2 November 2026 – How can the same economy record both an increase and a decline in productivity in the very same year? And why can two companies with similar workers and equipment achieve dramatically different levels of productivity?

These are among the questions challenging conventional thinking as the International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), kicks off “Driving Up Productivity”, a three-day regional workshop for employers’ and business membership organizations (EBMOs) from the Western Balkans, organized within the framework of the EU-funded Employment and Social Affairs Platform 3 (ESAP 3) project.

The opening sessions reveal that productivity is far more complex than simply producing more with less. Technological advances, better skills, smarter management, improvements in product quality and more efficient allocation of resources all contribute to productivity growth, often in ways that are difficult to capture in statistics. Indeed, economist Moses Abramovitz famously described the unexplained part of economic growth, reflected in total factor productivity, as “some sort of measure of our ignorance”. Even economists acknowledge that we cannot fully explain where productivity gains come from!

Participants are putting these ideas to the test, exploring why investing in new technology does not automatically boost productivity, why working longer does not necessarily mean producing more efficiently, and how institutions, markets and enterprise practices shape economic performance.

Over the next two days, the workshop moves from concepts to action: examining regional productivity trends, exploring AI's potential, analyzing real data and learning from enterprise experiences. Through practical exercises and policy simulation, participants will identify priorities and develop concrete responses.

The overall goal of this training to turn productivity evidence into stronger advocacy, better business environments and practical action by employers’ organizations across the Western Balkans.