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.

In 2024, The number of enrolments for the Centre’s training activities increased by 18 percent from 2023, on the back of demand for online learning activities but also supported by the recovery of face-to-face training courses.

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. 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. In 2024, the total number of enrolments by core constituents has almost doubled since 2019, however, growth has been uneven.

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.

The Centre reached learners across the globe. Participants from more than 170 countries enrolled in the Centre’s learning activities, the vast majority accessing services via the ITCILO online learning platform eCampus round-the-clock and free of charge in digitally inclusive formats.

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.

In 2024, 40% of all online learners and 47% of all face-to-face training participants were women. The participant data also shows 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 in more senior positions. The Centre continued in 2024 to push for gender balance in online learning activities through targeted interventions like the women in digital business project.

In 2024, the Centre’s learning services have made a real difference for learners. The customer satisfaction rates routinely monitored in all learning activities, show that overall participant satisfaction with the learning services of the Centre was high in 2024 (4.57), standing at 4.56 for online learning, and 4.57 for face-to-face training on a scale from 1-5 where 5 denotes service excellence. The knowledge acquisition tests administered at the end of each activity submit proof of demonstrated increased knowledge by 85% of all participants.

Furthermore, the annual external evaluation of the Centre’s learning activities covering the portfolio of the Workers’ Activities Programme showed that in 2024 more than 9 out of 10 former participants can apply the newly acquired knowledge in their work setting and 53% of them provided concrete examples of knowledge application.

In 2024, the Centre issued more than 77,000 digital credentials that were viewed by almost 63,000 people.