Data visualization

Before 2018, the main emphasis of the Centre used to be on individual-level capacity development with focus on face-to-face training. The 2018-21 strategy framework set the stage for the diversification of the service portfolio to better harness digital learning and collaboration technology and applications, in response to the ILO’s renewed focus on institutional capacity development.

During the 2018-19 biennium, the Centre expanded its distance-learning outreach and developed a suite of advisory services to complement its training activities. The Centre also invested heavily in learning innovation, introduced digital credentials relying on block chain technology, piloted Augmented and Virtual Reality (AVR) applications and launched new training products on future foresight techniques, big data mining, and artificial intelligence.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pace of transformation of the Centre’s service portfolio accelerated in 2020, characterized by a shift in emphasis from face-to-face training to online learning, a stronger focus on institutional-level and system-level capacity development services and the rollout of AVR technologies. 

The 2020-21 biennium outreach figures show that with the new portfolio structure, the Centre can reach more than 50,000 learners per year with training – twice the number achieved before the 2020 crisis.

The 2022-23 biennium has been a period of transition for the Centre, driven by a new competitiveness strategy relying strongly on service differentiation and portfolio diversification. During the biennium, the Centre managed to rebuild step by step its base of face-to-face training activities, while the participant universe of online learners continued to expand rapidly. The Centre also continued to roll out digital learning and collaboration solutions for its institutional partners.

2024 has been a period of growth for the Centre, on the back of the continued digital transformation of its business processes, and the further diversification of its service portfolio. The Centre continued rebuilding its base of face-to-face training activities, while the participant universe of online learners expanded rapidly. The Centre also continued to roll out digital learning and collaboration solutions for its institutional partners, allowing in turn the latter to significantly scale outreach among their own membership. The Centre furthermore consolidated its suite of system-level capacity development services aimed at knowledge exchange and advocacy of core ILO policy messages.

Over the years, the share of both distance-learning activities and non-training services for institutional clients has increased. This diversification strategy enabled the Centre to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by sharply shifting the focus towards distance learning, and by emphasizing upstream institutional capacity development services.

During the 2022-23 biennium, the number of enrolments for the Centre’s training activities greatly increased, on the back of demand for online learning activities but also supported by the recovery of face-to-face training courses.

Compared to the 2020-21 biennium, the total number of learners went up by 28 per cent. Compared to the 2018-19 biennium, numbers effectively quadrupled.

The outreach of the Centre has not been limited to participants in learning activities but also expanded to other groups of beneficiaries from the ILO constituency. ILO constituents were among the primary beneficiaries of the growth drive. The results show that digital technology can be a pathway for reaching a larger number of beneficiaries from the ILO constituency in a cost-effective manner.

The online learning services of the Centre continued to enjoy high demand. Online learners were quick to take advantage of free self-guided distance-learning courses produced by the Centre, accessible 24 hours a day in different languages via the Centre’s eCampus.

Self-guided distance learning was the first touch-point with the Centre for many participants, often followed by participation in a tutor-supported course involving a multi-hour sustained learning effort.

The Centre reached learners across the globe. Mainly on the back of its online activities, the Centre further expanded its outreach among learners from both middle-income and higher- and high-income countries.

In 2022, the sharply increased cost of air travel and limited connections initially slowed down the recovery of campus-based face-to-face training activities, whereas field-based face-to-face activities picked up more quickly.

Campus-based activities eventually started to recover in 2023, driven by demand from ILO development cooperation projects that were catching up on training activities postponed during the pandemic.

The Centre’s outreach among women is at an all-time high. In the 2022-23 biennium, more than 65,000 women enrolled for the Centre’s training activities, up 22 per cent from the numbers seen in the 2020-2021 biennium and three times the numbers recorded before COVID-19. In 2023, the Centre approached gender parity (48%) in face-face training.

A breakdown of the participant data by age cohort reveals that online activities enjoyed strong uptake among younger learners – men and women alike – while face-to face training activities were more likely to be taken up by mid-career professionals.

the training evaluation results of the 2022-2023 biennium show that that overall participant satisfaction with the learning services of the Centre was high in the 2022-23 biennium, standing at 4,54 on a scale from 1-5 where 5 denotes service excellence; four out of five participants demonstrated increased knowledge after training; nine out of 10 former participants stated that they were able to apply the newly acquired knowledge in their work setting; and 63 per cent of the latter provided examples of concrete knowledge application.

In the 2022 - 2023 , The Centre issued more than 78,000 digital credentials that were viewed by more than 64,000 people.