Skills for the future of work

Many countries are experiencing a persistent gap between the skills needed in the labour market and those offered by the workforce. Skills anticipation is a strategic and systematic process through which labour market actors identify and prepare to meet future skills needs, thus helping to avoid potential gaps between skills demand and supply. A skills anticipation strategy enables training providers, young people, policy-makers, employers and workers to make better educational and training choices, and through institutional mechanisms and information resources leads to improved use of skills and human capital development.

The Branch’s area of work on Skills for the future of work helps ILO constituents to develop forward looking approaches to adapt skills development to the labour market demand and to respond to industrial, sectoral, trade, technology and environmental policies and challenges. Technical support provided by this area of work includes assistance in building systems and institutions to anticipate skill needs and minimise skills mismatches. It also develops, adapts and applies knowledge and tools on skills anticipation and improved labour market outcomes of learning.

The Branch's research and technical assistance on Skills for the future of work includes work on:

• Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) 
• Skills anticipation and matching
• Skills mismatches 
• Skills for a greener future 
• Skills for digital transformation 
• Big Data for skills anticipation and matching 
• Skills and COVID-19 pandemic