Sectoral Approaches to Skills Development (online course)

Skills are a key factor in the economic development and prosperity of nations. Skills matching requires mechanisms, instruments and policies at national, regional and sectoral level that can reduce the gap between skills supply and demand in the labour market, increase the employability of the workforce and reduce skills shortages. Sectoral approaches look at changing skills needs from the perspective of particular sectors and ensure that skills development meets the needs of the sectors concerned. Helping enterprises find workers with the right skills, and ensuring that workers acquire the skills they need to find productive employment, is a key to opening the door to economic prosperity and building inclusive societies. Sectoral approaches strengthen good practices in skills development by emphasizing the skill-sets needed in different economic sectors, rather than taking a generic approach for skills development. They also provide an important platform for social dialogue on skills at the sectoral level. Moreover, adopting a sectoral approach to skills development enables countries and businesses to focus on developing the specific skills needed to maintain and improve their key economic sectors, making substantial contributions to improved productivity and competitiveness. To this end, the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), in collaboration with the Skills Branch of the International Labour Organization, is proud to offer the first online edition of the Sectoral Approaches to Skills Development course. The course will capitalize on the long experience of the ITCILO in organizing capacity-building activities focused on sectoral skills development. It will be based on a unique learning approach harnessing digital e-learning technologies and using an interactive online platform that facilitates the learning process and provides participants with real-time feedback and support.