Global Skills Programme

In today’s fast-changing world, investment in skills development is essential. Skilling, reskilling and upskilling individuals, enterprises, and economies are critical for shared benefits. Resilient skills systems built on social dialogue and strong institutions are needed to deliver the skills required for today and for the future.

To be more effective and inclusive, skills systems must ensure access to high-quality, agile and relevant lifelong learning opportunities for all, in partnership with employers. Key elements include work-based learning, sectoral approaches, skills intelligence, skills recognition and career development systems fostering human development, productive employment and decent work for all.

Services

The Global Skills Programme develops and delivers services at global, regional and country levels. It is managed out of the Africa Skills Hub. The full programme covers 61 countries, with partners supporting different elements of the programme.

The Global Skills Programme supports ILO constituents and demonstrates ILO global leadership on skills through:

Policy advice, capacity development and technical support
Research, knowledge management and dissemination
Resource mobilization
Standards-related action and
Partnerships in skills and lifelong learning

Africa Skills Hub

The hub supports constituents and skills development actors in Africa to build strong and impactful skills development systems.

Explore

Informal apprenticeships training in Komolgonj, Moulavibazar

Skills and Lifelong Learning Projects

Thematics

It is based on five thematic pillars that constitute ILO’s technical expertise on skills and lifelong learning:

developing and supporting comprehensive policies, strategies and systems for lifelong learning, built upon a whole-of-government approach, through social dialogue

reinforcing the coherence of skills and lifelong learning policies with other public policies and promoting the linkages among skills, employment and productivity;

strengthening the capacity of national institutions and institutional mechanisms, and the capacity of social partners for the development, implementation and evaluation of skills policies, strategies and programmes

developing innovative, transparent, equitable and sustainable financing mechanisms

establishing robust systems for quality assurance, dynamic assessment and certification of skills and competencies, recognition of prior learning and lifelong career development support systems
developing coordinated systems for identifying mismatches between skills, jobs and aspirations,

identifying and anticipating skills needs for economic activities that promote structural transformation and decent work in line with other policy areas.

Institutional development and capacity building facilitate better functioning of skill needs anticipation systems

undertaking research on the employment impact of skills and lifelong learning policies
Ensuring high-quality, flexible, inclusive and relevant training programmes

Promoting the development of core skills

Ensuring development and decent work opportunities for teachers, trainers and other relevant personnel

Addressing barriers to learning through awareness-raising campaigns or guidance services

Reducing the digital divide and digital gender gap
Ensure inclusive access and participation in skills development and lifelong learning to tackle inequalities and facilitate transitions to formality

Promote innovative solutions for inclusive training that consider the needs of all learners

Implement gender-responsive training environments free from discriminatory practices

Promote integrated approaches for the needs of vulnerable learners and different economic units, in particular MSMEs
developing, implementing and evaluating systems for quality apprenticeships and workbased learning for adults and young people

strengthening partnerships among governments, employers, workers and training providers to design and deliver quality apprenticeships and work-based learning programmes

improving the capacity of and support services for training providers and enterprises to develop and implement quality apprenticeships

widening access to quality work-based learning for workers in the informal economy by upgrading informal apprenticeship systems, and helping such workers transition to the formal economy

improving skills planning, development, and utilization in workplaces, including through better human resource management practices.

Key documents

Partners

Norway, Flanders, ISDB, GIZ