Human resources development 1. A/RES/68/228 Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General; 1 2. Calls upon Member States to place human resources development at the core of economic and social development and to develop short-, medium- and longterm strategies to effectively enhance their human resources capacities, as educated, skilled, healthy, capable, productive and flexible workforces are the foundation for achieving sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and development; Stresses the need for Member States to emphasize and integrate human 3. resources development into national development strategies, including national development policies and strategies to eradicate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, in order to address structural and multidimensional challenges to enhancing national productive capacities and to ensure that human resources development implications are taken into account by all national development stakeholders; Recognizes that comprehensive approaches to human resources 4. development that address poverty eradication and the creation of a skilled workforce are also critical in reducing unemployment and brain drain and in promoting greater social inclusion; Encourages Member States to adopt and implement comprehensive 5. human resources development strategies premised on national development objectives that ensure a strong link between education, training and employment, help to maintain a productive and competitive workforce and are responsive to the needs of the economy; Stresses that human resources development policies should focus on 6. supporting the emergence of a sufficiently wide and flexible pool of skilled human resources, especially among women and youth, to support all sectors of the economy and be matched with present and future workforce needs, which requires well-sequenced investments in basic education, vocational training, on-the-job training and more advanced managerial, engineering and scientific education to increase the supply of technological knowledge that can be absorbed by national innovation systems; Emphasizes the need for Member States to adopt cross-sectoral 7. approaches and mechanisms to identify human resources development needs in the medium and long term for all sectors of the economy and to formulate and implement policies and programmes to address those needs; Recognizes that comprehensive and flexible science, technological 8. knowledge and innovation strategies that encompass all sectors of the economy are critical to ensuring that skills are matched with labour market demand and ready to adapt to and benefit from a constantly evolving technology landscape; Emphasizes that when science, technological knowledge and innovation 9. and human resources development approaches are mutually reinforcing they can lead to a virtuous circle of economic growth, human progress and sustainable development; 10. Stresses that investment in human resources development should be an integral part of national development policies and strategies, and in this regard calls for the adoption of policies to facilitate investment focused on physical and social _______________ 1 A/68/228. 3/6