The private sector is a vehicle for economic growth, macroeconomic stability and poverty reduction. Indeed, successful companies invest, improve productivity, employ people, pay salaries, provide goods and services, generate profits and pay taxes.

The growth of the private sector depends on having an efficient pro-poor economic and political environment. Employers and business organizations can play an important role in improving business environments. In addition, by developing services for members, employers’ organizations can also contribute to better company performance.

However, all too often employer and business organizations are weak, and lack the necessary capacity to become an effective voice of business and to provide services required by their members.

Our training for employers’ organizations mainly targets organizations from developing countries, countries in transition and countries emerging from conflicts. It also targets multinational enterprises for courses on global industrial relations and international labour law.

We work closely with the ILO and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) to offer training and experience-sharing opportunities to employers' organizations in a wide range of fields, notably:

• strategic planning
• membership management
• resource mobilization and project design
• developing and providing effective services for members (concerning training, occupational safety and health, export promotion, industrial relations and labour law)
• lobbying and advocacy
• communication policies and skills
• social dialogue and negotiation skills
• macroeconomic policies for social negotiators
• employment and skills
• global industrial relations and international labour law
• HIV/AIDS workplace policies
• Decent Work Country Programmes

Our approach to capacity-building is to research and apply the lessons learned from employer organizations’ good practice using interactive learning methodology, in order to provide tailor-made practical guidance to participants.

We design and run training programmes that build organizational capacity and have an impact in the medium and long term. Each year, we run around 50 courses dedicated to employer organizations and reach more than 1000 participants.