The Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF) is a platform that promotes industrial skills development among young people in emerging developing economies. The LKDF supports the establishment and upgrading of industrial training academies to help meet the labor market’s increasing demand for skilled employees, ultimately contributing to inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID).
For many developing countries, access to quality educational systems and training programs is not adequate to meet new demands and address technological, social and environmental challenges. Uncoordinated dialogue between governments and national and international private companies affects the development and sustainability of a modern Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) system.
UNIDO identifies and collaborates with public, private and development partners (SDG17) to develop and scale-up training centers to address the skills gap in developing countries. Our training and innovative curricula equip young female and male students with demand-driven skills and future skills requirements to seize the opportunities of technological progress (SDG4, SDG9).
To date, UNIDO in collaboration with more than 40 partners has established and or upgraded about 15 training centers with a yearly intake of between 100-500 students and the participation of 20-100 trainers per TVET center. Our TVET projects already achieved 35% female participation in male-dominated sectors, with 60% of the trainees confirming they already found a better job situation.
By establishing Public-Private Development Partnerships (PPDP), UNIDO and partners design, establish, sustain, and upgrade training centers and curricula. The PPDP projects support social and environmental standards, such as gender equality and women empowerment (SDG5) and climate resilience (SDG13).
To ensure the long-term success of the industrial academies, the LKDF offers a systematic monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methodology that helps to track results and impacts. It provides the policymakers and the donor community with transparent results to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of the programmes and justify their expansion to other countries or sectors.
The LKDF Forum will convene virtually 6-8 October 2020 under the theme Green Skills for a Sustainable Future. The Forum will be an occasion for partners, project teams, training specialists, TVET experts and interested stakeholders to come together, discuss the importance of green skills development, and provide recommendations on ways to include green skills curricula in training activities.
The audience will comprise a combination of officials, ranging from Ministers (Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Commerce, etc.) and high-level dignitaries (such as Heads of United Nations agencies and International Organizations). The LKDF Forum especially gathers representatives from the private sector (companies, associations and organizations) academia (universities and research institutions) and civil society, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations.
The LKDF Forum thus provides a unique and diverse platform for the exchange of views on global industrial skills development. This mix will prove to be a stimulating basis for captivating debates; identifying issues and trends within the industrial skills development agenda, as well as innovative approaches and solutions, and realizing the fundamental role of industry for promoting growth and sustainability.
The first 2 days (6-7 October) will be open to the wider public, whereas the 3rd day will be invitation-only. While we highly encourage inclusive debates, the last day of the Forum will be a time where experts and practitioners will come together to develop a tool that can be used by Governments, training centers and trainers to introduce demand-driven green curricula to their portfolio.