About us

The Programme for Employers' Activities is a specialized unit of the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITCILO).

Our mission

Our mission is to assist employers’ organizations around the world in becoming representative and effective voices of business. Why? Because we believe that employers and business associations can make significant contributions to creating the conditions for sustainable development.

Our objective

Our goal is to help employers’ organizations from developing countries, countries in transition and countries emerging from conflicts to better fulfil their role as:

• advocates of business conducive policies

• providers of services to their members

• representative and effective development partners

• experts and partners with regards to ILO strategic objectives.

Our activities

• Training

First, we train employers’ organizations to become strong partners in economic and social development and to provide better services to their members. You can check our training offer including our training catalogue in the section training offer of this site.

Besides training delivery, we also develop specific training material for our courses. This is essential to match the needs of employer organisations, respond to their particular concerns and take into account their way of working. Our training packs generally include sessions plans, workbooks for participants, powerpoint slides, activities/exercises, case studies/testimonials as well as pre and post course assignments.

Moreover, on behalf and in partnership with employer organisations, we manage capacity building programmes financed by donor agencies (see our partners section on this site).

In 2008 and 2009, we organised 83 activities in total, whether in Turin or in the field, for a total audience of 1'962 participants. The courses took place at national, regional and interregional level, covering 130 countries over the two-year period. If you want to know more about our past activities and especially how they impacted on respective employers' organisations, you can read our report of activities 2008-09.

• Networking

Secondly, we provide networking  opportunities for employers,  outside training activities. We regularly organize brief meetings with employer participants who are following a course on the Turin campus. At those meetings, we present our Programme and get to know the needs of employers' organizations.

• Fundraising

Thirdly, we conduct fundraising activities. Only about one third of the costs of our operations is covered by the ITCILO regular budget. We therefore need to actively mobilise resources in order to be able to invest in training activities and material for employers and to cover the organisation costs of our activities. 

• Lempnet

In January 2009, in order to reinforce the impact of our activities, we launched Lempnet, the Learning Employers Network. Lempnet is an Internet platform dedicated to the employer organisations’ community around the world.

Lempnet is a tool for knowledge sharing and learning amongst employers.

Click to know more about:

• Lempnet and the services it provides
• Why training for employer organizations?
• Our partners
• Our team
• Our training offer and our training catalogue
• Our training calendar
• Report of activities 2008-09