Employment, Competitiveness and Skills Marion Jansen Co-ordinator, Trade and Employment Programme International Labour Office Joint Conference: Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the United Nations Trade and Productive Capacity Cluster Geneva, 5 May 2011

Successful Globalization Strategies Successful globalizers like South Korea, Taiwan and also Costa Rica have at certain stages of their development successfully coordinated investment policy trade policy technology policies and training and education policies. … as part of a deliberate strategy to foster inclusive growth.

ILO trade related technical assistance builds bridges between the world of work, of production and technology, with the world of education and training through policy advice on coordination of relevant policies (« policy coherence ») in line with the G20 Training Strategy prepared by the ILO including through its involvement in the UN-CEB Cluster

Combining ILO areas of expertise to advise on “high road” to competitiveness ILO Skills Department Guidance on forecasting skills demand and on integrating skills development into national and sector development strategies. ILO Trade and Employment Programme Support to policymakers to understand the employment impact of trade. Guidance on using trade policy to promote employment. ILO Enterprise Department Guidance on policies to support an enabling business environment, and improved working conditions.

Example: Enhancing Sustainable Tourism in Lao Joint implementation with other UN-CEB Cluster Agencies and financed by Swiss Government. ILO’s contributions: Enhance management practices Strengthen workplace cooperation Enhance skills and productivity of workers

Example: Promoting Economic Diversification in Ukraine Upon request by Ukraine Government as part of crisis response Application of ILO STED approach: Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification ILO provided advice on: Export promotion strategies to increase geographical diversification of exports. Economic policies to enhance business environment in priority sectors. Enhance inter-ministerial and public-private sector collaboration to improve skill-matching

STED: a stepwise approach Identify priority sectors for trade and economic diversification and evaluate potential for employment creation Identify key constraints for sustainable growth in priority sectors Matching Skill Demand and Supply: Identify priority areas for skills development to foster sustainable growth in priority sectors Provide advice on: (i) trade and other economic policies with view on reaching “high road” to competitiveness; (ii) skills policies to enhance productivity and diversification Provide advice on institutional set-ups to enhance: (i) public-private deliberation and collaboration; (ii) inter-ministerial deliberation and collaboration

STED relevance for PAM countries STED to be implemented in Bangladesh and Macedonia in 2011. STED scoping mission to Kyrgyzstan upcoming Is there demand in PAM countries for: Enhanced export diversification (more products, more markets, higher up the value chain)? Improved matching between skill demand and skill supply ?

Diversification an issue Diversification an issue? Herfindahl index of export product concentration

Value added an issue? Technology Content of PAM countries’ manufacturing exports

Skill mismatch an issue? Evidence of skill mismatch in Morocco? High youth unemployment (30% among urban males age 15-24) Particularly high unemployment among highly skilled (48% among young urban males with tertiary education) 30% of companies consider skills as a major constraint (OECD average 11%, world average 21%) Evidence of skill mismatch in Syria? Youth unemployment higher for highly skilled 18% for young men with tertiary education 22 % for those with vocational secondary 16 % average for young men 36% of companies consider skills as a major constraint (OECD average 11%, world average 21%)

Employment, Competitiveness and Skills: Action Plan for PAM countries Take the « high road » to competitiveness and design trade, investment, technology and skills/education policies strategically Ensure co-ordination across policy domains Set incentives right Consider using (sub-)sectoral approaches Ensure optimal match between skill supply and skill demand Develop good policies and mechanisms to match supply to demand for skills; Put in place institutions and services to help workers and enterprises adjust to change; Maintain institutions and policies to anticipate and meet future labour market skills needs. Through inter-ministerial and public-private sector collaboration