www.ilo.org/projects-and-partnerships/projects/employment-impact-assessment-maximize-job-creation-africa-strengthen2">STRENGTHEN2 project, in collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Labour, organized a technical training workshop on Employment Impact Assessment (EmpIA) from September 17 to 20, 2024 in Salima, Malawi. The workshop has brought together over 50 participants from 22 government agencies and university representatives together and aimed to strengthen the technical capacity of national specialists to conduct EmpIAs, contributing to Malawi's efforts to create more and better jobs.
© STRENGTHEN2/ILO
Over four days, participants engaged in a series of presentations, practical exercises, and group discussions. The workshop began with an introduction to EmpIA techniques and the presentation of results from two STRENGTHEN2 impact assessments (the Logone Bridge project in Cameroon and Talaky Be project in Madagascar). Subsequent sessions covered the use of national accounts and labour statistics for conducting EmpIAs, with an emphasis on practical applications of Input-Output Tables (I-O), Supply-Use Tables (SUTs), and Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs).
The training highlighted the importance of EmpIA in evaluating the employment effects of national policies and investment projects. It introduced participants to key economy-wide impact assessment tools used within the STRENGTHEN2 project. The workshop enabled participants to carry out EmpIAs when appropriate data is provided, and develop an intuitive understanding of strengths, weaknesses and possible extensions of this class of EmpIA techniques.
The course has successfully facilitated knowledge transfer on employment impact assessment, with real investment projects in Malawi for exercises and assignment to reinforcing theoretical concepts. The active participation and presentations by the trainees have demonstrated a good level of understanding, laying a solid foundation for further practical applications.
