Launch of the 1st Skills Challenge Innovation Call

The first Skills Challenge Innovation Call will recognize and support the development of solutions that aim to address the different forms and dimensions of skills mismatch.

Background

Skills systems are confronted by the need to respond to increasingly dynamic and fluid labour market and societal conditions. Climate change, technology, demographic shifts, migration and globalization are causing increasing disruption to the world of work, while making skills development increasingly complex, fluid and unpredictable. Addressing contemporary skills challenges requires more dynamic and integrated skills and lifelong learning ecosystems. Such ecosystems recognize that education, training and lifelong learning are fundamental and form an integral part of economic, fiscal, social and labour market policies and programmes. Decent jobs should enable all individuals to have access to skills development, allowing them to benefit from the opportunities of a changing world of work.

Implemented as a coherent whole, measures that support the development of skills and lifelong learning systems, through a whole-of-government approach and with the full engagement of the social partners, can create benefits for all, reducing inequality, enhancing employability, meeting enterprise skills needs and raising productivity and wages. To develop these approaches, there is a need for innovation; innovative policies, innovative institutions and innovative programs and services. Recognizing the importance of innovation for the renewed calls for lifelong learning, the ILO has initiated the development of a Skills Innovation Facility. The Facility will identify and test promising and innovative ideas and solutions that address the major skills challenges facing our constituents.

One of the activities of the Skills Innovation Facility is the launch of a Skills Challenge Innovation Call to invite individuals and organizations to propose new and practical ideas and solutions that address the most pressing skills challenges.

Objectives of the event

  • To announce the topic of the first ILO Skills Challenge Innovation Call.
  • To present and promote the ILO Skills Innovation Facility internally.
  • To launch the Facility’s webpage and advertise it through social media and other channels to engage the interest of different audiences.

Agenda

15:00 - 15:10Welcome remarks
 Sangheon Lee, Director of the Employment Policy Department
 
15:10 - 15:30Advancing innovation in ILO
 Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director General Policy
 
15:30 - 16:000Introducing the Skills Challenge Innovation Call topic
 Srinivas Reddy, Chief of the ILO's Skills and Employability Branch
 
16:00Coffee break