Employment challenges might be very specific to regions and territories. In BiH a co-operation project of local municipalities, employment services, employers, education institutions and NGOs, implemented by the ILO with EU support, has proved to be a successful approach in creating jobs for those in long-term unemployment and other vulnerable categories.

In BiH, the ILO has been working with local partners to develop tailor-made local solutions to specific employment challenges that territories and municipalities face. The results are very convincing. After a local needs’ assessment, disadvantaged people, including women, youth, minorities, returnees, internally displaced persons and hard-to-employ persons are trained for professions that the local labour market really needs. Companies carry out on-the-job training and each partner plays a role. Beneficiaries of the first project phase (LEP I) were either immediately hired by the companies after completing their courses or found jobs elsewhere, equipped with new skills that make them more competitive in the labour market.

Contribution to decentralisation: LEPs support decentralization as a process that divides powers and responsibilities and allows governments at different levels to be independent, but coordinated within an overall framework.

Inclusive Employment Policy: One particularly important project element is the development of capacities at local level to create effective inclusive employment policies. The most effective way to address local development issues is through an integrated, strategic and participatory approach involving all relevant stakeholders. Coordinated skill needs assessment will lead to an increased employability of the local population and improve the social inclusion situation in local communities.

Gender Equality: As an organization committed to promoting social justice, the ILO through LEP project promotes gender equality and non-discrimination at work as an objective in its own right, as asserted in International Labour Conventions, and the Sustainable Development Goals.