ILO - Employment Policies

⚡️Skills development is central to productivity, decent work and inclusive growth.

But building the workforce of tomorrow cannot be done by training institutions alone. Employers are often the first to see where gaps are emerging, where new opportunities are being created, and where education and training systems need to adapt.

Join the Labour Organization, and the Global TVET Agenda (TGTA) for the 13th episode of the SKILLS Bridge Masterclass:

Harnessing Private Sector Power to Build the Workforce of Tomorrow: Driving Productivity, Decent Work and Social Justice through Skills

📅 Wednesday, 27 May 2026
🕐 10:00–11:30 UTC
💻 Online

The session will explore how stronger private sector engagement can help make skills systems more responsive to labour market needs, with experiences from and South Africa, alongside a global perspective from the ILO.

Keynote speaker: Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).

Register for free and learn more: https://www.ilo.org/meetings-and-events/harnessing-private-sector-power-build-workforce-tomorrow-driving

🔎 How do we really measure changes in informal employment?

Informality is often tracked through a single headline number—but that can hide what’s actually driving change.

📘New International Labour Organization Working Paper (No. 169) introduces a multidimensional decomposition of the informal employment rate, unpacking:

☑️ shifts in employment by status, and
☑️ changes in protection and registration within each status.

Applied to , the approach sheds new light on what’s behind recent declines in informality—and offers a framework researchers and policymakers can adapt to other country contexts.

👉 A useful read for those working on labour markets, informality, and evidence‑informed policy design.

🔗 Read the paper: https://www.ilo.org/publications/unpacking-informality-multidimensional-policy-decomposition

ILO

Unpacking informality: A multidimensional policy decomposition This working paper presents a practical additive decomposition of informal employment, showing where policy action can reduce it. Applied to the case of Colombia, it identifies the main factors behind recent declines in informality.

⚡️👥Some of the work that matters most is still not valued as it should be.

As care needs grow, many of the skills involved in care work remain under-recognized, undervalued and poorly paid. That is not only a problem for workers. It is a problem for societies that increasingly depend on care.

Recognizing care skills properly is part of building a fairer and more resilient future of work.

Read the new International Labour Organization report on lifelong learning and skills for the future: https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/lifelong-learning-must-become-strategic-policy-priority

📣As digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), the green transition, and demographic shifts reshape labour markets worldwide, a new IInternational Labour Organizationreport calls on governments to raise lifelong learning to a central pillar of economic and social policy.

🔎Drawing on new worker surveys, online vacancy analysis, institutional data and a review of 174 studies on what works in training, the report "Lifelong learning and skills for the future" warns that without stronger investment in inclusive learning systems, these transformations risk widening inequalities between and within countries.

Discover the report here: https://lab.ilo.org/world-work-series/lifelong-learning-and-skills-future

⚡ Quality apprenticeships boost enterprise and help close gaps.

Off‑the‑job learning alone is rarely sufficient to equip learners with the full range of skills employers need. By effectively bridging education and the world of work, quality apprenticeships offer a powerful response to the growing skills gaps and mismatches faced by enterprises in an increasingly dynamic environment.

Apprenticeship systems built on strong social dialogue and robust public‑private partnerships ensure that apprentices develop skills aligned with labour market demand—providing enterprises with a workforce that can adapt to changing needs and technologies.

International Labour Organization Recommendation No. 208 calls for a comprehensive set of measures to promote quality apprenticeships that benefit both workers and enterprises, including micro, small and medium‑sized enterprises.

🌎 It is time to invest in quality apprenticeships to build a more resilient economy and a more inclusive society.

🔗https://www.ilo.org/topics-and-sectors/apprenticeships

📅 Save the Date | 27 May.
How can the private sector help build the workforce of tomorrow?

⚡ Join us for Episode 13 of the SKILLS Bridge Masterclass Series:
“Harnessing Private Sector Power to Build the Workforce of Tomorrow”

As automation, , the green transition, and demographic shifts reshape the world of work, businesses play a critical role in closing gaps, boosting , and advancing decent work and social justice.

This masterclass will spotlight:
🔹 Proven private‑sector leadership models
🔹 Innovative partnerships for skills, , and lifelong learning
🔹 Practical insights for policymakers, employers, and practitioners

👉 Save the date and check the event page for updates on the agenda and speakers: https://www.ilo.org/meetings-and-events/harnessing-private-sector-power-build-workforce-tomorrow-driving

🌍 Youth employment is about more than jobs — it’s about inclusion, opportunity and dignity.

In a contribution to the Life Project 4 Youth - LP4Y Alliance 2025 Impact Report, International Labour Organization Youth Employment Specialist Sergio Andrés Iriarte Quezada explores how coordinated action with the private sector and civil society can help build equitable pathways into decent work for young people — especially those most often left behind.

From quality training and to policy alignment and social protection, the article calls for partnerships that deliver real outcomes, not just placements.

📖 Read more in LP4Y’s latest Impact Report: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/cedd83f1b6.html /7

Addressing Youth Unemployment Crisis - SDG Media Zone, 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum. This session will highlight the bold, innovative ways in which young advocates are leading change to ensure that every young person can access productive employment, regardless of gender, income, or socio‑economic background.

❌ There is no place for violence, harassment or exploitation in apprenticeships.

Apprentices are workers—and they deserve the same protection, dignity and respect as anyone else in the workplace.

Exposure to violence, harassment or exploitation can cause serious psychological and physical harm, disrupt learning, and weaken apprentices’ long‑term engagement with work and training. Too often, it also creates additional barriers for women and for people in vulnerable situations—limiting their ability to access, remain in and progress in the labour market.

International Labour Organization Recommendation No. 208 is clear: effective measures are needed to prevent and eliminate discrimination, violence, harassment and exploitation in apprenticeships, and to ensure access to appropriate and effective remedies.

🌍 Building resilient, inclusive economies starts with safe, fair and high‑quality apprenticeships for all.

ℹ️ bit.ly/476YsNc