ILO High-Level Panel on Skills for Competitiveness
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
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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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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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 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.
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The side event, organised by the ILO at the WTO Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade on 9 July in Geneva, provided an opportunity for sharing research findings and policy approaches on the role of skills development in translating trade openness into sustainable growth of productive and decent work. Diverse research and survey data show that many firms rank finding adequately skilled workers as a major constraint to their business. New research from the WTO documented that, in particular, such difficulties impede small and medium sized enterprises from connecting to and benefiting from Global Value Chains.
Background information
New research by international organizations and results of policy innovations point to practical ways to address the complex question of how to anticipate and meet skills demands in sectors with high trade integration. These findings and experience highlight the importance of strategic policy coordination by government and private actors to integrate skills development in growth and export strategies, and therefore in trade-related technical assistance.
Experience of successful developing and emerging countries demonstrates that trade openness can promote GDP growth and employment creation when accompanied by appropriate complementary policies. Skills development is one of these key policy areas. Well designed and pro-active education and skills development policies are required to complement trade openness in general, and to enable small enterprises, in particular, to adopt new technologies and new ways of organizing work.
There is growing interest in how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participate in, and benefit from, global value chains and what effect this has on the quality and quantity of their employment. Policies that improve their access to a skilled labour force will make it easier for smaller firms to participate in global value chains and adjust to changing conditions in global markets, as well as to survive and thrive in domestic ones. Skills are thus an important determinant of countries’ ability to diversify exports and integrate more fully in the global economy.
The speeches of the Director-General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, and the Director-General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, as well as the link to the event are provided below.
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