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Annual International Internship Course on Labour and Social Policies for the Promotion of Decent Work
"...there remains the need to be able to understand and deal constructively with social problems in their concrete shape as they arise in specific times and places..(which).. cannot be met by a book of rules, a set of tried formulas or the construction of machinery on a standard pattern. It is primarily a matter of education, and of education in the classical sense of the development of the individual's latent capacities which will enable him to assume social responsibilities and to help work out in his own way the solutions to the social problems of his community". David Morse, Director-General of the ILO, Report to the 42nd session of the International Labour Conference (1958).
On behalf of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Institute for Labour Studies organizes an Annual Internship Course on Labour and Social Policies for the Promotion of Decent Work. The courses are intended for middle-level officials in ministries of labour and in employers' and workers' organizations who are expected to rise to positions of greater responsibility in the future. Twenty-one fellowships are offered for each course and cover the travel and living expenses of participants. The three groups of the ILO Governing Body select the countries and organizations to be invited to nominate candidates. The final selection of participants is the responsibility of the Director of the International Institute for Labour Studies.
Objectives
The course serves both as an introduction to the ILO and as a forum in which participants examine the impact of current economic trends on social institutions and social policy. It is intended to enhance their capacity to contribute to active labour policy development in their own countries. To this end, it aims at stimulating a cross-national exchange of views and experience among potential policy-makers; providing an international perspective on national problems; and promoting the principles and practices of tripartism in the formulation of social policy.
Place and timing
In view of its purpose of introducing participants to the ILO, the course is held at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva during the three weeks preceding the annual International Labour Conference (ILC) held in June. Course participants attend the opening sessions of the ILC.
Qualifying criteria
The Director, assisted by a committee of senior staff, selects participants on the basis of individual qualifications and the necessity of establishing a balanced and professionally homogeneous group. The Internship Course is intended for men and women who:
are within the 25 to 45 year age group; are currently exercising significantly broad responsibilities in the social policy field; and are likely to be called upon to assume higher levels of responsibility in the future;
have an appropriate formal educational background or its equivalent in experience;
formally undertake to exclusively follow the full internship course and not to carry out any other assignments during the course.
As the terms of the fellowship offered included medical insurance, only candidates who have obtained medical clearance from the Medical Advisor of the ILO are admitted to the course.
Volunteer participants
A limited number of volunteer participants proposed by governments, employers' and workers' organizations, universities and other relevant bodies may be admitted to the course. No fee is charged for their participation. The regulations governing the work and attendance of volunteers are the same as those applying to fellowship holders. However, volunteer participants must meet their own travel costs, daily expenses, insurance, etc.
Themes and methodology
To ensure topicality, the themes to be covered by each course are decided in function of the countries of origin of participants and reflect the current concerns of the region(s) from which the majority of participants are drawn.
A variety of educational methods are used during the course. These include lectures, discussions, seminars, participant and expert panels, group work and simulation exercises. Institute staff also help participants with individual studies they might wish to undertake.
Working languages
Each year the course is held in a single language - English, French or Spanish. The courses in the current cycle are: 2004 French; 2005 English; and 2006 Spanish.
Regional internship course
From 2003 onwards the Institute has made provision for organizing a short duration internship course in a region corresponding to the language of the annual Internship Course. The number of candidates and the qualifying criteria are similar to those for the international course. The costs for organizing the course are shared between the Institute and the ILO office in the region concerned.
A regional internship course on labour and social policy was held in Bangkok from 15-20 December 2003.
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