Developed jointly by the by Sustainable Enterprises and Economies Programme with ACTRAV ITCILO in Turin, the course looked into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the transition to the formal economy through SSE mechanisms, and the importance of workers' voice in a new economy.

The course also covered issues such as the importance of an integrated approach to the SSE in relation to the circular economy, Decent Work Agenda, Just Transition, and the SDGs. The learning objectives of the course included, but were not confined to: Understanding the concepts of just transition and circular economy with a focus on their bidirectional relationship with the SSE; Reflecting on and discuss the dynamics involved in the mutual relationship between these concepts; Learning about the ILO's work on the SSE and the informal economy; Strengthening their knowledge on policies to facilitate the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy within the framework of the SSE; Understanding how promoting the transition to formality can help SSE units achieve their social and economic purpose; Working on case studies to understand the challenges and opportunities related to promoting just transition policies and practices; Analyzing successful practical experiences and reflect on how they could be replicated in their respective contexts; and Sharing regional knowledge and experience on the subject.

A distance learning package was made available to the participants on the Training Centre's platform. The four modules of the course focused on:

• Module 1 - The SSE as a game changer: understanding the concept and its building blocks
• Module 2 - The social and solidarity economy as a tool for decent work and inclusion
• Module 3 - Follow-up to the resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy
• Module 4 - The pivotal role of the SSE in advancing inclusive and sustainable development

This course brought together close to eighty leaders, experts, and heads of technical departments from workers' organizations with extensive experience in informal economy, social and solidarity economy, industrial relations, social dialogue and trade union education from Latin America and the Caribbean region.

On August 31st, 2023 Ms Maite Llanos from the Workers’ group and Deputy Director of the ITUC Geneva Office and Ms Simel Esim, Head of the Cooperatives Unit at the ILO joined a session with the participants. They reflected on the implications of the ILC resolution on decent work and the SSE for the ILO constituents in general and workers’ organizations in particular. They emphasized the values and principles of the SSE and how it differs from other public and private sector as per the tripartite definition of the SSE that was adopted as part of the resolution. They noted this definition was also included in the subsequent UN resolution on promoting the SSE for sustainable development adopted in April 2023. In the ensuing exchange issues around protecting the rights of workers in SSE entities and strategies for eliminating pseudo-SSE entities were discussed.