RisiAlbania, an MSD project implemented by Helvetas and funded by SDC, adapted the ILO’s approach to value chain job quality measurement into a job quality diagnostic aimed at comparing job quality within and between the agribusiness, tourism and ICT sectors. Based on RisiAlbania experience, this brief shows how MSD projects can understand employment outcomes in terms of a broad array of working conditions, to then identify opportunities to improve job quality within target sectors and groups, and ultimately shape future interventions.
Traditionally, market systems development (MSD) projects have focused on job creation outcomes. Yet, there is growing recognition that not just the number but also the ‘quality' of these jobs matters for inclusive and sustainable growth. However, measuring a topic as multi-dimensional as ‘job quality’ can cause both conceptual and practical challenges for MSD programmes. MSD projects, in fact, usually measure job quality at the level of an individual job or firm, as opposed to the ILO’s decent work statistical indicators that measure job quality at the macro level of the wider economy and labour market systems.
