This Focus Area consists of three key components: Human Resource Development, Education and Culture. The common themes that cut across the three components are people empowerment and people-to-people connectivity. This focus area aims to address the issue of skill deficit facing IMT-GT in general and the three Lead Focus Areas (Agriculture and Agro-based, Tourism and Halal Industries) in particular. The issue stands in the way of IMT-GT achieving its long-term development goals of becoming an innovative subregion. The Focus Area also aims at improving labour mobility through regulatory reforms and enhancing people-topeople connectivity through socio-cultural cooperation.

Towards this end, six priority strategies will be pursued, as follows:

1. Implement demand-driven skills trainings
2. Undertake capacity building and knowledge exchange
3. Pilot skills competency recognition in selected professions in IMT-GT
4. Establish a labour market information system in IMT-GT
5. Mainstream the UNINET programme in IMT-GT cooperation effort
6. Intensify cooperation in education, sports, arts, music and other forms of socio-cultural activities and to promote youth engagement and civil society participation

The following table summarises the types of intervention that the strategies represent and their direct contribution to realising Vision 2036.