Technical assistance and training

The ILO does not just supervise the application of ratified Conventions. It also provides different forms of technical assistance, in which ILO officials or other experts help countries address problems in legislation and practice to bring them into line with the obligations under ratified instruments.

Forms of technical assistance include:

advisory and direct contacts missions, during which ILO officials meet government officials to discuss problems in the application of standards with the aim of finding solutions; and
promotional activities, including seminars and national workshops, with the purpose of raising awareness of standards, developing the capacity of national actors to use them, and providing technical advice on how to apply them for the benefit of all.
The ILO also provides assistance in drafting national legislation in line with its standards.

Many of these technical assistance activities are carried out by ILO international labour standards specialists who are assigned to ILO offices located around the world. Standards specialists meet government officials, employers’ and workers’ organizations to provide assistance with issues arising in the region, new ratifications of Conventions and reporting obligations, to discuss solutions to problems raised by the supervisory bodies and to review draft legislation to ensure that it conforms with international labour standards. International labour standards specialists are stationed in:

Africa: Pretoria, Cairo, Dakar, Yaoundé

Americas: Lima, San José, Santiago

Caribbean: Port of Spain

Arab States: Beirut

East Asia: Bangkok

South Asia: New Delhi

Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Budapest, Moscow
The ILO International Training Centre , located in Turin, Italy, has the mandate of offering training, education and capacity building for governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and other national and international partners for the promotion of decent work and sustainable development.

Each year, the Centre organizes over 450 programmes and projects for some 12,000 participants from 190 countries. In particular, the Centre provides training on international labour standards for government officials, employers, workers, lawyers, judges and legal educators, as well as specialized courses on labour standards, productivity improvement and enterprise development, international labour standards and globalization, and the rights of women workers.

The Turin Centre also hosts the Maritime Labour Academy , a programme of specialized courses aimed at strengthening the capacity of governments, shipowners and seafarers in the application of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended.