This PES Network Thematic Review Workshop (TRW) focused on upskilling and reskilling programmes and services in times of crisis, a particularly pertinent topic in the current COVID-19 context.

The workshop brought together 16 Public Employment Services (PES) and the European Commission to discuss and exchange examples of the planning and implementation of such programmes and services, including regional approaches. It had a particular focus on how to reach the most vulnerable groups, including the low-skilled and long-term unemployed.

In addition to introductory remarks from the European Commission and Márton Csillag of the Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis, the TRW featured presentations and discussions around six PES examples:

• The National Training Fund in Poland, by the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology
• The Work and Study Programme in Estonia, by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund
• The SkillsBridge project in Luxembourg, by the Future Skills Initiative and ADEM
• Free training in digital skills in Spain, by SEPE
• The Skills Investment Plan in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France), by Pôle emploi (Auvergne-Rhône Alpes Region and head office)
• Regional transition teams of the COVID-19 recovery package in The Netherlands, by UWV.

This event was the first PES workshop organised as a virtual event and merged together the proposed programmes of two workshops originally intended to be hosted by the Polish Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology in Warsaw and Pôle emploi, France in Paris.