The Middle East and North Africa are regions with the highest youth unemployment in the world: 25.7% (2019, ILO). The importance and the main instruments for identifying current and future skill needs and labour market imbalances is a central issue to alleviate unemployment and ensure livelihoods. Consequently, there is an increased interest from Mediterranean countries to improve this knowledge, information sharing and systems for anticipating skills needs and matching learning with the labour market.
On 2 June 2021, within the framework of the Youth Employment in the Mediterranean (YEM) project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNESCO, the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched their e-learning course "Skills Anticipation and Matching - YEM project".
The course will have a duration of seven weeks during the period of 31 May to 16 July 2021 and its objective is to help participants understand the importance of identifying current and future skill needs and labour market imbalances in a broader policy framework.
The launch included 80 participants including policy-makers and technical advisors of Ministries of Employment/Labour, Education and others working in the area of Skills Development and TVET in the Mediterranean region. Other participants such as members of skills councils and national TVET authorities or similar institutions from the YEM beneficiary countries; representatives of workers' and employers' organizations involved in sectoral, regional or national skills anticipation; experts and technical staff working in the field of TVET planning; relevant staff from Public Employment Services and other institutions engaged in skills matching; managerial and technical staff of institutions responsible for the collection and analysis of labour market information, and staff from international cooperation agencies working in the area of TVET and skills development will also follow the course.
About the ITC-ILO course
The course will be interactive and engaging with a learner-centered approach and participants will learn about quantitative and qualitative methods, tools for skill needs anticipation and matching supply and demand of skills in the labour market. It will consist of learning units in the following areas:
- Skills Anticipation and Matching
- Generation and analysis of labour market data
- Approaches and methodologies for anticipating skills needs
- Institutional mechanisms and roles of different actors for anticipation and matching
- Sectoral approaches
- Translation into policy and practice
Upon completion, participants will have a good understanding of the drivers of change which impact skills demand, and realize why imbalances occur in the labour market and what their consequences are. It will also help relevant stakeholders to understand the critical milestones, questions, objectives and components of labour market information (LMI), institutional roles and responsibilities.
The end beneficiaries will include a wide range of individuals in the Mediterranean region benefitting from timely and accurate LMI and pertinent training programmes. This includes job seekers from all ages and backgrounds, in particular youth and graduates; current and future students; planners in the skills development, TVET and education sectors; staff of TVET Centres; curriculum developers; employment services; career guidance services and businesses.
About the YEM project
YEM builds on the achievements of the EU-funded NET-MED Youth project's Employment Component. It has helped build skills anticipation models and mobilized key national stakeholders, including national institutions, youth and private sector representatives, to understand and employ the results from this exercise in service of policymaking for technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
The project is implemented over a three-year period (2018-2020, extended until July 2021). Its aim is to support youth employment and entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean region by improving skills anticipation and TVET systems.
