Finnish Presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers: Conference on the Future of Work in Climate Change – Challenges and Opportunities

30th of November 2021
Folkhälsan, Helsinki, Finland/ Online

The registration for this event has closed. Kindly direct any inquiries to linda.oksanen@niva.org.

Future of Work in Climate Change – Challenges and Opportunities


Presentations

Please find the speakers’ PowerPoint presentations presented at the conference below. You can open the presentations by clicking on the links.


About this conference

Climate change is a fact and the need to a green transition is here – now. The Nordic co-operation has a strong focus on building and developing environmentally sustainable solutions within every field.

What do we know about the effects of climate change on the labour market? How do we control and plan for the transformation of work regarding transitioning to a greener work force and labour market? What solutions and ideas are there to create a sustainable future where growth and safety meet?

The Finnish Presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers is organising a Conference on the Future of Work in Climate Change – Challenges and Opportunities on the 30th of November 2021 in Helsinki, Finland.

We will be hearing from international experts and researchers within the field. The seminar will be held in English and can also be attended online.

Speakers

Tuula Haatainen
Tuula Haatainen is Finland’s Minister of Employment, a long-term parliamentarian and a former municipal director. As a member of the Government, she has served not only the Government of Sanna Marin but also the Governments of Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Matti Vanhanen, serving first as Minister of Education between 2003 and 2005 and later as Minister of Social Affairs and Health between 2005 and 2007.

Minister Haatainen has a master’s degree in political science and she is a qualified nurse. During her career, she has had numerous governmental, international and NGO confidence activities. She is married and has two adult children.

Tuomo Alasoini
Tuomo Alasoini is Research Professor at Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and has a long career as civil servant at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Labour and the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation Tekes (now Business Finland). Alasoini has PhD in sociology (1990) and industrial engineering and management (2016). His current research projects revolve around the future of work, digital divides, platform work and the green shift in working life.

John Hurley
John Hurley is acting Head of Unit for Employment at Eurofound since 1 September 2021. He took up the role of research manager in February 2012. He is responsible for the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) events database, contributes to a number of other research projects including the European Jobs Monitor and has authored or co-authored over 20 reports as well as journal contributions and edited collections during his time at Eurofound. His main research interests are in the areas of comparative labour market analysis, restructuring and the changing world of work. John is a graduate of both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin.

Olga Strietska-Ilina
Olga Strietska-Ilina is an Area Lead for Skills Strategies for Future Labour Markets at the ILO, Geneva. Her work focuses on anticipating skills needs for the Future of Work, skills for trade and economic diversification, skills for environmental sustainability and climate action, and skills for technological change and digitalisation. Olga holds post-graduate degrees in Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Manchester, Society and Politics from the CEU, and History and Ethnography from the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov. She has published extensively and is the main author and/or editor of several books, including “Skills and Jobs Mismatches in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” (ILO, 2019), “Skills for a Greener Future” (ILO, 2019), “Skills Needs Anticipation Systems and Approaches” (ILO, OECD et al, 2017), “Parallel Cultures” (Routledge, 2017 2nd edition) and “A Clash of Transitions: Towards a Learning Society” (Peter Lang Publishing 2007). Before 2008, Olga worked at the European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). Earlier on, she was a Head of the Czech National Observatory of Employment and Training and taught International Relations at the Central European University (CEU).

Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir
Sigríður Ósk Bjarnadóttir is a newly appointed associate professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of Iceland. She has been working as a sustainability consultant at VSÓ Consulting in Reykjavík, specializing in low-carbon design and planning. Sigríður earned her Ph.D. in structural engineering from Michigan Technological University. She has been focused on the global climate change and its effects on the built environment since 2008. She has authored several peer-reviewed journal papers in the novel field of climatic adaptation of buildings and infrastructure.

Antti Palola
Antti Palola, born 1959 has been President of STTK (Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK) since December 2013. Previously he has worked as President of the Federation of Salaried Employees Pardia (2005-2013), Vice Managing Director of the Finnish Ship Offecers´ Union (1998-2005) and Principal and Head of the study programme and lecturer in Turku Maritime Academy (1990-1996). Mr Palola is a sea captain. He is a member of the Economic Council of the Finnish Government and a Deputy Chairman of the Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company.

Sara Petrycer Hansen
Sara Petrycer Hansen is working at CONCITO, Denmark’s Green Think Tank. Her work focuses primarily on the skills and just transition agenda both in a national and European context. Sara is responsible for managing the project “The Green Labor Market of Tomorrow”. The project is aiming to demonstrate some of the pathways to secure a future green labor market in balance, and has engaged all relevant Social Partners alongside several Danish global companies, and educational institutions

Anna-Karin Florén
Anna-Karin Florén is the manager of a ten year national research program on working life at the Swedish research council Forte. Forte funds research on health working life and well fare. The program funds research and promotes dialog with researchers and relevant actors.

José Pérez Johansson
José Pérez Johansson is serving as a Policy Officer at the Council of Nordic Trade Unions, a position he has held for the past six years – covering a range of work life topics connected to Nordic, European and global trade union policies. He has for the past two years worked on trade union perspectives on climate issues, working as the Nordic Project Manager for the Nordic/German Trade Union Cooperation “The Road Towards a Carbon-Free Society”.

Riina Pursiainen
Ms Pursiainen is a specialist at Prime Minister’s Office. She works at the Strategy department, part of a Sustainable Development team. Her work revolves around civil society and stakeholder participation, and follow up and review of Agenda2030 implementation. She is also the steering group chair of the Nordic Council of Ministers project – Not “Just” A Green Transition.

Frank Siebern-Thomas
Frank Siebern-Thomas is Head of Unit of the new “Fair Green and Digital Transitions, Research” unit in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, in charge of policy development and analysis related to the employment and social dimensions of the twin – green and digital – transition, as well as links with the European research & innovation programme Horizon Europe. He has worked in different functions and DGs (EMPL, MARKT, GROW) in the European Commission, including on employment and social analysis, research and foresight, European Semester and competitiveness, European social dialogue, impact assessment and better regulation, and international relations. Before joining the Commission, he worked in reinsurance. He studied applied mathematics and economics in Hamburg and Louvain-la-Neuve and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the European University Institute, Florence.


Finlands presidency and Nordic co-operation

Finland assumed its one-year Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers on 1 January 2021. The main task of the Finnish Presidency will be to advance Our Vision 2030, adopted by the Nordic Prime Ministers, according to which the Nordic region will be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. The Vision’s focal points are a green Nordic region, a competitive Nordic region and a socially sustainable Nordic region. In the course of 2021, Finland will together with the Secretariat of the Nordic Council of Ministers organize many Nordic ministerial meetings and several other meetings at senior official level. Finland’s Presidency coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Nordic co-operation is one of the world´s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland.

Nordic co-operation seeks to safe-guard Nordic and regional interests and principals in the global community. Shared Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive region

Contact information:

Linda Oksanen
Project Manager and Communications Advisor at NIVA
linda.oksanen@niva.org

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