24 June 2015, 
Hosted by Martina Dlabajova, MEP 
European Parliament (Brussels),  PHS building, room P5 B001

In his speech to the European Parliament on the 15 July 2014, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said:“My number one priority and the connecting thread running through each and every proposal will be getting Europe growing again and getting people back to work.” 
 
But how are we to achieve job creation across the EU?  Businesses are concerned that a skills gap exists between the education system and the needs of business in many Member States that could significantly restrict the ability of those businesses and the EU to grow, with 81% of Global CEOs stating that they are seeking a broader ranger of skills when hiring new employees (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO survey).

In September 2014, the European Commission reported that bottleneck vacancies do not only occur in high skilled occupations, such as health, IT, scientific and engineering professionals, but are also found in skilled and low skilled manual occupations such as manufacturing, construction or tourism and that this is partly due to a mismatch in educational choices. As part of the EU's overall strategy - Europe 2020 - the Commission launched its 'new skills for new jobs' initiativeto help the EU reach its employment target for 2020 of 75% of the working-age population (20-64 years) to be in work.  The initiative sets out to:

• Promote better anticipation of future skills needs
• Develop better matching between skills and labour market needs
• Bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work

 ACCA and PwC are delighted to invite you to a joint conference hosted by Martina Dlabajova, MEP on 'Bridging the gap between education and the workplace: equipping people with the right skills for today and tomorrow’s jobs'. A panel of experts will consider the 'skills gap' issues affecting businesses, and discuss possible steps that the EU, national policy makers, educators, as well as  businesses could consider to address them and  allow for the EU to meet its employment targets for 2020.

RSVP by 12 June  2015 to cecile.bonino@accaglobal.com

(Please note that due to strict security measures at the European Parliament, late registrations will not be accepted)

If you do not have a permanent pass for the European Parliament, please indicate your

• Full name and first name
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Passport or ID number
• Place of birth
• Residence ( full home address)

Draft agenda

11.30h registrations (at the accreditation center of the EP)- sandwich lunch

12.45h Welcome speech by Martina Dlabajova, MEP

13.00h Roundtable moderated by Jennie Bruce, Head of Qualifications content, ACCA

• Cestmir Vancura, Kovarna Viva
• Markus Stock, Head of EU-Office of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU
• Alena Zukersteinova, senior expert, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
• Chiara Riondino, Unit skills and qualifications unit, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• Simone Baldassari, unit SMEs and Entrepreneurship, DG GROW
• Michael Kane, Director of Education and Skills, PwC

14.00h Q&As

14.20h Key note speech, Danuta Jazlowiecka, MEP  

14.30h Concluding remarks,  MEP Dlabajova