More than 250 participants heard from PES, politicians, social partners, European and international organisations, NGOs, researchers and service providers on the critical value of PES partnership responses for meeting the needs of evolving labour markets in Europe.

The 2021 edition of the annual PES Network Stakeholder Conference took place entirely online, 20-22 April, on the theme ‘The Power of PES Partnerships’. Opening the event, Nicolas Schmit European Commissioner for Jobs and Skills, highlighted that “We will only be able to translate principle 4 of the Pillar of Social Rights on support to employment into practice with the contribution of public employment services and stakeholders present today.”

Meanwhile, Johannes Kopf, Chair of the PES Network also had a very clear message: “It has required an incredible effort by PES to combat the crisis, but it also forced us to be creative. More than ever, solving complex issues is a matter of working together. I can assure you the topic of partnership will remain high on our agenda.”

In between, participants heard keynote speeches from leading experts and researchers on the latest trends, thinking and prospects in the field of PES partnership responses to the evolving labour market. There was also a high-level panel discussion with social partners on the impact of COVID.

Participants were taken on a journey across the three days of the conference, starting with an introduction to the current partnership ecosystem, through practical partnership responses to the pandemic and the outlook for the future employment service ecosystem.

A total of 17 workshops across the three days explored each of these themes through practical examples presented by PES and their partner organisations. Further interactivity was enabled through online polls in each session, a networking lunch and creative expression in the form of haikus on the Power of PES Partnerships

For further details, visit the conference event page or download the conference agenda directly. Recordings of the plenary sessions, including the speeches by Commissioner Nicolas Schmit and Johannes Kopf, Chair of the Network, are also available online.

Interested to know more about the topic? Read the conference input paper, or watch a short animated video on the power of PES partnerships.

You can also revisit the 2020 PES Network paper on PES partnership management.