Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) first virtual Davos Forum that he intends to improve employment prospects in his country. In January, Sanchez participated via video conference in one of the forum’s round table events, reports Xinhua news agency. He said the high level of youth unemployment in Spain was “unacceptable” and his government was working to address the problem with measures designed to improve qualifications and re-train young people, with a focus on promoting digital skills and helping young women. The Prime Minister said his country’s ‘Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan’, has earmarked some 2,500 million euros ($3,040 million) for digital training. The Spanish leader added that in the context of the recovery plan, significant resources will also be dedicated to modernising labour market policies to provide jobs for young people.

Sanchez noted that the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and that women have become more vulnerable economically, but insisted that his government’s economic response to the crisis has helped to protect families, workers and companies by introducing temporary employment regulation schemes. He said these measures, along with the recovery plan, and European Union funds, would allow for investment to create jobs and transform Spain’s economy by introducing reforms to increase productivity.

The Prime Minister also highlighted Spain’s commitment to its economy, saying that by 2030, 74 per cent of the country’s energy will be generated from renewable sources.