ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

2.1 ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

2.1.11 Coordination and sustainability planning

Recommendation: 4. Consider seconding experts to relevant government offices for a period of time to strengthen their institutional capacities on IE issues.

Reference: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Evidence sample: the analysis noted that the weakest link seems to be between projects on skills development and their effects on labour rights, unless additional strategies were incorporated in the project design to include, for example, social partners and/or ministries of labour (inspection).

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2.2 DECENT WORK AND ENTERPRISE GROWTH

2.2.1 Promotion and implementation of decent work

Recommendation: 4. Ensure that efforts on employment creation in the IE include focus on the creation of quality jobs and not poor or temporary jobs. Ensure and monitor whether employment created with the support of projects meets specific requirements, e.g.:

• Employment is in line with the aim of the worker to work full or part-time, seasonal or ad-hoc demand
• Work corresponds to decent work conditions.

Reference: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Evidence sample:

• The evaluation determined that jobs were created in some of the established youth-led businesses, but it remains to be ascertained to what extent the jobs created are full-time jobs, part-time jobs, seasonal jobs or even jobs on 'ad-hoc demand'. It is recommended to add this dimension (disaggregate jobs created) in the project database to strengthen performance monitoring. One important aspect of the inclusive and sustainable development agenda is to create decent work opportunities which can be assessed through analysis of data base information provided the distinction between types of jobs created.
• The analysis found that several evaluation reports provided examples of projects, especially in the informal sector, which led to poor and temporary jobs, or where there was no attention to or monitoring of the quality of the jobs.

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2.2 DECENT WORK AND ENTERPRISE GROWTH

2.2.1 Promotion and implementation of decent work

Recommendation: 7. Integrate training on labour rights in the provision of TVET with youth.

References: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Eidence sample: The analysis identified examples with positive effects on labour rights where youth receive skills training but are also sensitized to labour rights, or where priority access is given to specific training opportunities for youth in the age group 15–18 years. Projects building entrepreneurship and skills development, such as the Emergency Start and Improve Your Business (E-SIYB) (CPR/04/02/UKM), have established ways of incorporating labour rights, especially regarding OSH. The Livelihood Recovery in Sichuan Project in China (CPR/08/03/UKM)47 integrated OSH together with labour and social security issues in vocational training activities, and through interaction with the workers’ federation.

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2.2 DECENT WORK AND ENTERPRISE GROWTH

2.2.2 Formalising work in IE 

Recommendation: 1. Carry out research to collect systematic evidence of “what works” in the transition from the informal to the formal economy. Evidence of good practices are limited though common approaches are:

• Strengthening labour rights through protective legal and policy frameworks and their implementation
• Strengthening labour inspection,
• Increasing partnerships with ministries of health and agriculture to enable greater access to supportive programs.

Data Analysis Method: The analysis noted that, over the years, the ILO has developed a set of decent work strategies for the informal economy, increasingly approached within an integrated policy framework. One strategy was to increase the cost of being informal, for example, by improving labour inspection, but also through partnerships with, for example, ministries of health and agriculture. Apart from applying sanctions, other “approaches that are educational, persuasive, transparent and participatory are particularly successful in reaching the informal economy”. Improving labour rights can be an expected key issue when working on transitions to formality, but systematic evidence on what works in this area is scarce.

References: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

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2.3 DIRECT ACTIONS IN COMMUNITIES

2.3.2 Entrepreneurship: Capacity strengthening on economic activities

Recommendation: 5. Be aware in project design and sustainability planning that entrepreneurship promotion programmes usually require an extended time horizon before employment effects become apparent.

References: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Evidence sample: Entrepreneurship promotion programmes (such as Start and Improve your Business (SIYB) usually require an extended time horizon before employment effects become apparent. Employment was created in only three of the 14 interventions under review within the lifespan of the project. In one case, the Chinese government scaled up the ILO intervention leading to the potential creation of more than 1 million jobs.

This remark is in line with a recent World Bank review stating that business training should use a much longer time horizon for any sustainable effects to appear. In demand-side strategies, such as entrepreneurship promotion, the causal chain between the intervention input and the outcome in terms of employment is evidently longer and more prone to disturbing factors.

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2.3 DIRECT ACTIONS IN COMMUNITIES

2.3.6. Vocational education/skills training

Recommendation: 27) Note that employment creation after TVET completion may not be evident in the short term. If employment creation is to be directly fostered in a TVET project, this should be directly incorporated into the project design. This could include, for example, support for creating self-employment or training oriented directly to supply labour for new to be created employment opportunities.

Reference: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Evidence sample: skills development was applied as a method in 13 of the 44 interventions studied. In seven out of these 13 evaluations, employment creation was recorded. Whereas this may give the impression that skills development is an effective method for creating employment even in the short term, it should be noticed that only in one of these seven cases, skills development stood on its own as the main strategy, namely in the large Education and Skills Training for Youth Employment (EAST) project in Indonesia (INS/06/15/NET)24 where 2,800 TVET trainees (formerly out-of-school youth) and 660 Start and Improve your Business (SIYB) trainees found a job or started a small business. In other cases where employment was created in the short term, skills training was used as an accompanying measure: for labour-intensive works – three cases in Ghana, Madagascar and South Africa (Limpopo Province); for active labour market policy – two cases on Kiribati island in the RAS/06/53/NET project and Senegal in the SEN/07/01/LUX project; and for the promotion of stakeholder dialogue – one case in South Africa in the SAF/10/02/MUL project. In the interventions where skills development did not result in employment creation immediately, it either stood on its own as a measure, or it was combined with entrepreneurship promotion, which tends to target individuals rather than macro- or meso-level institutions.

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2.3 DIRECT ACTIONS IN COMMUNITIES

2.3.7. Labour market analysis to determine types of education/training provided 

Recommendation: 4) Enable sub-grantee partners (local NGOs, local authorities etc.) to participate in conducting these market analyses themselves. This can even encourage new contacts between partners and stakeholders that may potentially lead to economic opportunities.

Reference: ILO, 2014, Decent work results of ILO employment promotion interventions: lessons learned from evaluations, 2003-2013, Meta-analysis of evaluations, ILO, Geneva.

Evidence sample: Skills development can contribute to employment creation, but it is seldom effective as a standalone strategy. In the evaluations where skills development was found successful, it was combined with another, more institution-oriented strategy (e.g. targeting the labour market system)