Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) is part of a larger set of skills anticipation tools with a sectoral focus that the ILO is developing, responding to requests from constituents included in the Conclusions on Skills for Improved Productivity, Employment Growth and Development of the International Labour Conference of 2008 and in line with the G20 Training Strategy for Strong, Sustained and Balanced Growth developed by the ILO in 2010.

This publication provides practical guidance for technical assistance projects that focus on skills policies in sectors exposed to trade. Based on the experience in four pilot countries (Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, the FYR of Macedonia and Ukraine) a six-stage process is presented that is typical for a STED analysis that can inform policy debates and social dialogue and lead towards the formulation of concrete recommendations at the policy, institutional and enterprise level for the design of skills policies that are more effective in anticipating and preparing for new employment opportunities in a context of global competition.