ILO calls for stronger focus on decent job creation in EU development projects

BRUSSELS (ILO News) – At a public hearing hosted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Development, the ILO emphasized the urgent need to prioritize decent job creation in development initiatives.

Speaking at the hearing titled “Decent and Sustainable Job Creation in Developing Countries: Measuring the Impact of EU Projects”, Sangheon Lee, Director of the ILO’s Employment Policy Department, delivered a clear message: “Too often, development projects miss the opportunity to create decent jobs.” He emphasized that while many EU-funded investment projects generate employment effects - often substantial ones, they frequently lack intentional design to ensure that those jobs are decent, measured and aligned with EU values.

Development investments, especially under initiatives like the Global Gateway, can and should be designed to promote both the number and quality of jobs and can equally have social and environmental impacts

said Lee.

He shared key insights from the ILO’s collaboration with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) through the STRENGTHEN2 project. This cooperation has developed robust methodologies for assessing the employment impacts of development investments. The project partners have conducted more than twenty detailed evaluations across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly under the Global Gateway.

These assessments show that while job creation is often substantial, it can be uneven and suffer decent work deficits. He highlighted that women and young people are frequently underrepresented in employment gains, and that informality remains widespread - especially in indirect jobs. Imported inputs dominate in many projects, reducing local employment potential.

To address these gaps, the ILO advocates for integrating employment impact assessments into the full project cycle—before and after implementation. STRENGTHEN2 has not only delivered analytical tools but also built national capacity to conduct these assessments, embedding the practice in public institutions.

Looking ahead, Lee emphasized the ILO’s readiness to support the Global Gateway’s social dimension. This includes embedding labour rights, gender equality, and skills development into project cycles, advising on social dialogue, occupational safety and labour due diligence, and developing an estimation tool for employment impact assessments based on typical profiles of infrastructure and employment-intensive investment projects.

“We want growth that works for people. Decent job creation should not be an afterthought—it must be a core, measurable goal of EU development efforts,” Lee concluded. “The ILO stands ready to deepen its collaboration with EU institutions, development banks, and Member States to ensure that these investments translate into quality jobs and better livelihoods.”