Thematic forum, Friday,14th June 2019, 10:30–12:00

Jobs and skills for a brighter future

Transformations sweeping through the world of work, including technology, climate change and demographic shifts, hold new opportunities for creating employment and improving incomes and so attaining SDG 8 on “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. Yet these transformations are also disrupting labour markets, affecting global production networks and changing the tasks and skills requirements of existing and future jobs. These will likely affect the employment potential in some labour intensive sectors. Jobs will be needed for the many young workers in developing Africa, Asia and Latin America. Furthermore, skills once acquired are likely to have a short shelf life, making it necessary to continually reskill and upskill over the life course. At the same time, demographic trends are leading to massive migratory pressures and large-scale movements of migrants and refugees. The session will explore the link between jobs, skills and the policy reforms needed to support future just transitions in the labour market.

Highlights from the forum


  1. Moderator

    Ms Nozipho Mbanjwa

    Ms Nozipho Mbanjwa is an international moderator and journalist. She has moderated conversations at the World Economic Forum, United Nations agencies including UN Women, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund amongst other global bodies.  She has also facilitated dialogues with targeted outcomes for a number of multinational organisations and blue chip companies operating across Africa. In April 2017, she moderated the Global Dialogue on the Future of Work at the ILO. She holds two Masters degrees in Development Finance (Stellenbosch) and International Studies (London).

Panel discussion

  1. Ms Dimple Agarwal

    Managing partner, Deloitte

    Ms Dimple Agarwal is the global leader of Organization Transformation and Talent for Deloitte’s Human Capital practice. She consults at the C-suite level on operating model and organizational design, HR and talent strategies, leadership strategies and development, and major transformation programs. Her 23 years of consulting experience includes work in the United Kingdom, many Asian, African and European countries. She is a frequent speaker on the Future of Work and advises clients on responding to the business opportunities and challenges as a result of the changing dynamics of society, organisation and talent. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in human resources.

  2. Mr Thorben Albrecht

    Commissioner of Global Commission on the Future of Work, Federal Manager of Social Democratic Party of Germany

    Mr Thorben Albrecht is Federal Managing Director of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He served as Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from 2014 to 2018. He launched the “Work 4.0” dialogue - a public dialogue of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on the future of work, which provided important input for a broader debate within society on shaping quality jobs in the digital age. Until 2007, Mr Albrecht worked for the National Executive Board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) as head of division, responsible for the coordination of European affairs.

  3. Mr Mario Cimoli

    Deputy Executive Secretary, ECLAC

    Mr Mario Cimoli is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). A PhD in economics from the University of Sussex, his research deals with development paths, economic growth and its relationship with the productive structure, and international trade. His work examines the interconnections between industrial policy, technological development and innovation. Mr Cimoli is the co-chair of two of the task forces (industrial policy and intellectual property right regimes for development) of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University (New York).

  4. Ms Mary Liew Kiah Eng

    President, National Trade Unions Congress, Singapore; General Secretary, Singapore Maritime Officer's Union

    Ms Mary Liew Kiah Eng is the President of National Trades Unions Congress, and was first elected to the NTU Central Committee in 2011. She is the second woman trade union leader to rise up to the ranks of President of the National Trades Union Congress in the history of the labour movement in Singapore. She is also the General Secretary of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU).

  5. Mr Filippo Grandi

    High Commissioner, UNHCR

    Mr Filippo Grandi has been engaged in refugee and humanitarian work for more than 30 years. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the UN Agency for Palestine refugees, having previously been its Deputy Commissioner-General since 2005. He also served as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan and has worked with NGOs and UNHCR in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and at the UNHCR Geneva headquarters. He holds a degree in modern history from the State University in Milan, a BA in Philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome and an honorary doctorate from the University of Coventry.

  6. Mr Jose Angel Gurría Trevino

    Secretary General, OECD

    Mr Angel Gurría has been the Secretary-General of the OECD since 2006. Under his leadership, the Organisation has established itself as a pillar of the global economic governance architecture including its active engagement with the G20, G7, APEC and other international fora. Mr Gurría has advanced the OECD’s impact and relevance in several policy area, focusing on the promotion of better lives through inclusive growth and new approaches to economic challenges. He has also made the OECD more inclusive through new memberships, strengthening the link with key emerging economies and fostering its global outreach. Mr Gurría came to the OECD following a distinguished career in public service in his native Mexico, including positions as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Public Credit in the 1990s.

Discussion of lifelong learning in Switzerland

  1. Mr Blaise Matthey

    DG, Fédération des Entreprises Romandes,  Genève, Switzerland

    Mr Blaise Matthey is a member of the economiesuisse and the Swiss Employers' Union (UPS) committees, as well as the Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts (USAM). He is also a member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a member of the Governing Board of the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and a Swiss Employers' delegate to the International Labour Conference of which he has been the vice-president since 2012. Mr Matthey has been a member and chairman of various boards in the areas of social security, corporate social responsibility and education at both regional and national levels.

  2. Dr Luca Cirigliano

    Secrétaire Central, Union Syndicale Suisse, SGB-USS

    Dr Luca Cirigliano, a trained lawyer, is Head of International Affaires at the Swiss Trade Union Confederation, former first circuit Judge, and member of the Governing Bodies of the European and International Trade Union Confederation. He is the Swiss Delegate to the ILO since 2013.

  3. Mr Boris Zürcher

    State Secretary, Head of Labour Directorate, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

    Mr Boris Zürcher is Head of the Labour Directorate of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland. He has held the position of Chief Economist and Director of BAK Basel Economics AG, Basel. He also served as Chief Economist and Deputy Director at Avenir Suisse, a Think Tank for Economic and Social Issues, Zurich. He has worked as an economic policy consultant to Federal Councillors Pascal Couchepin, Joseph Deiss and Doris Leuthard in the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, and as Head of the Labour Market Policy Division in the SECO. He has been a lecturer at the University of Berne since 2003.