises, labor markets and workers in the Americas.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented deepening of inequalities within countries, and among this, an increase in working poverty; absence of social protection for 4 billion people; significant challenges for youth employment and for the sustainability of formal enterprises; and a risk of informalization of the formal economy,” Houngbo argued.
Adapting its service offering to the demands of the fourth industrial revolution
Meanwhile, the general director of INFOTEP, Rafael Santos Badía, affirmed that, aligned with the country’s project headed by President Luis Abinader, the institution he directs is formulating and executing its own transformation, to adapt its offer of services to the demands of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, which is also a revolution in people’s lives.
“The Dominican Republic looks to the future with optimism. It is not a pilgrim optimism, but one founded on decisions that, without overlooking the deficits, plans policies and adopts decisions that accelerate the pace of our step towards the conquest of the highest indices of economic, social and human development,” he said.
In turn, the director of ILO-Cinterfor, Anne Posthuma, said that the vision of this organization is guided by core values such as solidarity and horizontal cooperation, to promote innovation and realize the transformative potential of vocational training in terms of economic and productive development with social justice.
“In these 70 years, we have learned that consistent exchanges and collaboration around common goals forge closeness and trusting relationships,” Posthuma noted.
Also, Chamber of Commerce advisor, Juan Mailhos, stressed that the RCT is a good opportunity to reflect on the need that what has been agreed can serve to stretch a tripartite dialogue at the regional level.
46th Meeting of the Technical Commission (RCT)
This historic meeting, which also celebrated the 60th anniversary of ILO-CINTERFOR, brought together Ministers of Labor from Latin America and the Caribbean and representatives of more than 40 vocational training institutions from throughout the region, governments, workers’ and employers’ representatives from 25 countries.
The participation of these personalities from the world of work highlighted the importance and global commitment to strengthening vocational training as a vehicle for sustainable development in the participating countries.
This version of the RCT will be a privileged space for dialogue and collaboration to address the labor challenges of the present and the future, promoting innovative and strategic solutions that benefit the entire region.
Before the opening ceremony of this great meeting, which will last until Friday, October 6, the RCT authorities were elected; the sub-regional and sectoral reports and the 2022-2023 management report were presented, as well as the 2024-2025 work plan.
Source: presidencia.gov.do
