ILO High-Level Panel on Skills for Competitiveness

Registration

The event is open to ILO constituents and staff. In order to attend the event it is necessary to register on-line for the full WTO Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade meeting by 21st June 2013.

High-Level Panel Agenda

9:00-9:30 Keynote speakers:

• Mr. Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO
• Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General, WTO

Q&A with keynote speakers.

9:30-10:20 Panel discussion with participation from the ILO, WTO, OECD and World Bank

10:20-10:40 Country representatives

10:40-11:00 Q&A

Background info

The Skills for Competitiveness event will provide an opportunity for particpants to showcase and discuss research findings and policy approaches that highlight the role of skills development in translating trade openness into the sustainable growth of productive and decent work.

New research by international organizations and results of policy innovations point to practical ways to address the complex question of how to anticipate and meet skills demands in sectors with high trade integration. These findings and experience highlight the importance of strategic policy coordination by government and private actors to integrate skills development in growth and export strategies, and therefore in trade-related technical assistance.

Experience of successful developing and emerging countries demonstrates that trade openness can promote GDP growth and employment creation when accompanied by appropriate complementary policies. Skills development is one of these key policy areas. Well designed and pro-active education and skills development policies are required to complement trade openness in general, and to enable small enterprises, in particular, to adopt new technologies and new ways of organizing work.

There is growing interest in how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participate in, and benefit from, global value chains and what effect this has on the quality and quantity of their employment. Policies that improve their access to a skilled labour force will make it easier for smaller firms to participate in global value chains and adjust to changing conditions in global markets, as well as to survive and thrive in domestic ones. Skills are thus an important determinant of countries’ ability to diversify exports and integrate more fully in the global economy.