Around the world, progress in technology and global value chains is leading to an increasingly sophisticated industrial landscape, providing opportunities for economic growth and employment. While many low-income countries are currently transitioning from agriculture to manufacturing-based industries, the lack of skilled workforce remains a major challenge to achieving this objective.

Furthermore, as technology brings a convergence of automation and work, skills gaps are changing rapidly. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an added complexity to this challenge.

As the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development, UNIDO has been supporting Member States in the identification and application of sustainable and inclusive solutions to industrial skills development by mobilizing strategic partnerships with public, private, and development partners. UNIDO and the Government of Japan have further incentivized this through a number of industrial skills development projects and have recently launched new projects that reaffirm their commitments.

This webinar is designed as a space for discussion about the challenges and opportunities of industrial skills development in developing countries and the ways partners can join forces and strengthen efforts to contribute to an effective development of industrial skills.