Urban Agenda for the EU: Jobs and Skills Partnership Meeting in Porto

The two-day working sessions within the Urban Agenda for the EU's Jobs and Skills Partnership kicked-off today at the Customs Building. This is also a superb opportunity not only for partners to get to know the urban dynamics of Porto but also to fund instruments and share knowledge regarding urban areas contribution and potential.

This is the 5th Partnership Meeting, which is held in Porto. The previous meetings were held in Brussels, Romania, Jelgava and Rotterdam.

The Partnership is aimed at preparing, adopting and implementing an Action Plan that will be the basis for enhancing fundamental legislation within the EU, both at national and local levels. This work will lead to the fulfilment of the EU long term objectives in the fields of Sustainable Growth and Social, Economic and Territorial Cohesion.

The opening session was attended by Councillor for Economy, Tourism and Trade in Porto, Ricardo Valente, who highlighted the significance of such partnership for the city and what is being developed regarding Talent Management at local level.

"This is a strategic partnership that responds to the impetus the city of Porto is experiencing in these latest years. I recall that InvestPorto has created the Talent Management Service to better manage the city assets and to tackle the challenges we face today. Of all the investment in the city of Porto, 45% is of foreign origin in various fields. We are working on how to run this investment because we believe in Europe, in the cities and in working together".

Porto is engaged in formulating an action plan focused on Education and Skills. "Our greatest challenge is to attract companies and this type of businesses needs a highly qualified workforce. The Action Plan represents an important tool, in order to find out how the city can access both better funding and new opportunities", declares Joana Fins Faria, Chief Talent Officer at InvestPorto.

Michael Horgan, DG Employment Representative, in turn, mentioned that "the active role of cities and municipalities is crucial to develop skills to address the continuous challenges regarding jobs in this transition period".

The Urban Agenda for the EU features a more local approach. What this means is "that the dynamics is a little different. Up to now, the EU would work on a project first and then present it to the partners; now, the partners develop a draft proposal for a project and take it to the EU", concludes Joana Fins Faria.