By Martín Padulla for staffingamericalatina

Finally, we met again. The World Employment Conference post pandemic took place in beautiful Brussels and we were able to see each other after many virtual meetings.

And obviously the pandemic was omnipresent in the topics that were developed since it left us with a significant gap between the expectations of workers and employers. This was THE theme of the conference, but it triggered many others, very transcendent, mobilizing.

Bettina Schaller, President of the World Employment Confederation, opened the 54th edition of the event by urging to be protagonists to make labour markets more resilient and sustainable

Globally and especially in our region, the HR services sector is part of the solution and not of the problem; it is leading positive changes in labor markets that need inclusion, flexibility, security, formality and dynamism.

This concept was made very clear in the different sessions through hard data and very convincing evidence. The role played by the sector during the pandemic has been reflected in it’s  growth in many countries. However, I believe that #WEC2022Brussels served as a platform for deeper reflection: how can we consolidate the sector as a major player in the post-pandemic world of work?

In this period we are living in, #HRservices have a unique and unprecedented historical opportunity because the workforce issues and efficient workforce management are among the top priorities of CEOS around the world.

With great rigor in the treatment of data, Justine van Huysste, Managing Vice President of Gartner, showed us this opportunity and how remote and hybrid work grew above the projected pre-pandemic expectations.
This was right after the presentation of Pellegrino Riccardi, the multicultural keynote speaker who mobilized us on the basis of connection. People want connection and not perfection, he said.

Three big bullets for the check list o the histrionic Pellegrino:

• Are we safe?
• Are we connected?
• Do we have a future together?

What a challenge! The importance of relationships and understanding that focus on the negative is the default, but focus on the positive is a choice. Reality minus expectations equals happiness in Riccardi’s simple but profound equation.

The hashtag #bridgethegap also has greater depth than initially perceived.
As regards young people,  a top panel put on the table the cost post COVID for them. Through testimonials a cocktail to consider was shown that included: discrimination, education, mental health, flexibility, security, human connections. Youth unemployment golabally is three times higher than adult unemployment and informality is twice as high. The tools to work on solving this scourge are:

• Labour market policies
• Skills
• Inclusiveness

The role of private employment agencies is crucial and very efficient. For Latin America, the ratification of ILO Convention 181 on private employment agencies is essential and urgent. Every country in the region has a solution to the problem at hand, the concrete possibility of empowering individuals and giving them access to the formal labor market; the real and concrete passage from declamation of inclusion to real inclusion.

We are experiencing the greatest democratization of learning since Gutenberg and his revolutionary invention: the printing press. Carreer guidance is crucial. We know that learning by doing is very efficient, we have tons of data that prove it, and we must promote this in each of the countries of Latin America. Digital skills are key to work but they are also key to… continue learning. Remote work is also complemented by remote learning. There is a lot of talk about the first concept and very little about the second; for our region both are equally relevant. Thinking about career development from a skills perspective, implies the commitment of companies and workers to both retain talent and increase employability.

Our work agenda in the coming years will inevitably include everything related to emotional and mental wellbeing; we have seen that this is already weighted by the candidates along with financial and physical well-being. We were able to see research that demonstrates this.
Adam Hawkins, Head of Search & Staffing for EMEA and Latam at LinkedIn stated that companies that can adapt to GenZ´s expectations and incorporate their needs into corporate cultures that work across age groups, are going to be the ones to thrive. And with this statement invites us to reflect on transgenerational management and the art of listening to understand expectations and needs.

To be a manager post COVID is to know how to have conversations with each team member about career development, upskilling, reskilling… expectations.
Mark Keese, Head of Skills and Employability at OECD stated that
Mega trends like demographic change, digitalization and descarbonisation are driving demand to high level skills.

We are in the midst of a major transition. The sector is best equipped to facilitate sustainable transitions.

In Latin America, in my view, the role of the sector is of even greater strategic importance due to the enormous scale of informality.
The sector can be the manager par excellence of diverse forms of work and diverse forms of training and professional orientation. The figure of private employment agencies can be a key to manage from formality, career development and employability.
The sector in the region is called upon to be the protagonist of the indispensable virtuous inclusion, that which takes place in the workplace and not through populist illusions.

What our friend Denis Pennel, Managing Director of the World Employment Confederation, said resonated with me: we can close the gap, the only question is how fast we can do it.

Better/Faster/Stronger. We have to get better out of the most global phenomenon in the history of mankind
history. We can’t afford anything else. It is already happening and we are protagonists.

See you next March in Brussels. Thank you!