Among UN bodies: INSTRAW has developed training programmes and methods which assist in including women, especially in developing countries, in the development process, and particularly important fields within the development process, such as water and sanitation, energy, leadership, and the environment. The Institute emphasizes participatory training of women, which tries to stimulate and motivate trainees and has the advantage over passive transfer of knowledge. It is pioneering multi-media modular training packages (considered models in their fields) on women and development, women and new and renewable resources of energy and, particularly, women, water supply and sanitation. For instance, INSTRAW's training package on Women, Water Supply and Sanitation has been particularly successful, and consists of: five modular units that cover a specific theme; two sound-slide packages and 100 transparencies; a user's and trainer's guide, text, additional reading, bibliography, key issue check-lists for group work and evaluation forms (per modular unit). The units are self-contained, requiring no inputs from external sources, and are adaptable to meet the particular needs of a given country. The Institute's training packages can also be adaptable to community use, with all or just parts of the packages easily and inexpensively duplicated. Other projects include among others: assessing the training needs of women in agriculture in Bulgaria and Hungary, and developing training materials based on the research findings; workshops ans seminars. INSTRAW's workshops and seminars focus on training the trainers and on participation rather than structured teaching. As of 1993, over 2,000 people have taken part in the Institute's training workshops and seminars. One of the most effective and far reaching of the Institute's interregional workshops - "The Role of Women in Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development" - was held in Beijing and attended by over 100 people from numerous developing nations. INSTRAW's training techniques are constantly being improved and updated on the basis of experience in different regions.
ILO opens up training to women in all sectors (industry, services) and management positions. Efforts are made to improve recruitment, selection and promotion practices, training content and delivery, and counselling and job placement services. UNIFEM assistance is in large part devoted to human resources development in the form of training of women and training in women and development. UNDP actively conducts staff training on women-in-development issues, both internally and among partner organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. About percent of WFP operational projects include vocational training components in which women are specifically involved. UNHCR has educational programmes for refugee women, including vocational training and skills development.