Employment, Competitiveness and Skills

1. Employment, Competitiveness and Skills Marion Jansen Co-ordinator, Trade and Employment Programme International Labour Office Joint Conference: Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the United Nations Trade and Productive Capacity Cluster Geneva, 5 May 2011

2. Successful Globalization Strategies • Successful globalizers like South Korea, Taiwan and also Costa Rica have at certain stages of their development successfully coordinated • investment policy • trade policy • technology policies and • training and education policies. … as part of a deliberate strategy to foster inclusive growth.

3. ILO traderelatedtechnical assistance • builds bridges between the world of work, of production and technology, with the world of education and training • through policy advice on coordination of relevant policies (« policy coherence ») • in line with the G20 Training Strategy prepared by the ILO • including through its involvement in the UN-CEB Cluster

4. Combining ILO areas of expertise to advise on “high road” to competitiveness

5. Example: Enhancing Sustainable Tourism in Lao • Joint implementation with other UN-CEB Cluster Agencies and financed by Swiss Government. • ILO’s contributions: • Enhance management practices • Strengthen workplace cooperation • Enhance skills and productivity of workers

6. Example: Promoting Economic Diversification in Ukraine • Upon request by Ukraine Government as part of crisis response • Application of ILO STED approach: Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification • ILO provided advice on: • Export promotion strategies to increase geographical diversification of exports. • Economic policies to enhance business environment in priority sectors. • Enhance inter-ministerial and public-private sector collaboration to improve skill-matching

7. STED: a stepwise approach

8. STED relevance for PAM countries • STED to be implemented in Bangladesh and Macedonia in 2011. • STED scoping mission to Kyrgyzstan upcoming • Is there demand in PAM countries for: • Enhanced export diversification (more products, more markets, higher up the value chain)? • Improved matching between skill demand and skill supply ?

9. Diversification an issue?Herfindahl index of export product concentration

10. Value added an issue?Technology Content of PAM countries’ manufacturing exports

11. Skillmismatch an issue? • Evidence of skill mismatch in Morocco? • High youth unemployment (30% among urban males age 15-24) • Particularly high unemployment among highly skilled (48% among young urban males with tertiary education) • 30% of companies consider skills as a major constraint (OECD average 11%, world average 21%) • Evidence of skill mismatch in Syria? • Youth unemployment higher for highly skilled • 18% for young men with tertiary education • 22 % for those with vocational secondary • 16 % average for young men • 36% of companies consider skills as a major constraint (OECD average 11%, world average 21%)

12. Employment, Competitiveness and Skills: Action Plan for PAM countries • Take the « high road » to competitiveness and design trade, investment, technology and skills/education policies strategically • Ensure co-ordination across policy domains • Set incentives right • Consider using (sub-)sectoral approaches • Ensure optimal match between skill supply and skill demand • Develop good policies and mechanisms to match supply to demand for skills; • Put in place institutions and services to help workers and enterprises adjust to change; • Maintain institutions and policies to anticipate and meet future labour market skills needs. Through inter-ministerial and public-private sector collaboration