Digital Employment Diagnostic Guidelines
Digital Employment Diagnostic Guidelines
English
ILO
The International Labour Organization is the tripartite U.N. agency that promotes Decent Work through employment, social security, labour standards and social dialogue. Its work on skills development is guided by the conceptual framework on Skills to improve productivity, employment growth, and development agreed in 2008 by representatives of Governments, Employers’ Associations and Workers’ Associations. Research, policy advice, and pilot projects and technical cooperation programmes to apply good practices in different circumstances across its 185 member States aims to boost the employability of workers, the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises, and the inclusiveness of economic growth. The ILO Secretariat in offices in 40 countries works with Ministries of Labour, employers’ organizations, and trade unions to integrate skills development into national and sector development strategies in order to better meet current labour market needs and to prepare for the jobs of the future; to expand access to employment-related training so that youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are better able to acquire skills and secure productive and decent work; and to improve the ability of public employment services to provide career guidance, maintain labour exchange services, and deliver active labour market programmes.For more information regarding the ILO’s work on skills and employability go to: http://www.ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm; for ILO/Cinterfor's Knowledge Management Plarform, see: http://www.oitcinterfor.org
Digital skills
The world of work is undergoing a substantial transformation due to new forces. In particular, technological advances, such as AI, automation and robotics, have produced numerous new opportunities, but also given rise to urgent challenges. While new jobs are constantly being created with the emergence of the digital economy, many jobs are at risk of becoming obsolete. Digital innovations will rapidly change the demand for skills, thereby creating a wider skills gap that has the potential to hold back economic growth. Equipping people with basic or advanced digital skills promises to prepare them for unprecedented job opportunities in the digital economy. This will lead to innovation, higher productivity and competitiveness, as well as expanding markets, access to work and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Sectoral approaches
Matching skills to labour market demand requires reliable sectoral and occupational information and institutions that connect employers with training providers. Sector based strategies and institutions have proved effective in engaging all stakeholders in promoting both pre-employment training and life-long learning.
Skills policies and strategies
Skills and employment policies should be viewed together. The full value of one policy set is realized when it supports the objectives of the other. For investments in education and training to yield maximum benefit to workers, enterprises, and economies, countries’ capacities for coordination is critical in three areas: connecting basic education to technical training and then to market entry; ensuring continuous communication between employers and training providers so that training meets the needs and aspirations of workers and enterprises, and integrating skills development policies with industrial, investment, trade, technology, environmental, rural and local development policies.
Recommendations and advice on resolving policy challenges related to skills development systems and their linkages to the world of work. Concise syntheses of experience from the international organizations.
Tools and guidance
The platform includes a variety of practical tools and guidance materials developed by the ILO at global and national levels. The resources include guides, case studies, cheklist, visual materials and more, and they cover a wide range of topics. Some are specifically aimed at certain groups of stakeholders, for example employers, workers or governments, and some are designed to support specific groups of beneficiaries.
These guidelines serve as a comprehensive framework to assess, analyze, and understand the multifaceted dimensions of digital employment.
These guidelines serve as a comprehensive framework to assess, analyze, and understand the multifaceted dimensions of digital employment. They provide a roadmap for policymakers, researchers, statisticians and practitioners to gather accurate and reliable data, measure the impact of digitalization on employment and develop evidence-based policies that can effectively address emerging issues and ensure decent working conditions for all, including displaced populations, young people, older workers and informal workers.
The digital economy has the potential to create new forms of work, enhance productivity and foster inclusive growth. However, it also brings forth a range of challenges, including the digital divide, precarious work arrangements and the erosion of traditional employment structures. By providing guidelines for undertaking digital employment diagnostics, the ILO aims to support its constituents and stakeholders in leveraging the opportunities offered by the digital economy while mitigating the associated risks.
This document is the result of extensive research, consultations and collaboration with experts and stakeholders from around the globe. It combines the latest insights, best practices and methodologies for analyzing digital employment and its impact on individuals, enterprises, and society. The guidelines benefited from an ILO-led piloting exercise in Uganda which included an initial analysis, stakeholder consultations and a case study. The piloting was done in collaboration with the ILO PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund project “Promotion, inclusion and protection of refugees and host communities in the gig economy”.
