A new report, “Technical and Vocational Education and Training: An Essential Pillar for Latin America and the Caribbean Productive Industrial Policy,” has been published by Brazil’s SENAI in partnership with ILO/CINTERFOR and the Instituto de Economia of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IE/UFRJ), UNIDO’s regional partner for the Industrial Development Report 2024.

The study offers a comprehensive overview of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the context of digital and green transitions. It examines education and training levels in the region, the adoption of digital and green technologies by the business sector, and the growing demand for qualified workers. On the supply side, it analyses how TVET institutions structure programmes to build skills, abilities and knowledge in emerging technologies, and how business participation helps anticipate labour market needs. The report also presents seven institutional experiences, including SENAI (Brazil), SENA (Colombia), INTECAP (Guatemala), SENATI (Peru), INA (Costa Rica), the Ministry of Labour (Chile) and INFOTEP (Dominican Republic).

In its reflections and policy implications, the document highlights that digital and green transitions in the region are challenging processes, with only a small share of firms having adopted advanced technologies and many employers reporting difficulties in finding workers with the necessary competences. It stresses the need to improve education quality, reduce mismatches between training and labour market needs, strengthen the alignment between TVET and industrial policies, and promote lifelong learning systems that support continuous skilling, reskilling and upskilling. The report also underlines the importance of foresight methodologies in TVET institutions and of regional cooperation networks, such as those involving UNIDO and ILO-CINTERFOR, to support industrial transformation and more inclusive, sustainable development.