The ILO, the private sector, and employment promotion

In most countries, private enterprises create the most jobs. This is especially true in developing countries, where over 90 per cent of jobs are in the private sector. However, there are multiple constraints to sustainable enterprise development. This can include both internal and external factors. The ILO has tools and methods to address both. It works to build both the level of knowledge of entrepreneurs, while also addressing the external environment in which they operate in to make it more enabling. 

For example, the ILO’s Know About Business (KAB) training programme has contributed to the creation of an enterprise culture in many countries and societies. Many training centres around the world have been trained and certified by the ILO to conduct such training independently. It promotes awareness among young people of the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship and self-employment, and of their role in shaping their future and that of their country's economic and social development. 

The Start & Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme is a management-training programme with a focus on starting and improving small businesses as a strategy for creating more and better employment in developing and transition economies. With an estimated outreach of 4.5 million trainees, a continuously growing network of more than 17,000 trainers and 200 Master Trainers in 2,500 partner institutions, SIYB is one of the biggest global management training systems used for the support of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) currently on the market.   

ILO's Value Chain Development work focuses on job creation and job quality improvement by using a market development approach.  The ILO's interventions build on private sector development strategies that seek to strengthen enterprises, business relationships and services, market structures, and the business environment, so that they channel more benefits to the poor and create more and better jobs. 

The Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprise (EESE) Toolkit is a resource for employers' organizations and other business membership organizations wishing to assess the environment in which businesses start-up and grow.