Skills Development and Responsible Business Conduct for Transition_Japan component

Decent work, poverty eradication and environmental sustainability are three of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century. Society must be inclusive, providing opportunities for decent work for all, reducing inequalities and effectively eliminating poverty. Today, the world is experiencing a phase of substantial changes - digital transformation due to the acceleration of technological advancement and implementation, and just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all. Accordingly, entire sectors are accommodating the structural transformations, rendering several human-performed occupations redundant. In the near future, these positions may be eliminated entirely. At the same time, other jobs are experiencing a rapid increase in demand, and some occupations are revising the skill sets they traditionally require. The project carries three main objectives: 1) to provide skills development to enhance workers’ responsiveness and productivity for structural transformation to a sustainable economy, including respect for human rights, which is consistent with the country’s development; 2) to promote responsible business conduct (RBC), including corporate activities in harmony with the country’s development priorities, and respect for the principles of international labour standards; and 3) to promote an environment to contribute towards a transition to resilient value chains from the perspectives of trade and investment. Funded by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the project will target machinery industry, particularly Electrical & Electronics (E&E) and automotive sectors, in Indonesia and Thailand. The project relays on the ILO instruments and relevant approaches from past experience to assist governments, employers and workers in selected supply chains and countries to increase job opportunities in higher value-added industries, as well as to promote responsible business practices in line with international labour standards and in harmony with the country’s development priorities. The project is conducted with a collaboration among significant stakeholders at the different levels of supply chains. Workers (and their representative organisations) and managers at the enterprise level will be empowered through occupation-based reskilling and upskilling training and will be supported to enhance social dialogue and industrial relations, which in turn will contribute to improved working conditions and overall enterprise performance and productivity following the structural transformation of the economy. Additionally, Japan is the home country of many Japanese multinational enterprises in various sectors with business operations across the Asia region. Japan is also a member of the G7 and the G20, of which G7 meetings as well as Japan-ASEAN Summit will be chaired or coordinated by the Government of Japan in 2023. Throughout this project, Japan has a critical role to promote just transition and responsible business conduct to the target countries at both policy and practice levels.

Project symbol

JPN/23/51/JPN

Admin unit

ILO-Tokyo

Start date

01/04/2023

End date

31/03/2025

Total allocation

722486

Total expenditure

Status

Active

722486

Development Partners

Japan, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Country/Countries

Japan

Outcomes

Outcome 4: Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth and decent work