Higher education and good work

On 6 October, Johannes Siegrist, leader of the ENETOSH project “Decent work and productive employment through Higher Education” gave a statement at the ILO Special Session on Decent Work in the New Normal: “More than 215 million young people are currently studying at universities worldwide. In view of their future leadership roles in business, politics and society, enabling students to use the knowledge and skills they have acquired to work for the creation and maintenance of good working conditions in their professional fields is an enormous task, considering the economic, ecological and technological challenges of creating good work for as many employed and employable people as possible - challenges that have been further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the positive effects that can emanate from agents of social progress, should not be underestimated. With their knowledge and actions, today’s students will have far-reaching opportunities to influence the shaping of sustainable development. At the same time, in societies in which knowledge production and diffusion play a leading role, the models and practices of cooperative and respectful work developed at universities will be strengthened in their function as role models. There is thus hope that a culture of prevention and the safeguarding of good work, starting from this privileged tertiary sector, will spread to other domains of the world of work.”
You can watch the video recordings of the sessions here.