ILO Helps Azerbaijan in Devising New Employment Strategy

Responding to the request from the Azeri government, ILO has prepared a tailor-made employment policy course. The course was delivered in Baku on 8 – 11 February by the ILO team comprised of the representatives of the Employment Policy Department of the ILO Headquarter and the ILO Moscow Office.

The course was aimed at building capacities among government officials, social partners and other key stakeholders on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of an effective national employment policy. Taking part in the four-day exercise were representatives of the Ministry of Labour (including the Minister and Deputy Ministers), Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and other key ministries, Public Employment Service, the Central Bank, Statistics Agency, Migration Service, Committee on Women Affairs, Agency on Youth Affairs, employers’ and workers’ organizations, private companies and other entities.

Welcoming the participants, the Minister for Labour and Social Protection of the Population Salim Muslimov emphasized that efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability and diversify Azerbaijan’s economy should go hand in hand with job creation, stimulating demand, skills development and effective use of labour resources. In this context, a well developed and successfully implemented new national employment strategy plays a vital part, he said.

The course included lectures and discussions on substantive employment policy issues, practical insights and group work. The ILO undertook to summarize the findings of this exercise and submit its policy recommendations to the Ministry of Labour to be reflected in a new Employment Strategy.

On the sidelines of the Employment Policy Course, the ILO officials had a series of meetings with Azeri officials, including Minister of Labour Salim Muslimov, Deputy Minister Matin Karimli and Head of Employment Policy Department Elnur Suleimanov. In that way, the ILO mission to Azerbaijan was rather a broad strategic consultation than a mere training on new employment policy course. The interlocutors pointed out that, while measures were already in place to address immediate challenges affecting the labour market in Azerbaijan, there was a need for а more systemic and long-term action, for which the government was seeking advice and support from the ILO and appreciated its role in sharing of best practices, global experience and recommendations.