With social dialogue at its heart, the Sectoral Activities Department (SECTOR) promotes decent work by addressing social and labour issues in specific economic sectors, both at international and national levels.  The ILO assists the development of tools, policies, and programmes aimed at enhancing economic opportunities and improving working conditions in each sector. 

The sectoral approach focuses on eight major sectors: agriculture, health, manufacturing, energy, construction, education, transport, and private services. The ILO's Sectoral Activities Department can assist companies in providing information on sectoral risks and training events and tools on how to deal with these specific risks. 

The approach cross-cuts the entire Decent Work Agenda and allows the ILO to respond comprehensively to each sector’s specific needs. For example, it develops and shares knowledge on emerging trends and challenges at industry level through the collection and analysis of sector-specific data, focused research, and the publication of reports and working papers. 

SECTOR also conducts technical cooperation and action programmes in order to directly address specific themes at the country level, such as child labour and working conditions. One example of an ongoing technical cooperation project is the ILO's work to update occupational structure, job descriptions, and certification in the construction sector in Uruguay. This will lead to improved skills recognition and development, and more competitive enterprise.