On 4 December 2024, the second episode of the ILO’s Regional Skills Webinar series convened in Bangkok, drawing over 120 participants from 30 countries to discuss the growing demand for core skills amidst ongoing shifts in the labour market and demographic transitions in the Asia and Pacific region.
The event focused on the importance of developing core skills—often referred to as soft skills or transferable skills—as integral to pathways that facilitate inclusive employment and skills-enhanced growth in the region. As industries strive for higher productivity and global competitiveness, the need for workers equipped with robust core skills has become increasingly apparent. Furthermore, a solid foundation in these competencies is viewed as essential for individuals navigating their careers and adapting to a rapidly changing employment landscape.
Among the insights shared during the session, Patrick Daru, Senior Skills and Lifelong Learning Specialist from the ILO Headquarters in Geneva, emphasised how evolving job content and the nature of employment relationships, particularly in the platform economy, necessitate the development of enhanced core skills. He remarked that “technology is also changing the way individuals learn,” citing the rise of online, self-paced education and micro-credentialing as modern learning methods. Daru underscored that a strong grounding in core skills is crucial as individuals face transitions throughout their working lives.
Jayne Norman, Inclusive Skills Development Specialist at People 1st in the UK, addressed the repercussions of COVID-19 on skill acquisition and employability, particularly the effects on young people who have faced reduced access to education and training. Norman noted that this gap in training opportunities, combined with fragile education-industry relationships and diminished job prospects, contributes to the rising number of youth classified as NEET (not in education, employment, or training). She shared successful examples from the agri-processing sector that utilised short core skills programmes in collaboration with local industries to assist young people in finding decent work. Norman highlighted the significance of flexibility, adaptability, digital literacy, and metacognition—referred to as "learning to learn"—in these programmes.
In her contributions, Professor Sheryl Lyn Monterola, Senior Technical Consultant at the Centre for Integrated STEM Education (CISTEM) and former Director of the National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development in the Philippines, discussed her initiative focused on core skills development for entry-level workers within the advanced manufacturing sector. This initiative emerged from a comprehensive survey involving 223 manufacturing firms in the Philippines that uncovered critical shortfalls in core skills. Monterola’s project introduced a series of modules aimed at cultivating "enabling competencies" among technicians and operatives, encompassing digital fluency, critical thinking, and decision-making among others, with an ambitious goal of training 11,000 individuals over a five-year timeline.
Mary Kent, Skills and Employability Specialist at the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, moderated the session and expressed her satisfaction with the event's turnout and global participation. She noted, “The webinar was attended by individuals from over 30 countries, which goes to show the importance of core skills in the Asia and Pacific region and beyond.” Kent announced that the ILO plans to hold additional webinars in 2025, continuing discussions on key skills development issues relevant to the region.
The outcomes of this webinar point to a growing recognition of the need for innovative strategies to bolster core skills, highlighting their critical role in meeting the challenges of today’s dynamic labour market.
Source: Noah Wire Services