Barcelona has hosted the first Technical Conference on Career Guidance, a meeting to address the challenges of the labour market and rethink the support for people who want to access it. Organised by Barcelona Activa in the Disseny Hub (DHub), the event brought together more than 300 professionals —double the number of the previous edition— to analyse changes in the world of work and promote new tools and strategies. With an eye on the future of work, the conference called for a more up-to-date and personalised guidance.

Given the forecast that 22% of jobs will change substantially before 2030 and that 59% will require specific training (according to the report The Future of Jobs del World Economic Forum), the conference focused the debate on three main areas: artificial intelligence, vocational training and new job skills.

This edition has also seen a step forward in a broader, technical and participatory format, which has included practical workshops, debate spaces, presentations and a hackathon. Key issues such as lifelong learning, Dual Vocational Training, micro-credentials and territorial equity have also been addressed, in an environment designed to respond to the new challenges of the sector.

The conference started with a talk given by Sam Grayling (World Economic Forum), to contextualise the major changes in the labour market. Based on this analysis, the audiovisual, healthcare, digital economy, sustainable economy and industry 4.0 sectors were highlighted as strategic for the city, in a talk led by per Àngels Santigosa. Subsequently, the artificial intelligence expert, Nerea Luis, explained the challenges and opportunities of AI and facilitated a hackathon to experiment with practical cases.

Reskilling and upskilling also played a prominent role, with proposals such as Dual Vocational Training, micro-credentials and innovative methodologies such as the fishbowl, which encouraged open debate among professionals. Each participant was able to build their own itinerary, choosing between workshops, talks and debate spaces according to their interests and training needs.
 

With this conference, Barcelona Activa reinforces its role as a driving force for knowledge and innovation in the field of career guidance. The event is part of the municipal strategy to promote quality work, reduce inequalities and offer more training opportunities adapted to market changes.

Find out more about everything that was discussed at the conference and stay tuned for upcoming conferences.