E-Learning Course on Sectoral Approaches to Skills Development

Skills are a key factor for the economic development of countries and prosperity of nations. Skills matching requires various mechanisms, instruments and policies that are in place in a country and its regions or sectors aimed at reducing the gap between skills supply and demand in the labour market, increasing the employability of the workforce and reducing skill shortages. Accordingly, sectoral approaches look at changing skill needs from the perspective of a particular sector and ensures that skills development meets the needs of the different economic sectors. Helping enterprises find workers with the right skills, and ensuring that workers acquire the skills they need to find productive employment is a key to unlocking the door to economic prosperity and building inclusive societies. Sectoral approaches strengthen good practices in skills development through putting an emphasis on skillsets needed in different economic sectors rather than taking a generic approach for skills development. They also provide an important platform for social dialogue on skills at the sectoral level. Moreover, adopting a sectoral approach to skills development enables countries and businesses to focus on developing the specific skills needed to maintain and improve their key economic sectors, making substantial contributions to improved productivity and competitiveness. OBJECTIVES • Acquired a good understanding of the rationale behind sectoral approaches to skills development and the reasons for adopting a sectoral approach to learn about the drivers of change which impact the demand and supply for skills at a sectoral level. • Understood the sectoral skills anticipation process beginning with sector prioritization, sector definition, and collaborative mechanisms at a sectoral level. • Analysed different methods and tools related to quantitative and qualitative methods to identify labour markets supply and demand imbalances at a sectoral level, in addition to learning hot measure skills mismatch at a sectoral level. • Discussed the different sectoral skills financing mechanisms and sectoral skills governance systems. • Discussed the different institutional arrangements and policy mechanisms at a sectoral level. • Attained a better understanding through group exercise, cases from the field, and other learning modalities of how to adopt sectoral approaches into adequate policy making and planning. CONTENT Unit 1 Introduction to Sectoral Approaches to Skills Development • Employment and skills development. • Rationale for sectoral approaches to skills development. Unit 2 Understanding Sectoral Skill Needs • An introduction to skill needs assessments. • Skill needs assessments at a sectoral level. Unit 3 ILO STED – (Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification) • ILO's STED methodology. • STED examples from the field. Unit 4 Sectoral Governance and Financing • Sectoral governance in skills systems. • Sectoral financing. Unit 5 Sector Skills Councils • Sector Skills Councils (SSC): Models, Roles & Responsibilities. • Sector Skills Councils (SSC): Operations, Issues and Challenges. • SSC examples from the field. Unit 6 Sectoral approaches to delivery, assessment and certification/ Sectoral reforms • Local, Cluster and Sectoral Innovation. • Centres of Excellence.