Development and promotion of green jobs: WAPES’ member public employment services (PES) and their partners are gearing up for an international conference to be held in Conakry in December.
Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea, is set to host the WAPES (World Association of Public Employment Services) interregional conference on December 18, 19 and 20, 2023, on the theme of “Developing and promoting green jobs, an opportunity for public employment services”. This is in partnership with the African Association of Public Employment Services (AASEP) and the Guinean Agency of Employment Promotion (AGUIPE).
In the run-up to this important event, a preparatory workshop was held in Conakry from October 23 to 25, under the leadership of AASEP President Ibrahim Ag Nock, Managing Director of ANPE Mali, and his Guinean counterpart Mohamed ARIBOT.
Chaired by the Minister of Technical Education, Vocational Training and Employment, represented by the department’s Secretary General, Mr. Youssouf B. SYLLA, the three-day workshop aimed to share the issues and challenges involved in organizing such an event. SYLLA, the 3-day workshop aimed to share the issues and challenges involved in organizing such an event with all conference stakeholders at national level.
In addition to the Guinean and AGUIPE authorities, WAPES Executive Secretariat representative Thierry Huort, Senior Consultant in charge of the Africa, Middle East and Arab Countries (MOPA) Regions, and WAPES Vice-President representative for the Africa Region Bréhima N. SIDIBÉ were also in attendance.
The workshop was also attended by AGUIPE’s local institutional partners, notably the ministries of agriculture, tourism, crafts, energy and infrastructure through AGETIPE. The specific aim of the meeting was to validate the terms of reference, the schedule of tasks and activities, and the agenda for the conference.
Despite the pressure of a relatively short deadline for the organization of such a large-scale activity, the 3 days of intense work enabled the achievement of the targeted objectives, in particular the impregnation and appropriation of the stakes and challenges by all the local players; the validation of the documents submitted; the confirmation of the conference dates; the clear definition of a timetable with clearly defined responsibilities for all concerned; the support of the highest authorities through the presence and effective involvement of the sectoral departments concerned, the private sector, civil society and the press, among others.
Throughout the proceedings, the Secretary General of the Guinean Ministry of Employment, Mr. Youssouf Boundou Sylla, praised the commitment, unwavering support and determination of the President of AASEP not only to hold this conference in Guinea, but also and above all to support AGUIPE and its partners in its organization and success. Finally, he declared that, as of this workshop, the Government and people of Guinea are committed to meeting the challenge of successfully organizing the said conference on the dates indicated and confirmed by the present proceedings.
He reassured WAPES, AASEP and their partners that Guinea would honor the trust placed in it to host this important interregional conference.
WAPES has 80 member countries worldwide, 20 of which are in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Since the 11th World Congress held in Marrakech (Morocco) in 2018, Mali, through the ANPE General Manager, has held the presidency of the Region. This mandate was renewed for 3 years, in 2022 at the 12th World Congress held in Tallinn (Estonia) in April 2022.
The conference in Conakry is one of the Africa Region’s activities for the year, in addition to the training session for member PES employment advisors held from September 11 to 21 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The dynamism of AASEP under Mali’s mandate was once again praised by WAPES and its partners.
As if to say that, despite a difficult general context, the Africa Region is alive and kicking, and intends to keep WAPES alive “for its members and by its members”.
Brehima SIDIBE, Vice-Presidency Africa Region