Scaling Up: Skills For Trade & Economic Diversification (STED) Myanmar

The “Scaling up: Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) Myanmar” Project aims to improve the outcomes of Myanmar’s skill trainings and link them to the country’s export growth for more and better jobs in the selected export sectors (Tourism and Agriculture).

  • Contributes to higher exports, economic diversification and more and better jobs;
  • Helps policy makers to ensure that firms find workers with the right skills and workers acquire the skills needed to find productive employment.

What is STED?

  • It is a sector-based skill development methodology developed by the ILO;
  • A STED-based project identifies emerging skill needs in export-oriented sectors with growth potential, and build up the capacity of relevant institutions to meet these needs. 
  • A STED-based project usually starts with an analytic phase in which the project, in collaboration with stakeholders, identifies emerging and existing skills needs, and formulates an agreed strategy for intervention which is reflected in the STED report(s) on the targeted sectors.    
  • An intervention phase will be followed after the analytic phase, in which the project develops initiatives based on the STED report and pilots them. The initiatives may include establishing or strengthening skills-focused institutions, developing training standards, curriculum, and training of trainers, etc.

STED-based Project Cycle



Expected Outputs

  1. Skills development recommendations provided through a comprehensive STED assessment in tourism and agriculture sector respectively;
  2. Interventions (skills standards, curriculum, training and certification, etc.) designed and pilot tested in collaboration with project partners;
  3. The capacity of policy makers, social partners and other relevant actors are built to use evidence to assess skills gaps and to design and implement strategies to overcome identified skills gaps.