Montreal, Canada, 11/09/2017 – The first collaboration agreement between the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) was signed October 13 2017 through ILO’s Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (CINTERFOR) during the fifth edition of the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE Canada-2017).
In this document, IOHE and ILO though its CINTERFOR program commit to work together in the development and strengthening of academic activities that promote the effective integration of students in the workforce. Through this partnership, the two organizations will seek to influence the development of job boards at the continental level, particularly through the Inter-American Space for Technical and Technological Higher Education (EIESTEC), an initiative stemming from institutions and associations affiliated with IOHE.
“We are certain that the scope of IOHE’s membership and the quality of our activities alongside the experience of CINTERFOR/ILO in the area of practical training and the field of labour is the perfect formula to help ensure that students across the Americas have improved working prospects and quality of life,” highlighted Dr. David Julien, Executive Secretary of IOHE, the only higher education association actively present throughout the Americas.
The agreement, signed during CAIE Canada-2017’s third plenary session, establishes a platform that draws together IOHE’s scope and influence and the content and experience of CINTERFOR/ILO, a pioneering international organization in management and the collective development of knowledge and promotion of South-South cooperation on questions related to human resource development.
IOHE serves as the Executive Secretariat for CAIE and CINTERFOR/ILO’s Director, Enrique Deibe, spoke during CAIE Canada-2017’s third plenary session titled, “Multilateral Organizations and the Inter-American Educational Agenda.”
The first interactions that served as a basis for this agreement took place during the Inter-Sectoral Workshop on Youth Employment – Connections between Education and Work in December 2016, an event in which both IOHE and the ILO participated as observers and consultants.
4th EIESTEC Meeting
As an extension of CAIE Canada-2017, and profiting from the presence of a number of international delegates who had participated in the conference, the 4th EIESTEC Meeting took place on the 16th and 17th of October at Collège Ahuntsic in Montreal. The meeting was made possible through collaboration with the Fédération des cégeps, who acted as the meeting’s host institution. A total of 112 participants from 73 institutions from 12 countries across the Americas took part in the meeting.
The 4th EIESTEC Meeting saw the solidification of a number of key agreements. During this meeting, CINTERFOR/ILO signed a cooperation agreement with Fédération des cégeps and number of Mexican institutions participating through the Asociación Nacional de Universidades Tecnológicas (ANUT) signed their own agreements with partners from Canada and the United States. These agreements prioritized student and teacher mobility.
EIESTEC is a space for inclusion, dialogue, and connection for technical and technological higher education institutions. Each meeting offers a space for closeness and inter-institutional collaboration. The 4th edition was the first meeting to be held in North America as well as the first to involve delegates from the United States, drawing representatives from higher education institutions, higher education institutional associations, and the federal government, confirming the inter-American character of this initiative.