Make a strong case that skills development can contribute to poverty reduction
It has been observed that employment concerns have not featured very prominently in poverty reduction strategies. In particular, education and training seem to have been assigned a low priority. Furthermore, employability has often been overlooked in training policies and programmes. Based on its work on knowledge development as well as on the lessons learnt from its technical cooperation activities, the ILO wants to make a convincing argument demonstrating the impact of well designed skills development policies and programmes on poverty reduction, especially when it is part of an integrated strategy.
Social dialogue and partnerships for skills development
The tripartite structure of the ILO may be of great help in this advocacy work. Indeed, the social partners possess potentially important roles. In particular, employers’ associations can and do train in entrepreneurial skills. Trade unions on the other hand sometimes get involved in training provision. Also employers and workers organisations may play an important part in helping to organise unions and associations of own-account workers in the informal economy and building their capacity to deal with training. Some countries in Latin America have successfully encouraged the participation of the social partners in the management, financing and implementation of training, including formal training targeted to informal labour. In addition, there is scope for civil society institutions and local communities to play a role in delivering skills training. Responsibility for skills acquisition should not only rest with individuals. It is the responsibility of society at large to provide equal opportunities in this respect. This implies the design and implementation of specific training strategies to counteract the situations of inequity and vulnerability suffered by certain groups, especially workers in informal employment.
Such strategies should involve long-term programmes with appropriate institutionalisation strategies and proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Many different stakeholders may assume different roles in this process. The role of employers’ and workers’ organisations has already been emphasised. The experience of other actors such as training providers, micro-credit institutions, should also be taped. Local employment services could play a role, together with other stakeholders, in training needs assessment. The role of the governments, both central and local, should be of a facilitator, providing adequate policy framework and incentives, especially financial incentives, as well as possibly infrastructure and other resources. They should also provide a framework for a participatory process in policy formulation. In particular, governments have a primary responsibility in ensuring access to education and training and they should ensure that a fair share of their investments in training goes to disadvantaged groups, in particular the poor.
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