Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development in any country. The South Asia subregion is home to some of the world fast-growing economies but many of the countries continue to struggle to fight against poverty and address the needs of large sizes of informal economies with several decent work gaps. Skills development is recognized as a major priority in the subregion and lack of skills development is regarded as a main impediment in sustaining the high growth of industry.
The challenge of skills development in the subregion is broad and multidimensional, covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects. It is often complicated by the large size of the population, if not, by vast geographical, cultural, gender ethnic and other social diversities and severe mismatches between demand and supply. The economic dualities – dynamic and competitive parts of the economy, on the one hand, and a weak, uncompetitive informal economy on the other hand – generate different demands in, and challenges to, the skills development system. These multiple challenges severely limit the chances of gainful employment – be it paid employment or to start income-generating activities.
Recognizing the existing challenges, skills development is a major component of the ILO’s work in this subregion, with a multi-faceted approach and work both at the policy and systemic levels as well as programmes focusing exclusively on skills development and integrated approaches with skills as entry point for the overall improvement of living and working conditions.