Exploring Green Works, Nature-Based Solutions, and E&S Safeguards for Labour-Based Works

Photo © ILO 2024 /Jordan- by Ahmed Al Bakri

Online

Employment promotion

Exploring Green Works, Nature-Based Solutions, and E&S Safeguards for Labour-Based Works

Tailor-Made Short Training course for Labour-based Institutions in Africa

21–28 October 2024

The course is available in English, Français

Languages

English, French

Contact

itcilo_eiip@itcilo.org

Course Content

This course will explore the integration of green works, nature-based solutions (NBS), and environmental & social (E&S) safeguards within the context of labour-based works. Participants will learn how to apply sustainable, nature-driven approaches to infrastructure and development interventions while ensuring compliance with critical E&S safeguards. The course will focus on enhancing the resilience and sustainability of labour-based interventions, promoting eco-friendly practices, and mitigating potential environmental and social risks. Through practical examples and case studies, this training aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to implement responsible, sustainable interventions.

The course was developed based on the training needs assessment conducted for participating African labour-based training institutions during the labour-based forum held from August 19 to 23, 2024, in Kenya.

In addition to the interactive e-learning experience provided by the ITCILO E-campus, the course will invite a panel of experts and practitioners to present their field experiences. Participants will be provided with hands-on guidance while interacting with the course experts helping them demonstrate the knowledge gained.

Course objectives

By following the course, you can expect to:

Get to know the key concepts including green works, nature-based solutions, and the related environmental and social safeguards of labour based public works,
Gain an understanding of the role of green works and NBS in promoting productive employment and provide climate proofing through the key sectors;
Be able to integrate international standard such as decent work principals, Occupational safety and health, gender and disability inclusion within the labour based interventions and capacity building activities
Get familiarized with the tools for effective Environmental and Social (E&S) Impact Assessment and (E&S) management plans of public works.
Prepare a proposal on how these topics can be integrated within the capacity building activities that your training institutions are implementing.

What will I learn?

The course will discuss the following two modules:

Module 1
Module 2

Green Works and Nature-Based Solutions for Employment Generation and Climate Change Adaptation

This module explores

The key concepts of climate change, biodiversity loss and the rationale for green works, and nature-based solutions. The module will take a comprehensive look into the climate hazards and its compound impacts on sectors such as agriculture, and forestry and how the loss of ecosystem services present major environmental, economic and social issues.
Green works and nature-based solutions to create decent jobs in support of climate change adaptation, the implementation modalities and challenges. The participation of indigenous and vulnerable communities. Synergies and Trade-offs and how a specific adaptation measure used, might leave negative, invisible or unintentional problems.
The rationale for using NBS as a means to drive productive and decent jobs as well as Just Transition. What is a Just Transition? and the increasing demand to create decent work opportunities at the same time as to protect workers and employment during the transition to low-carbon economies
A brief on how green works and nature-based solutions can be integrated into key sectors such as forestry, agriculture, construction, and transportation
Planning, targeting, and reporting on Nature-Based Solutions by focusing on strategic project development, setting measurable goals, and tracking outcomes for sustainable impact.

Environmental & Social Safeguards for Labour-Based Works

This module explores

Introducing environmental and social safeguards, i.e., what they mean? and what they entail?
The rationale for integrating environmental and social safeguards into labour-based interventions to promote sustainable and equitable outcomes. The module will provide participants the tools to conduct the environmental and social impact assessment and the mitigation measures of identifies risks.
Key principles and work methods such as ensuring:
1. decent work,
2. Fair labour practices (meeting international labour standards)
3. occupational safety and health (OSH) to protect workers and create safe working conditions
4. Gender equality, Disability inclusion and gender-responsiveness, i.e., ensuring that all individuals have equal opportunities to participate in any development programmes
Implementing and monitoring arrangement of the environmental and social safeguards to mitigate adverse impacts and enhance the sustainability of projects.
Case studies on good practices related to realising environmental and social safeguards

Who attends this course?

This course is specifically designed for members of labor-based training institutions across Africa. It aims to enhance participants' capacity not only to contribute to the implementation of sustainable infrastructure projects but also to refine their own training programs by incorporating key subjects including green works, nature-based solutions, and environmental and social safeguards. By equipping professionals with these insights, the course promotes sustainable practices while fostering collaboration and capacity-building across African labor-based institutions.

Participants include senior management staff, training program coordinators, trainers, and instructors, with varying levels of experience in designing and delivering capacity-building activities in labor-based works across Africa.

Format and training methodology

This course is offered fully online on the ITCILO eCampus platform. It is implemented in an asynchronous modality. Furthermore, the course also offers opportunities for live debate and discussions through online webinars, which provide a platform for engaging with experts and peers.

The course modules combine online materials, webinars, and learning activities to help participants learn more effectively.

The course has been designed according to a learner-centred approach in order to better involve participants and keep them motivated. Different methods will be used to make it highly interactive and engaging through the webinars and the online forum.

Webinars schedule

The live webinars will be conducted as outlined in the table below. During these sessions, participants will engage with course experts and organizers to enhance their understanding of the knowledge presented via the E-campus.

Each webinar will focus on specific subjects, allowing participants to reflect on what they have learned from the online materials.

Participants will also be asked to present a brief analysis of the gaps in their institution's current capacity-building activities related to the course topics, along with proposals for integrating solutions to address these gaps.

TT webinar En