The International Labour Office World Employment Report 1998‐99 spotlights the worldwide unemployment problem and reviews what steps countries can take to stop unemployment rates from rising.
The debate rages about how to increase competitiveness, growth and employment in an increasingly globalized economy. Findings in the report reveal that investment in training systems is an important step towards achieving these goals.
The demand for skilled labour is rising as technological change takes hold. The report examines how developing and industrialized nations are coping with this increased need for trained, educated workers.
The study describes the critical role which governments, employers and employees play in producing an educated, skilled workforce, and how a better trained workforce helps to stave off the vicious cycle of falling employment, rising poverty and social tension.
The report emphasises the need for more responsive training systems and institutions and provides practical suggestions for putting initiatives into action. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which training can improve the efficiency of companies, promote women’s employment opportunities and enhance the job prospects of young people, the long‐term unemployed, older workers and the disabled.
World Employment Report 1998‐99 concludes that training and lifelong learning need to be given the highest priority. The best results from enhancing the education and skill levels of the workforce are achieved when training decisions are taken in close consultation between government, employers and workers.
