Skills Development and Lifelong Learning

The future of work is being driven and shaped by various factors including technological innovation, globalisation, demographic trends and climate change. All these factors are increasingly impacting the world of work, jobs, skills requirements for both of the young and ageing members of the workforce. It is no longer sufficient to rely on the skills and qualifications acquired at or before the start of a career. Workers need to be able to update and adapt their skills to changing circumstances, including potentially changing employment, through lifelong learning and continuing vocational training. Whilst in the past ACTRAV held joint training and vision-building efforts on vocational training, which have allowed important advances in this area, it is necessary to deepen these efforts in the region, and expand this agenda to focus on SDnLLL in broad terms and in a comprehensive manner. This is critical especially in the current context of crisis that provides an opportunity for improving the presence or role of union representatives in tripartite instances where professional training, skills development and lifelong learning policies are discussed and defined. The reality is that the participation of workers organisations in Asia Pacific on SDLL is uneven, with the majority of them requiring strengthening of capacities to effectively, meaningfully and purposefully engage government, employers and other stakeholders on SDLL. It is within this context that ACTRAV will undertake a five (5) weeks course on Skills Development and Lifelong Learning for workers organisations in Asia Pacific. OBJECTIVES The regional academy aimed to (a) strengthen the technical capacities of trade union representatives in the areas of institutionalized social dialogue on skills development and lifelong learning in Asia and the Pacific; (b) prepare trade union leaders and representatives to incorporate skills development and lifelong learning initiatives and programmes including vocational training in collective bargaining at sector or enterprise level, mainstreaming diversity issues which include gender, age and disability; (c) strengthen the exchange with trade union representatives in the areas of institutionalized social dialogue on skills development and lifelong learning in Asia and the Pacific; and, (d) Stimulate cooperation and generation of a critical mass of trade union thinking on the issues of training, skilling, reskilling and upskilling of workers throughout their lives. CONTENT The learning journey consisted of five modules lasting five weeks, organized as follows: • Module 1: Understanding Skills Development and Lifelong Learning and Global Frameworks on Skills Development and Lifelong Learning. • Module 2: Institutionalised social dialogue on skills development and lifelong learning. • Module 3: Vocational training and equal opportunities for women and men. • Module 4: Vocational training and public policies to generate youth employment. • Module 5: Skills for the Future and Developing a Trade Union Action Plan. The course consisted of an estimated 40 hours of synchronous and asynchronous online learning, which included 24 tasks such as participation in webinars, completion of self-guided learning modules, online interaction and collaboration, and submission of assignments application of learning plans’, among others.