The COVID-19 crisis has severely affected employment around the world and has exacerbated existing inequalities and vulnerabilities for workers already at risk of poverty, including informal workers, women, and youth. Workers in service sectors (accommodation and food services, retail trade) and small and micro sized enterprises have been especially at risk of job losses, while those working in the informal economy and in non-standard employment are particularly vulnerable to suffering a severe decline in their income.

To date, many countries have announced unprecedented measures to boost the economy and employment. While these interventions have helped alleviate some of the impact, government will need to ensure that measures not only address the immediate phase of the crisis but also the transition to a job-rich recovery, and in the longer-term strengthen the resilience of economies and labour markets to adverse shocks. This requires far-reaching responses combining macroeconomic and sectoral policies, sustainable enterprise development, social protection and skills development policies as well as active labour market policies and institutional solutions. This requires the involvement of various stakeholders in their design and implementation.  

In this context, national employment policies have a critical role to play. ILO’s approach to comprehensive national employment policies based on the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) provides a well-tested and robust framework for designing employment reactivation and recovery policies, by involving all key stakeholders to formulate concerted actions and consensus building measures through social dialogue. Employment policies have proven to be a successful entry point to prior crisis, as they offer a practical framework to ensure tailored policy responses. 

Responding to the COVID-19 crisis requires adapting national employment policies to current challenges and promoting inclusive and job-rich recovery. Many countries are seeking ILO support in the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on employment, and in the design of policy responses and promoting social dialogue.

As an integral part of a larger ILO response to the current crisis, the course contributes to addressing this increased demand and building the capacity of ILO constituents in designing effective and inclusive employment policies for a job-rich and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The course aims at strengthening national capacities in the design and implementation of effective national employment policies by means of building on evidence and good practices. By combining insights from experts and practitioners, open debates on challenging issues, sharing of country-level experiences and other online participatory learning activities, the course objective is to strengthen the knowledge of decision-makers, project managers, representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society and development partners concerned with employment questions, and enhance their capacity to come up with innovative solutions that fit the specific needs of countries in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

By attending the course, participants will become acquainted with: (i) an employment policy-making process based on tripartite dialogue involving all actors; (ii) the main policy domains for an immediate response to the COVID-19 crisis and achieving a sustainable job-rich recovery; (iii) the key elements for an effective delivery of employment policies.

This online course includes interactive sessions (webinars) with participatory exercises and forum discussions, as well as presentations by subject matter specialists. 

The programme is structured around seven modules, that deal with key issues in the current crisis context, such as:

• How to adapt the scope and design of national employment policies to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, including linkages with social protection.  
• What are the new and innovative data sources, and assessment and modelling approaches allowing more frequent monitoring to identify the ongoing impact of the crisis on the labour market. 
• How macroeconomic stimulus package and sector-focused policy interventions can support economies and hard-hit sectors, as well as new and growing sectors with employment potential. 
• How micro, small and medium enterprises and skills development can promote employment and the transition to formality. 
• What is the role of active labour market policies and labour market institutions in improving the quality of jobs.
• How to integrate gender as a core employment objective across different policy domains. 

Participants will learn about:

• Good practices and innovations in key policy areas in the future of work agenda and the COVID-19 policy responses, including macroeconomic and sectoral policies, employment services and active labour market programmes, social protection and labour market institutions;
• How to craft coherent and well-coordinated policies and programmes that fit national realities that are adapted to the changing impact of COVID-19 on the labour market  and benefit from social dialogue and broad-based stakeholders’ participation;
• Targeted approaches to support employment promotion for hard-hit groups, including women, young people, informal workers and disadvantaged groups;
• The key features of successful delivery of NEP, including resource allocation, institutional solutions and results tracking;
• Operational tools and innovative methods for rapid labour market assessments and tracking the ongoing and changing nature of the crisis on the labour market.

The goal of this course is to help participants understand:

• How to strengthen labour market data and apply rapid analytical approaches for assessing employment to inform employment policy responses to the crisis.
• How to ensure effective implementation of employment policies and programmes and to translate policies into actions through changes to institutions, capacities and resource allocations.
• How to identify stimulus measures through monetary and fiscal policies to boost a job-rich recovery  and how to identify opportunities in new sectors and in sectors with high job creation potential and the potential for longer-term changes in economic structure.
• How to promote decent jobs for hard-hit groups, such as women, youth and informal workers, and adapt policy measures and employment programmes to the specific characteristics of vulnerable groups participation in the labour market.
• How to adapt labour market policies and institutions and employment services to fast changing labour markets in the context of COVID-19 and to specific needs of vulnerable groups.

The Turin Centre is known for its unconventional and effective learning methodologies.

• This course will be participatory and facilitates discussions between experts and participants.
• Different e-learning methodologies, interactive presentations, and group exercises allow for knowledge-sharing and reflection.