Knowledge-Sharing Workshop on Skills for Employment: Good Practices and Effective Institutions to Bridge Education, Training and Decent Work

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is organizing a two-day workshop on skills for employment as part of the G20 Training Strategy to support strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

The Knowledge-Sharing Workshop on Skills for Employment: Good Practices and Effective Institutions to Bridge Education, Training and Decent Work will bring together representatives of national governments, international organizations and social partners to discuss ways of linking training and the world of work.

The aim of the workshop is to share innovative approaches, reflect on the adaptability of different ideas to particular circumstances, and identify priorities for further South-South knowledge-sharing and for technical and financial support.

The workshop will use the G20 Training Strategy as a conceptual framework for its discussions and will focus on practical matters that affect the implementation and effectiveness of skills development policies and institutions under diverse national realities.

At their Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, G20 Leaders called on the ILO to develop a training strategy that would help generate strong, sustainable and balanced growth. In preparing this strategy, the ILO worked with employers and workers, consulted with other international organizations, in particular OECD and UNESCO, and drew on the tripartite agreements on Skills for improved productivity, employment growth and development adopted at the International Labour Conference in June 2008.

The Training Strategy was then submitted to the Toronto Summit (June 2010) and later included in the Action Plan on Development adopted at the Seoul Summit (November 2010), which called on international organizations to work together to support developing countries, in particular low-income countries, “to continue to develop employment-related skills that are better matched to employer and market needs in order to attract investment and decent jobs.”

“This workshop marks an important first step in the implementation of the Human Resource Development pillar of the Seoul Action Plan”, said Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, Director of the Skills and Employability Department of the ILO. “More and better skills make it easier to innovate, attract investment, compete in new markets and diversify economies, all of which boosts job growth, enterprise productivity and workers’ employability. This workshop provides an opportunity for mutual learning among G20 and non-G20 countries from all regions about practical measures to unleash that potential.”

The event is made possible thanks to financial support from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The workshop will run from 4 to 6 May at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy.

Agenda

Wednesday, 4 May

Workshop Venue: Pavilion Oceania 17 Room 173

14:00 -14:10 Welcome - Ms. Patricia O’Donovan, Director, Turin Centre

14:10- 14:30 Workshop background and objectives

  • Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, Director, Skills and Employability Department, ILO, Geneva
  • Mr. Vinicius Pinheiro, Office of the Director-General, ILO, Geneva

The G20 Training Strategy; the work of the G20 Development Working Group on Human Resource Development; the work of the Inter-Agency Group on TVET; the organization and expectations of this workshop.

14:30 – 15:45 Session 1: National skills development strategies

Facilitator: Ms. Alessandra Molz, Turin Centre

Leading questions for panellists: What is the contribution of inter-ministerial coordination and social dialogue to designing sound policies, implementing them, and tracking their impact on workers’ employment and enterprises’ productivity? How is coordination maintained between employers and training providers and among ministries of labour, education and others that influence the demand for skills? What is the role of labour market information and mediation services, such as public employment services?

Panel presentations and discussion on success factors in linking training to jobs in skills development strategies

  • Mr. Alberto Borges de Araujo, Advisor to the SENAI Directorate, National Industrial Training Service (SENAI), Brazil
  • Mr. Ram Lakhan Singh, Director of Training, Directorate General for Employment and Training, Ministry of Employment and Labour, India
  • Ms. Marie Bourke, Head of Secretariat, Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, FORFAS, Ireland
  • Ms. Sandra D'Agostino, Head of Apprenticeship Unit, ISFOL/ Institute for the Development of Workers' Training, Italy

16:15-17:30 Focus discussions on coordination and linking skills to jobs

 

Focus Group 1

Focus Group 2

Focus Group 3

Coordination topic:

Employers and training providers

Ministries of Labour and Education and others

Public Employment Services

Lead Discussants:

Ms. Soon Joo Gog, Executive Director, Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore

Mr. Joseph Chirombo, Senior Trade Testing officer, Ministry of Labour, Malawi;

Mr. Godfrey Baster Kafere, Deputy Director of Technical and Vocational Training, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Malawi

Mr. Werner Schelling, Senior Adviser for International Affairs, Public Employment Service, Austria

Mr. Gyu-Hee Hwang, Research Fellow, Korean Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), Republic of Korea

Ms. Maura Corporán, Manager of Instructor Standards and Development, National Institute for Technical Vocational Training, Dominican Republic

Mr. Mostefa Boudief, Programme Officer, Employment and Skills Development, ITC-ILO, Turin

Facilitator:

Ms. Laura Brewer, Skills specialist for youth employment, ILO

Ms. Valeria Shakarova, Deputy Director, Centre for International Cooperation in Education Development, Russia

Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, ILO

17:30-18:00 Feedback from focus discussions: Identifying success factors for coordination and linking skills to jobs in order to improve skills relevance, quality and utilization

Thursday, 5 May

8:30-10:15 Session 2: Sector strategies for skills development and utilization

Leading questions for panellists and discussion: How can public-private partnerships promote skills development and utilization within industrial sectors or clusters? How are costs shared? How can sector development strategies be embedded in national growth and employment strategies? What is the role of mechanisms for social dialogue, especially bipartite or tripartite councils? What works to improve training and raise skills levels in smaller enterprises?

Panel presentations and discussion on sector strategies for skills development and use

Facilitator: Ms. Hye-Roung Song, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea

  • Mr. Chiel Renique, Senior Advisor Education and Training, VNO-NCW, The Netherlands
  • Mr. Alexander Mora-Delgado, Chairman, Cámara de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, Costa Rica
  • Mr. Oscar Mencías, Area Coordinator, Ministry of Labour, Work and Social Security, Argentina

10:45-12:30 Facilitated Q&A on examples of public-private partnerships to improve the quality and relevance of training within sectors

Facilitator: Alessandra Molz, Turin Centre

  • Bangladesh leather sector: Mr Shajahan Mian, Director for Planning & Development, Directorate of Technical Education; and Mr. Mominul Ahsan, Coordinator, Center of Excellence for Leather
  • Sugar industry: Mr. Jaime Bahena Legorreta, Director of Standardisation Committees and Projects, CONOCER/National Council for Standardization and Certification, Mexico; and Ms. Miranda Nivia, Director of Human Resources of the Sugar Ministry, Cuba
  • Benin small businesses sector: Mr. Yao Jean Tossavi, Executive Secretary, FODEFCA/Fund for the Development of Continuous Vocational Training and Apprenticeship, Ministry of Labour; and Mr. Cosme Zinsou, President of the Commission for Training and Human Resources, National Employers’ Council of Benin
  • Discussant: Mr. Bhabhali Ka Maphikela Nhlapo, COSATU, South Africa

14:00-15:30 Session 3: Focus discussions on broadening access to good quality skills development

Leading questions: What are the success factors in extending access to good quality technical and vocational education and training to groups in society that are often at a disadvantage in the labour market? Across these groups, what special actions work to improve gender equality? Are targeted programmes cost effective? How are their results monitored and assessed in terms of leading to better work?

 

Focus Group 1

Focus Group 2

Focus Group 3

Target group:

Rural communities

Persons with disabilities

Disadvantaged youth

Lead Discussants:

Mr. Doung Duc Lan, First Deputy, Director General, Department of Vocational Training, MOLISA/Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Viet Nam

Mr. David Chakonta, Director Development Division, TEVETA/ Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority, Zambia

Mr. Itai Emannuel Muguza, Director Youth and Vocational Skills Training, Ministry of Youth, Zimbabwe

Ms. Andrea Barbosa Alves, Chief, Department of Training and Social Promotion, SENAR/National Service for Rural Training, Brazil

Ms. Alessandra Molz, Programme Officer, ITC-ILO, Turin

Ms. Laura Brewer, Specialist in skills for youth employment, ILO, Geneva

Facilitator:

Ms. Akiko Sakamoto, Skills Development Specialist, ILO

Mr. Peter Greenwood, Head of Evidence-based Policy Making Department, European Training Foundation, Turin

Mr. Mark Keese, Head of Division for Employment, OECD, Paris

15:30-16:00 Feedback from focus discussions: Identifying success factors for extending access to good quality training

16:30 – 18:00 Session 4: Panel presentations on skills development networks and knowledge-sharing

Facilitator: Mr. Vinicius Pinheiro, Office of the Director General, ILO

Leading questions panellists and discussion: What are the success factors for maintaining knowledge-sharing network or communities of practice in the area of skills development? How is the potential of ICT best put to use? What are the indicators of the use and impact of knowledge-sharing platforms?

  • Ms. Martha Pacheco, Director, ILO Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO/Cinterfor), Montevideo, Uruguay
  • Mr. Teeluck Bhuwanee, Officer in Charge & Head of UNEVOC Networks, UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNEVOC), Bonn, Germany

Friday, 6 May

8:30-10:00 Session 5: Skills indicators for employment and productivity

Facilitator: Mr. Adrian Nador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Argentina

For the panellists: The G20 Seoul Development Plan calls on the World Bank, ILO, OECD and UNESCO to work together to develop internationally comparable and practical indicators of skills for employment and productivity, particularly in low-income countries. What innovations are underway by these organizations to improve skills data for policy design and monitoring? What are the main practical and conceptual issues?

For discussion: From the perspective of developing countries, what good practices are being followed now? What are the priority needs for improving the collection and use of skills indicators? What are the practical obstacles and opportunities?

  • Mr. Mark Keese, Head of Division for Employment, Analysis and Policy, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD, Paris
  • Ms. Jee-Peng Tan, Advisor, Education Department, World Bank, Washington

10:30-13:00 Conclusions: Panel discussions

Facilitator: Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, ILO

Leading questions: What are your priorities for further South-South knowledge-sharing? What avenues could be explored for receiving or providing technical and financial support to build on the G20 Training Strategy? How can we identify and fill existing gaps that deter investment in skills development and productivity? What are some practical and useful indicators of skills for employment?

10:30: Panel 1: Perspectives from some developing countries

  • Ms. Maura Corporán, Manager of Instructor Standards and Development, INFOTEP/ National Institute for Technical Vocational Training, Dominican Republic
  • Mr Yusuf Alide, Executive Director, TEVET, Malawi
  • Mr. Patrick Nkanza, Director General, TEVETA, Zambia (tbc)

11:15 Panel 2: Perspectives from some bilateral and multilateral organizations

  • Ms. Imke Gilmer, Education Division, Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany
  • Ms. Laura Ripani, Senior Economist, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington
  • Mr. Borhene Chakroun, Chief, TVET Section, UNESCO, Paris
  • Mr. Mohammed A. Suhail, Senior Education Specialist, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah
  • Mr. David Ablett, Asian Development Bank (via skype from Manila -tbc)

12:30 Panel 3: Perspectives from representatives of the G20 Development Working Group

  • Mr. Adrian Nador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Argentina
  • Ms. Hye-Ryoung Song, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea
  • Ms. Valeria Shakarova, Deputy Director, Centre for International Cooperation in Education Development, Russia
  • Mr. Marco Ricci, Multilateral Coordinator, Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Italy

13:00 Closing Remarks