ARI Training & Capacity Building
At the Anker Research Institute, we believe that achieving decent work and sustainable livelihoods requires shared knowledge, strong analytical capacity, and practical tools.
Our training and capacity building programs are designed to equip organizations and practitioners with the understanding and skills needed to apply the Anker Methodology® and to advance living wage and living income goals around the world.
We provide training for a wide range of audiences — including companies at all levels of global supply chains, trade unions, standards organizations, consultancies, research institutions, non-profits, and public agencies. Programs are tailored to different levels of experience and designed to combine technical rigor with real-world application.
Training Topics
Global and national contexts for living wages and living incomes.
Identifying patterns in wage gaps, including factors linked to the nature of employment (e.g., contract types, years of service, benefits received) and socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, nationality, ethnicity, migrant status).
Our training covers a broad range of topics, including:
The Anker Methodology® for estimating living wages and living incomes worldwide.
Measuring and addressing gender pay gaps.
Measuring prevailing wages and analyzing gaps to living wages.
Valuing in-kind benefits provided as part of a living wage.
Measuring progress in closing living wage and living income gaps.
Training Formats
Our training is offered through e-learning courses, in-person workshops, virtual sessions, and customized programs designed to meet specific organizational or regional needs.
We draw on real-world examples and our technical expertise to deliver hands-on, data-driven learning experiences. Participants gain a deeper understanding of what living wages and living incomes mean in practice and how to measure living wage gaps effectively. Training often involves working directly with company wage data and payroll systems, helping human resource and finance personnel develop the skills to analyze and track wage gaps within their own organizations. We also build the capacity of workers and trade unions to understand and use living wage concepts and measurements in wage-setting negotiations.
Through these initiatives, we build shared understanding and robust analytical capacity — empowering stakeholders across sectors to take informed, evidence-based action toward living wages and living incomes for all.
Examples of ARI Training Programs
1. Building Company Understanding and Capacity on Living Wages
In Brazil, the Anker Research Institute and national research partner, CEBRAP, have collaborated with companies across several sectors to strengthen their understanding of living wages in the Brazilian context. Through tailored workshops, we provided background on how living wages relate to national policy agendas and corporate sustainability goals. We then supported companies in measuring living wage gaps within their own operations and supply chains, working directly with wage and payroll data to build the skills of HR and finance personnel.
2. E-Learning to Advance Gender Pay Parity in Manufacturing Supply Chains
ARI partnered with training experts, Improving Worklife, and apparel brands, adidas and Patagonia, to develop an interactive e-learning course on gender pay parity. Designed for factory managers and HR personnel in manufacturing supply chains, the course combines videos, interactive exercises, animations, and downloadable resources to explain what gender pay parity is, why it matters, and how to achieve it. Participants learn to measure gender pay gaps in their organizations and take action to ensure equal pay for work of equal value, address occupational gender segregation, and support workers with caregiving responsibilities.
3. Strengthening Workers’ Ability to Negotiate for Living Wages
ARI provided technical support to global trade union, CNV International, to strengthen its Fair Work Monitor tool. This tool is used for surveying workers in sectors such as apparel, sugarcane, and minerals mining to assess whether their wages meet ARI living wage benchmarks. This has provided reliable data and information for local trade unions to use in collective bargaining and wage negotiations.
In Costa Rica, ARI has held capacity building sessions with trade unions in the banana and pineapple sectors to develop understanding of living wages and the Anker Methodology® for estimating costs of living in different regions of the country. This enhanced capacity is critical for workers to participate in sectoral and national wage discussions from an informed position.
Learn More
To learn more about our training programs or to discuss opportunities for collaboration, please contact the Anker Research Institute.