Dr Ashwani Aggarwal serves as Head of the Skills Policy and Governance Unit at the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialised UN agency based in Geneva, Switzerland. With a PhD in skills policy and ecosystem development and over 40 years of international experience, he has been a strategic adviser to more than 60 countries, helping shape national and regional frameworks for skills development, lifelong learning, youth employment, and the informal economy.
His expertise spans a broad spectrum of areas including policy design, governance systems, centres of excellence, apprenticeships, qualifications frameworks, micro-credentials, recognition of prior learning (RPL), financing mechanisms, core skills, productivity enhancement, and digital transformation in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Dr Aggarwal has authored numerous high-level publications and played a key role in the development of global and regional standards, such as the ILO Quality Apprenticeship Recommendation, the African Continental TVET Strategy, and the SADC RPL Strategy. He has also forged strategic partnerships with leading development organisations to advance the global skills agenda.
Dr Aggarwal is the founder and moderator of the Skills Bridge Master Class Series, a global knowledge-sharing platform that engages policymakers from over 140 countries to promote future-ready skills and inclusive lifelong learning systems.