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Almost 70 participants from trade unions as well as employers’ organisations from Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, the UK, Spain, Luxemburg, Ireland, Slovenia, Hungary and Belgium discussed the important role of life long learning as a key instrument in advancing employability in times of crisis.



Speakers from UNI Europa Finance as well as the from the European Banking Federation called on all social partners to actively participate in the European social dialogue, and encouraged social dialogue to take place also at national level. Croatia’s joining the EU in July 2013 was at the center of the discussion as well. The big interest of Croatian social partners to embrace the new possibilities through their EU membership became manifest in the large number of Croatian participants from both trade union and employers’ side. At the moment, there is no social dialogue in Croatia at national level for the banking sector. But speakers from Croatia from both sides showed their interest in engaging more actively in new forms of dialogue as well as promoting lifelong learning in that context.



The European Union’s delegation in Croatia emphasized the importance of capacity building in Central and Eastern European countries, which is nonetheless reflected in the Commission’s financial support of this social partner project. Presentations from Malta and Cyprus featured the good practice of national social dialogue in their countries since they have joined the EU. Banks operating in Croatia presented their training modules for young employees, and possibilities to train and support employees over 50 years of age were discussed.



Summing up, the workshop was a successful first step for the European federations of both sides to cooperate more intensively with their Croatian affiliates and involving them more actively in European activities. Similar workshops are foreseen to take place in Bucharest in April and Sofia in June 2013.