In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a series of mini-conferences organised by Széchenyi István University will focus on gender equality. The latest event, linked to the European Year of Skills, focused on labour market opportunities for women and young people and lifelong learning.

A series of mini-conferences entitled Women in the family, society and science started this year at SZE’s Budapest Innovation and Training Centre. Guests of the programmes are women who, with their professional success and determination, can be role models for many.

The latest event was held in the context of the European Commission's designation of 2023 as the European Year of Skills. It aims to give a boost to lifelong learning, which will benefit job seekers and businesses, while promoting the green and digital transitions, innovation and improved competitiveness. A particular focus is on getting more people into the labour market, especially women and young people.

The timeliness of the issue is underlined by the fact that, according to the latest Eurostat data, only 37% of adults in the EU regularly participate in training. According to the Digital Economy and Society Index, one in three European workers lack basic digital skills. In addition, 28 professions - from construction to healthcare, engineering and IT - were already facing labour shortages in 2021, suggesting that demand for both high- and low-skilled workers is growing.

A particular problem is the lower representation of women in technology-related professions and studies: for example, only one sixth of IT professionals and one third of those with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are women.

Speakers were Kata Farkas-Németh, Katalin Németh, Dr Márta Szombathelyi-Konczos and Zsófia Rácz with Petra Perényi-Isky, staff member of the Centre of International Programmes and Alumni at Széchenyi István University.

At the mini-conference, Katalin Németh, Head of Education and Academic Cooperation at Audi Hungaria Zrt. in Győr, emphasised that in order to help young people with practice-oriented education and career choice, the dual vocational training system was introduced more than 20 years ago, the first in Hungary, and more than 2,000 people have already graduated from it. At present, they are cooperating with the Győr Vocational Training Centre in 14 professions. She added that their company is also committed to dual university education, and since 2015, our colleagues have mentored nearly 100 dual students. Audi's multifaceted, very close partnership with Széchenyi István University is key.

"The outstanding employee of the future will be adaptable, self-motivated, a good problem solver, constantly improving their knowledge and skills, and able to think in a systematic way," she said.

Zsófia Rácz, Ministerial Commissioner of the Ministry of Regional Development, explained that she places great emphasis on identify local problems, challenges and goals while travelling around the country. Her work is helped by the strategic partnerships she has established with several universities.

"For today's young workers, global thinking is coming to the fore. Sustainability, environmental protection and social responsibility are increasingly important buzzwords when joining a company," she stressed.

She added that they also support young people to gain experience abroad. This is supported by the Stipendium Peregrinum scholarship, which is aimed at outstanding talents who are preparing to enter the world's most prestigious universities and who undertake after their studies to use the knowledge they have acquired in Hungary.

Zsófia Rácz, Ministerial Commissioner (centre) said that they support young people to gain experience abroad and then use their knowledge in Hungary (Photo: Emese Sándor)

Kata Farkas-Németh, Head of the Lifelong Learning and Skills Development Centre at Széchenyi István University, stressed that more than a hundred practice-oriented courses providing up-to-date knowledge are offered to adults who already have a university degree. The most popular of these are drone control and data analysis, precision engineering, electric vehicle propulsion and various coach training courses.

The expert was proud to mention that Széchenyi University was voted the Best Workplace for Women in 2017, and the institution has also been awarded the Family Friendly Workplace title, which shows that it pays special attention to the needs of its female and family staff. Ms Farkas-Németh noted that they also organise programmes such as the Children's University, which aim to promote higher education and the academic world to schoolchildren.

The event also provided an opportunity for an informal exchange of views. In our photo, Kata Farkas-Németh, Katalin Németh and Dr Márta Szombathelyi-Konczos (Photo: Emese Sándor)

In this regard, Dr Márta Szombathelyi-Konczos, President of the Széchenyi István University Talent Development Council, said that their basic principle is that talent development does not finish at the end of secondary school, so they consider the identification and development of talent a priority. The main platform for this is the Science and Arts Student Conferences. The effectiveness of this activity is demonstrated by the fact that the institution was awarded the title of Accredited Talent Centre in 2014 and Accredited Outstanding Talent Centre in 2020, and is also linked to the Talent Support Network launched by the Hungarian Genius Integrated Talent Support Programme.

The ideas shared by the invited guests were well received by the audience (Photos: Emese Sándor)