Cupertino, California  Apple today announced a $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund that will expand access to learning opportunities and skills development. The fund also includes new and expanded partnerships with leading rights advocates, universities, and nonprofits to drive Apple’s ongoing work to empower supplier employees and drive improvements in knowledge of and respect for workplace rights across industries.

“At IOM, we understand that supply chain responsibility is complex, and must be driven by innovation, results, and partnerships,” said Amy Pope, IOM’s deputy director general for Management and Reform. “Improving people’s lives must be at its core. The IOM and Apple partnership has proven results in Apple’s own supply chain and paves the way for others in the industry to follow. To effect real change, we need global collaboration that engages workers, NGOs, government, and industry. Apple’s new commitments will have tangible, meaningful benefits for workers around the world.”

• A new partnership with the ILO to advance fundamental labor rights in electronics supply chains.

• A new initiative to scale a best-in-class digital worker rights training program across Apple’s supply chain.

• Expanding work with the IOM to scale the Responsible Recruitment Toolkit — developed by Apple in partnership with the IOM — across Apple’s supply chain, which will soon be open-sourced for companies across industries.

• Developing communications platforms and driving awareness of existing independent worker hotlines for supplier employees to share feedback or concerns about their workplace.