Policy and strategy

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.

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policy-and-strategy

I'd blush if I could: Closing gender divides in digital skills through education

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Document

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															I'd blush if I could: Closing gender divides in digital skills through education 
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

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Gender equality

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Women represent both half of the world's population – and half the world's economic potential. Their participation in the labour market reduces poverty because they often invest 90 per cent of their income in the well-being, education and nutrition of their families. Yet labour force participation by women has stagnated at about 55 per cent globally since 2010. Moreover, women are disproportionately represented in precarious work – low-paid, low-skilled and insecure jobs.

Training plays an important role in the pursuit of equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men in the world of work. Yet women often lack access to technical and vocational education and training. Many also lack the basic functional skills, such as literacy and numeracy, to participate meaningfully in the work force. Overcoming this challenge requires the adoption of a life-cycle approach. This includes improving girls’ access to basic education; overcoming logistic, economic and cultural barriers to apprenticeships and to secondary and vocational training for young women; and meeting the training needs of women re-entering the labour market and of older women who have not had equal access to opportunities for lifelong learning.

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skpGenEqul

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gender-equality

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Other knowledge products

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skpOProduct

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other-knowledge-products

Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

01 Jul 2020

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edmsp1_263434.pdf

The publication explains the role gender-responsive education can play to help reset gendered views of technology and ensure equality for women and girls. The publication has three parts: a policy paper and two think pieces.

The POLICY PAPER outlines the persistence and severity of the digital skills gender gap, provides a rationale for interventions, and makes recommendations to help women and girls develop strong digital skills through education.
THINK PIECE 1 explains the ICT gender equality paradox, UNESCO’s finding that countries with the highest levels of gender equality such as those in Europe also have the lowest proportions of women pursuing advanced degrees in computer science and related subjects. Conversely, countries with low levels of gender equality such as those in the Arab region have the highest proportions of women completing advanced technology degrees.

THINK PIECE 2 examines how AI voice assistants projected as young women perpetuate harmful gender biases. It offers recommendations to ensure that the continued proliferation of digital assistants does not widen gender divides. The think pieces are intended to complement the policy brief, but also function as stand-alone products.

The EQUALS Skills Coalition hopes that the three outputs, considered collectively, shine new light on the persistence of digital gender divides and, more importantly, inform education interventions to help women and girls cultivate the digital skills they need to thrive in life, learning and work.

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Globalization

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globalization

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267

Skills and training policy

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skills-and-training-policy

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666

Technology

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technology

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345

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Global

Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the World of Work: Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities at all stages of the response

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Document

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															Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the World of Work: Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities at all stages of the response
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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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

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skpILO

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ilo

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People with disabilities

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Of an estimated 1 billion people with disabilities in the world today, some 785 million are of working age. While many are successfully employed and fully integrated into society, most face a disproportionate level of poverty and unemployment. This is a massive loss both to them and their countries. A strategy of including people with disabilities in training and employment promotion policies, combined with targeted supports to ensure their participation, can help disabled persons obtain productive mainstream employment.

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skpPeoDis

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people-with-disabilities

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

05 Jun 2020

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edmsp1_261830.pdf

This brief highlights key issues that a disability-inclusive COVID-19 response, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, should address. It is based on the ILO approach to promoting decent work for all and ensuring employment and social protection for persons with disabilities. Doing so will contribute to each of the ILO’s key pillars in fighting COVID-19 in the world of work.

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Inclusion

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inclusion

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665

People with disabilities

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people-with-disabilities

Identifier

323

Regions:

Global

ILO Policy Brief: Preventing exclusion from the labour market: Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis

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Document

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															ILO Policy Brief: Preventing exclusion from the labour market: Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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ILO

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skpILO

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ilo

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Youth employability

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Globally, nearly 68 million young women and men are looking for and available for work, and an estimated 123 million young people are working but living in poverty. The number who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) stands at 267 million, a majority of whom are young women. Significantly, young people are three times as likely as adults (25 years and older) to be unemployed.

Skills development is a primary means of enabling young people to make a smooth transition to work. A comprehensive approach is required to integrate young women and men in the labour market, including relevant and quality skills training, labour market information, career guidance and employment services, recognition of prior learning, incorporating entrepreneurship with training and effective skills forecasting. Improved basic education and core work skills are particularly important to enable youth to engage in lifelong learning as well as transition to the labour market.

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skpYoEmp

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youth-employability

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

27 May 2020

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edmsp1_261436.pdf

COVID-19 will add to the existing labour market challenges facing young women and men. This policy brief highlights how youth, especially women, are being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis is likely to be particularly severe for youth across three dimensions: (1) disruptions to education, training and work-based learning; (2) increased difficulties for young jobseekers and new labour market entrants; and (3) job and income losses, along with deteriorating quality of employment. The brief calls for urgent, comprehensive and targeted policy responses to the global pandemic.

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Disadvantaged youth

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disadvantaged-youth

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663

Youth unemployment

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youth-unemployment

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622

Regions:

Global

The COVID-19 pandemic: Shocks to education and policy responses

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Document

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The COVID-19 pandemic: Shocks to education and policy responses

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English

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english

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skpEng

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

14 May 2020

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edmsp1_260632.pdf

The COVID-19 pandemic has already had profound impacts on education by closing schools at all levels almost everywhere; now, the damage will become even more severe as the health emergency translates into a deep global recession. This note describes the shocks hitting education systems and outlines how countries can respond to them.

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Policy convergence

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policy-convergence

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674

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Global

Policy Brief: Public employment services in the frontline for jobseekers, workers and employers

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Document

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															Policy Brief: Public employment services in the frontline for jobseekers, workers and employers
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

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Career guidance and employment services

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Career guidance and counselling, career education and lifelong development of skills for employability are key for success in learning activities, effective career transitions, livelihood planning, entrepreneurship and in increasing labour market participation. They are instrumental in promoting skills utilization, recognition (RPL), as well as in improving enterprise human resource management.

Career development activities encompass a wide variety of support activities including career information and advice, counselling, work exposure (e.g. job shadowing, work experience periods), assessment, coaching, mentoring, professional networking, advocacy, basic and employability skills training (curricular and non-curricular) and entrepreneurship training. It is often an area which is fragmented across different ministries (e.g. education, TVET, employment, youth) requiring an effort to achieve the necessary coordination to provide adequate support to individuals during learning, employment and unemployment/inactivity periods.

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skpLMIES

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career-guidance-and-employment-services

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

14 May 2020

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edmsp1_260631.pdf

Tackling the coronavirus (COVID-19): Contributing to a global effort. The consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for the labour market are likely to be severe. Many firms are struggling to stay afloat during the often strict confinement measures, and large numbers of workers have already either been involved in various forms of short-time work schemes or laid off. Public and private employment services (PES) will play a crucial role in preventing the labour market from seizing up during the crisis and in promoting a fast recovery once confinement measures start to be lifted. They will need to provide support on an increasingly virtual (i.e. not face to face) basis to an unparalleled inflow of jobseekers. This will include ensuring that benefits are paid out without delay, providing information, and encouraging jobseekers to stay active even if there are fewer vacancies. In the short-term, the economic impact of the pandemic is shifting labour demand across sectors and regions, and it remains to be seen if this will lead to more permanent re-allocation of labour across sectors and regions. Therefore, the PES in each country will not only be facing a surge in the number of jobseekers but also the need to potentially reallocate many of them across occupations, sectors and regions. This requires providing them with good labour market information and support for skills development. In order to fulfil these particularly challenging tasks, PES need to be agile and quickly adapt to the new situation. This policy brief provides guidance on how this can be done.

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Economic recovery

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economic-recovery

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667

Employment services

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employment-services

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680

Public service

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public-service

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240

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Global

Policy Brief: VET in a time of crisis: Building foundations for resilient vocational education and training systems

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Document

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															Policy Brief: VET in a time of crisis: Building foundations for resilient vocational education and training systems 
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

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Access to training

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Access for all to good quality education, vocational training and workplace learning is a fundamental principle of social cohesion and economic growth. Some groups of people may require targeted attention if they are to benefit from education, training and employment opportunities.

This is particularly the case for disadvantaged youth, lower skilled workers, people with disabilities, and people in rural communities. The attractiveness of vocational education and training is enhanced when combined with entrepreneurship training and when public policies encourage utilization of higher skills by business.

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skpATSU

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access-to-training

Training quality and relevance

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skpTrainQR

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training-quality-and-relevance

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

12 May 2020

Open

edmsp1_260627.pdf

Tackling Coronavirus (COVID-19): Contributing to a global effort. This policy brief examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on vocational education and training (VET) systems and how VET systems are responding in OECD countries. The brief also presents steps that governments can take in the context of this crisis to build foundations for tomorrow’s strong and resilient VET systems.

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Access to training

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access-to-training

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683

TVET systems

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tvet-systems

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661

Vocational training

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vocational-training

Identifier

124

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Global

Policy Brief: Distance and Online Learning during the time of COVID-19

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Document

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Policy Brief: Distance and Online Learning during the time of COVID-19

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English

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english

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skpEng

Sources:

ILO

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skpILO

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ilo

Topics:

Access to training

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skpATSU

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access-to-training

Lifelong learning

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There is a critical need for a greater overall investment in education and training, particularly in developing countries. Education and training investments should be closely linked to economic and employment growth strategies and programmes. Responsibility should be shared between the government (primary responsibility), enterprises, the social partners, and the individual. To make lifelong learning for all a reality, countries will need to make major reforms of their vocational and education and training systems. School-to-work schemes for young people should integrate education with workplace learning. Training systems need to become more flexible and responsive to rapidly changing skill requirements. Reforms should also focus on how learning can be facilitated, not just on training for specific occupational categories.

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skpPSLLL

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lifelong-learning

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

05 May 2020

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edmsp1_259827.pdf

This article reflects on some innovative solutions being adopted in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) along these three policy streams and discusses how to ensure the lessons learnt will have a lasting and positive effect on TVET, skills development and lifelong learning.

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Access to training

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access-to-training

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683

Employability

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employability

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643

Lifelong learning

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lifelong-learning

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400

Skills and training policy

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skills-and-training-policy

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666

Regions:

Global

Policy Brief: Coping with double casualties: How to support the working poor in low-income countries in response to COVID-19

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Document

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															Policy Brief: Coping with double casualties: How to support the working poor in low-income countries in response to COVID-19
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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ILO

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skpILO

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ilo

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

05 May 2020

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edmsp1_259824.pdf

This Policy Brief looks into the possible impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have, especially on the working poor in LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and countries facing fragility, or the aftermath of a conflict or disaster. In particular, the brief reviews possible impacts and responses that can be undertaken as part of the ILO response through the Jobs for Peace & Resilience (JPR) Flagship Programme.

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Economic recovery

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economic-recovery

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667

Social protection

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social-protection

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101

Working poor

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working-poor

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150

Regions:

Global

Policy brief: Protecting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations for policy-makers and constituents

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Document

Content Type:

															Policy brief: Protecting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations for policy-makers and constituents
													

Language:

English

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english

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skpEng

Sources:

ILO

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skpILO

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ilo

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Migrant workers

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According to the ILO global estimates on migrant workers, there were around 164 million migrant workers in 2017.

Migrant workers contribute to growth and development in their countries of destination, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the skills acquired during their migration experience. Yet, many migrant workers face challenges in accessing quality training and decent jobs including under-utilization of skills, a lack of employment or training opportunities, lack of information, and exploitation of low-skilled workers.

To address these challenges, countries need to strengthen skills anticipation systems to inform migration policies, increase access to education and training, and establish bilateral or multilateral recognition of qualifications and skills.

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skpMigWor

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migrant-workers

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Other knowledge products

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skpOProduct

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other-knowledge-products

Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

04 May 2020

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edmsp1_259624.pdf

This policy brief provides information and identifies a number of key recommendations to assist governments and other stakeholders in designing COVID-19 policy responses that can help to ensure the protection of migrant workers, as well as to inform responses for the protection of refugees and those displaced working in countries other than their own, differentiated by gender as appropriate and based upon relevant international labour standards, and ILO guidance and good practices. This document will be updated regularly as the situation evolves.

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Migrant workers

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migrant-workers

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681

Social protection

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social-protection

Identifier

101

Regions:

Global

Issue brief: Job quality in the platform economy

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Document

Content Type:

Issue brief: Job quality in the platform economy

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English

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english

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skpEng

Sources:

ILO

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skpILO

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ilo

Topics:

Anticipating and matching skills needs

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Anticipating and building skills for the future is essential to a rapidly changing labour market. This applies to changes in the types and levels of skills needed as well as in occupational and technical areas. Effective methods to anticipate future skills needs and avoid potential mismatches include: sustained dialogue between employers and trainers, coordination across government institutions, labour market information systems, employment services and performance reviews of training institutions.

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skpAFSN

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anticipating-and-matching-skills-needs

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Policy and strategy

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

05 Apr 2018

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edmsp1_211424.pdf

Part of the Future of Work Issue Briefs prepared by the ILO. Issue Brief 5. The 'platform economy' emerged in the early 2000s alongside the growth of the Internet, providing opportunities for the production and delivery of a range of services delivered through online marketplaces (platforms). Digital labour platforms take a variety of forms, although it is useful to distinguish between crowdwork and work on demand via apps. Crowdwork usually refers to activities or services that are performed online, irrespective of the location. Although some of these jobs entail the movement of work from the offline to the online economy, in other instances they are new tasks that permit the smooth functioning of web-based industries, such as content moderation on social media sites, the cataloguing of online products, and the transcription of YouTube videos. Work on demand via apps refers to physical activities or services that are performed locally; typical activities include transportation, delivery and home services. In these cases, an app is used to match labour demand and supply, usually within a geographically defined area.

While employment through digital labour platforms remains small – estimates range from 0.5 per cent of the labour force in the United States to 5 per cent in Europe – it is expected that digital employment will expand in the future, as more jobs, or tasks, move from the offline to the online economy. In addition, some developing country governments, including Malaysia and Nigeria, have already adopted strategies to encourage their workers to engage in digital labour. Yet little is known about the quality of jobs being generated in the platform economy.

This Issue Brief summarizes some of the existing empirical literature on job quality in the platform economy, particularly crowdworking platforms, drawing upon ILO surveys of crowdworkers and the existing literature.

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Skills anticipation

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skills-anticipation

Identifier

677

Technology

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technology

Identifier

345

Regions:

Global

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