Young talents at the ILO -  The Associate Expert Programme at a glance

For 35 years, the Associate Expert Programme (sometimes called Junior Professional Programme) has been an important and flexible tool of the ILO to attract and retain young talented professionals. The programme reflects the interest and priorities of different donor countries that fund young professionals for a duration of 2-3 years in different areas and locations.

For the ILO, the programme is particularly valuable because it can cope with the changing needs in terms of staff and priorities, as it offers  on-the-job training opportunities to young professionals and enhances the source of potential future talents for the Organisation.

Once a donor has approved the final choice of a candidate, the young professional receives through the programme, and as a first or second working experience, a unique opportunity to discover the UN system.

Currently there are 30-40 AE assigned worldwide (to ILO field offices, decent work teams and/or TC projects) and at Headquarters (with interregional projects, research activities and/or programming work).

Objectives of the programme

The basic principles of the Associate Expert Programme have been set forth in Resolution 849 (XXXII) issued by ECOSOC in August 1961. The objectives of the Programme are to:

• give young professionals a hands-on experience of ILO development projects;

• promote ILO's multi-bilateral technical cooperation;

• enhance ILO's technical assistance to developing countries;

• train selected university graduates from developing countries in line with donor government funding commitments; and

• prepare a body of future experts for UN and bilateral aid programmes

About our Associate Experts

An Associate Expert usually has a Master degree in combination with some years of working experience. Most of them are usually recruited at P1/P2 level and specifics to their profiles are defined by the donor.

About the donors

The ILO Associate Expert Programme has been in operation for over 35 years. During that time the scheme has grown steadily and associate experts are now provided by donor countries namely: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Republic of Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The procedures of recruitment

The ILO submits a vacancy list quarterly to donor countries. The governments select the posts which are of interest to them in accordance with their policies and priorities. The posts are mostly advertised through the websites of the national Ministries of Foreign Affairs. On specific occasions, positions might also be posted on the ILO website (e.g. for positions funded by the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium). A preliminary selection of candidates is usually carried-out by national recruitment services, an interview/selection stage is then organized including the relevant ILO Technical Department or region; and a final decision is taken by the donor country in close consultation with the ILO.

Further information

The ILO Associate Expert Programme is managed by the Resourcing Unit (HR/TALENT-RES) in the Talent Branch of the Human Resources Development Department.

For further information, please contact: associateexperts@ilo.org

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