Target beneficiaries

Women, men and youth especially the most vulnerable who will benefit from skills policies, systems and programmes that will be aligned with labour market needs to improve their employability and productivity in times of the post-COVID-19 crisis and technological transformation.

Geographical coverage

ASEAN region (with three lead countries for implementation of activities, namely Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam)

Background

Megatrends – technological advancements, globalisation, climate change, migration, and demographic change - are transforming the world of work. At the same time, informality continues to affect the majority of workers in developing countries and limits their opportunities to access learning and decent work opportunities.

These megatrends not only imply that today’s skills may not match the jobs of tomorrow but also that newly acquired skills may quickly become obsolete.

These global challenges have only intensified further with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the world of work. The impact of the pandemic has been especially damaging for the labour transition of women.

Tackling the skills mismatch has therefore become one of the top priorities for ASEAN member states, as it is also one of the key steps towards advancing the human resources development agenda in the region.

The design of effective policies and programmes on skills development, lifelong learning and employment requires adequate data on labour market demand for skills, in order to improve the market relevance of policy responses, and facilitate smooth transitions from school to work, and within the labour markets. Thus, labour market information systems are essential for decision making regarding skills and employment-related policies, for the human resource planning of employers, and for evidence-based education and career decisions of learners and job seekers.

ASEAN national systems that are able to compile and analyse relevant labour market information for skills anticipation and matching - to respond to the occupational transformations driven by the fourth industrial revolution and the recent COVID-19 crisis – are better positioned to build back better resilient national economies and societies.

Objectives

Implemented by the ILO and GIZ/RECOTVET, together with the ASEAN Secretariat, the project aims to support ASEAN Member States to better understand the functioning of the labour market and the impact of policies and programmes on skills and employment outcomes and decent work indicators. At the end of the project, the capacities of ASEAN Member States to anticipate and match future skills needs will be strengthened with

• Improved knowledge and understanding on how to develop effective labour market information and skills anticipation systems;
• Evidence-based recommendations in selected thematic areas such as skills anticipation and matching with the objective to facilitate tripartite policy dialogue;
• Provision of relevant data on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and automation on selected labour markets and in particular reskilling and upskilling needs of businesses and workers whose future income depends on skills development policies;
• Promotion of lifelong learning policies that close gender skills gaps, including by identifying and implementing gender-responsive policies and programmes as part of COVID-19 recovery efforts and recognising unpaid care burdens;
• Provision of guidance in the development of national action plans or strategies for improvement of the labour market information and skills anticipation systems as well as facilitating regional cooperation to develop a common ASEAN vision.

The objectives are being reached through the design and delivery of a series of capacity development and knowledge sharing sessions for ASEAN Member States and development of evidence-based research. Through these, the project will increase awareness and understanding among ASEAN Member States on the effective and inclusive use of labour market information on skills anticipation and matching as a prerequisite to inform formulation of skills development and employment-related policies in the context of the post-COVID-19 era and the future of work.

Expected results

• Increased capacity of ASEAN Member States to identify current skills mismatches, anticipate future skills needs and prevailing barriers to access by specific groups.
• Regional, country and sector-specific evidence generated with a view to inform skills and employment-related policy formulation of ASEAN member states.

For further information please contact:

Akiko Sakamoto
Regional Skills and Employability Specialist
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Building, 10th Floor
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue,
Bangkok, 10200, Thailand
Emai: sakamoto@ilo.org