LUSAKA, Zambia – ILO Director-General Guy Ryder has launched a programme aimed at promoting more and better jobs for inclusive and green growth in Zambia.

“The Zambia Green Jobs Programme will create 5,000 new green jobs by 2017 through strengthening enterprise competitiveness and promoting sustainable business among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) along the building construction value chain in Zambia,” said Ryder.

“In addition, the Programme will improve the quality of 2,000 existing jobs by enhancing productivity and working conditions in building construction enterprises MSMEs, as well as deepening and extending social protection floors,” he added.

The Zambia Green Jobs Programme will create 5,000 new green jobs by 2017."

The 5-year US$12.1 million Programme is a partnership between the Government of Zambia and the United Nations. It is led by the International Labour Organization and receives financial assistance from the Government of Finland.

It will explore additional opportunities for the creation of green jobs by investing in economic assessments in potential sectors of the Zambian Economy where growth and employment creation does not come with environmental costs for current and future generations.

Green jobs are jobs that contribute either to the preservation or improvement of the environment or both.

The Programme is responding to the renewed Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). These programmes are inter-related and contribute to the job-centred Revised Sixth National Development Plan (RSNDP) of Zambia, which aims to create 600,000 jobs by 2016.

For more information please contact the ILO Office for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique e-mail lusaka@ilo.org or visit the website www.ilo.org/lusaka.