Cities and regions are at the forefront in ensuring that future opportunities arising from changing local labour markets and skills needs will benefit society at large. By engaging high-level decision-makers from cities in Europe and beyond, the opening session will kick-off the OECD Local Skills Week 2022 and raise the political profile of the strategies that cities and regions are putting in place to prepare for the future of work including through the creation of strong local skills systems. To access the Spanish interpretation, please click on the information icon and select "ES".

As a result of changing labour markets, driven by globalisation, digitalisation, demographic change and the green transition, the types of jobs available and the skills required to perform them are shifting at an ever-faster pace. Sponsored by Barcelona Activa, we will discuss with policy makers, business leaders, employee representatives, and workforce development professionals how to create strong local skills ecosystems. Strong local skills ecosystems support businesses in attracting the talent they need to remain competitive, workers in keeping up with changing labour markets and development of skills that are sought by the market, while ensuring that no one is left behind. To access the Spanish interpretation, please click on the information icon and select "ES".

The future of work starts now. Digitalisation and globalisation have sparked radical shifts in how people live and work and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated these trends. This raises important questions about skills needed for current and future jobs, the quality of those jobs and how young people can influence these developments. Sponsored by Barcelona Activa, this session will bring together young people, local leaders, associations and providers from across Europe and America to explore what cities are doing to ensure young people can excel in local labour markets not just in the next 10 months, but also in the next 10 years. To access the Spanish interpretation, please click on the information icon and select "ES".

Employment, education and training systems must anticipate and adjust to ongoing changes in our economies and societies that affect skills demand now and in the future. Yet, methods of forecasting tend to focus mainly on the national level, overseeing regional disparities. This session will take a deep-dive on the question of how to support local and regional employment, education and training systems through anticipating and forecasting labour market changes, including through new types of data.

The skills lab is all about “what works locally”, bringing together stakeholders engaged in local and regional skills development to discuss and develop innovative ideas on how to promote equality and inclusion through local skills systems. In partnership with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and Eurocities, the OECD has developed a web portal with innovative city level examples. Following the presentation of the web portal, the session will go on to a poster session with presentations of innovative local skills programmes as well as a discussion with stakeholders. The session will result in the common identification of the main factors for success and pitfalls to avoid when developing inclusive adult learning systems.

In collaboration with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the OECD has undertaken an in-depth review of Berlin’s labour market as well as its adult learning system. This event will mark the launch of the OECD report Future-Proofing Adult Learning in Berlin to present the OECD’s key findings and main recommendations to improve Berlin’s adult learning system in order to offer effective support for managing the accelerating transformation of the world of work. A panel discussion will bring together key stakeholders from the Berlin Senate Department for Integration, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Families, adult learning providers, social partners, and the public employment service. To access the German interpretation, please click on the information icon and select "DE".

To ensure future-ready local lifelong learning systems, local actors must work together to create local partnerships and skills ecosystems. The closing session will discuss how local actors come together to develop, implement and promote lifelong learning opportunities to support the future of work in their area.