Report by Amit Dar at Global Education Futures Forum in Kazan, Russia, 22-23 May 2015

1. Making Skills
Programs Work
Future Skills International Forum,
Kazan
May 2015

2. Outline
I.
Skills
in
the
Global
Context
II.
Key
Features
of
ECA
III.
Skills
Development
as
a
Life-­‐long
Process
IV.
Lessons
of
Experience
for
Job-­‐Specific
Skills
Development
V.
Moving
Forward
2

3. I.
Skills
in
the
Global
Context
3

4. Skills
are
a
constraint
around
the
world
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
World
Sub-­‐Saharan
Africa
South
Asia
Eastern
Europe
&
Central
Asia
East
Asia
&
Pacific
Middle
East
&
North
Africa
LaGn
America
&
Caribbean
High-­‐income
OECD
%
unskilled
workers,
out
of
all
producGon
workers
%
firms
idenGfying
labor
regulaGons
as
a
major
constraint
%
firms
idenGfying
an
inadequately
educated
workforce
as
a
major
constraint
Source:
Enterprise
Surveys
2010
4

5. Global
Trends
Related
to
Skills
• Wage
differenGals
are
rising
between
skilled
and
unskilled
workers
in
many
regions
• Skilled
jobs
are
growing
faster
than
unskilled
employment
• Knowledge-­‐based
industries
are
expanding
rapidly
and
with
them
the
demand
for
‘new
skills’
• Unskilled
workers
are
increasingly
more
vulnerable
to
job
loss,
extended
unemployment,
and
declining
real
wages
5

6. II.
Key
Features
of
ECA
6

7. The
ECA
region
sLll
faces
specific
challenges
that
impede
progress
toward
reducing
poverty
and
sharing
prosperity
7
Poverty
remains
an
issue
• Poverty
remains
high
in
some
countries
(e.g.,
Armenia,
Georgia,
Kosovo,
Kyrgyz
Republic,
Tajikistan)
• Pockets
of
poverty
remain
in
many
countries/communiGes
(e.g.,
Roma)
Risk
of
reversal
in
shared
prosperity
• Ageing
• Long
term
unemployment
• Long
term
erosion
of
producGvity
and
compeGGveness;
lack
of
jobs
Specific
challenges
In
EducaLon
• Increasing
access
/Inclusion
(Pre-­‐school
and
terGary)
• Improving
quality
and
relevance
• Skills
not
just
diplomas
• EducaGon
Finance
Reform

8. Uneven
access
to
early
childhood
educaLon
and
quality
basic
educaLon
threatens
progress
toward
reducing
poverty
and
sharing
prosperity
in
ECA
8
61
57
45
44
42
41
39
30
28
27
26
24
23
21
20
20
14
11
0
20
40
60
Albania
Montenegro
Kazakhstan
Bulgaria
Turkey
Romania
Serbia
CroaGa
Hungary
Slovak
Republic
Lithuania
Russian
FederaGon
OECD
members
Czech
Republic
Slovenia
Latvia
Poland
Estonia
%
of
15
year
olds
scoring
at
level
1
or
below
on
PISA
2012
MathemaLcs
assessment
In
some
countries,
half
of
students
compleLng
basic
educaLon
are
funcLonally
innumerate
103
103
101
94
91
90
90
90
87
85
83
80
78
78
77
69
64
61
58
56
54
51
29
26
25
25
25
16
9
0
25
50
75
100
Czech
Republic
Belarus
Ukraine
Slovenia
Slovak
Republic
Russian
FederaGon
Latvia
Estonia
Hungary
Bulgaria
OECD
members
Moldova
Poland
Romania
Lithuania
Albania
CroaGa
Montenegro
Georgia
Serbia
Kazakhstan
Armenia
Turkey
Macedonia,
FYR
Azerbaijan
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyz
Republic
Bosnia
and
Herzegovina
Tajikistan
Pre-­‐primary
gross
enrollment
rate
(2012
or
latest
available
year)
In
some
countries,
3
out
of
every
4
children
are
not
enrolled
in
preschool
Source:
EdStats.

9. 9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Number
of
Countries
EU10+1
and
Turkey
Western
Balkans
LI
CIS
MI
CIS
AZE
BIH
KOS
MKD
SRB
SVN
ARM
GEO
KGZ
ALB
BGR
TUR
Mean
=
30.2
TJK
UZB
CZE
EST
HRV
LVA
POL
SVK
UKR
MDA
LTU
ROM
MNE
HUN
KAZ
RUS
BLR
Countries
where
more
than
40%
of
firms
report
“skills”
as
a
severe
constraint
to
growth
ECA
faces
Supply
Side
LimitaLons
Ø Workers'
skills
had
become
a
constraint
on
firm
expansion
by
2008
(percent
of
firms
considering
factor
a
'major'
or
'very
severe'
constraint).
Ø Available
data
mostly
focuses
on
educaLon
aeained,
not
the
skills
acquired.

10. III.
Skills
Development
as
a
Life-­‐long
Process

11. Different
Sorts
of
Skills
Many
skills,
diverse
gaps
• Different
types
of
skills
that
maeer
for
employment
and
producLvity:
– Problem-­‐solving
skills
– Learning
(foundaGonal)
skills:
ability
to
acquire
new
knowledge
– CommunicaGon
skills
– Personal
skills:
self
management,
sound
judgment,
managing
risk
– Social
skills:
team,
manage
client
relaGons,
leadership,
resolve
conflict,
etc.
– Technical
skills:
job/producGon
specific
• Skills
are
acquired
at
different
stages
in
the
lifecycle:
across
sectors
and
across
generaLons.
11

12.
Source:
World
Bank
2010.
AnalyGcal
Framework:
Stepping
Up
Skills
for
Employment
and
ProducGvity
(STEP)
12

13.
Source:
World
Bank
2010.
…where
skills
development
is
a
cumulaGve
life-­‐cycle
process
13

14. IV.
Evidence
of
Lessons
for
Job-­‐Specific
Skills
Development
– Investment
in
Early
IntervenGons
and
FoundaGonal
Skills
– Basic
Skills
– Role
of
Government
– Role
of
Employers
– Financing
– Private
Providers
– Monitoring
and
EvaluaGon
14

15. A.
Investment
in
Early
IntervenGons
and
FoundaGonal
Skills
– Invest
in
early
intervenGons
(e.g.
nutriGon,
health
inputs,
preschool
educaGonal
inputs),
which
is
essenGal
for
school
readiness
– Improving
student
learning
for
all
through
investment
in
access
to
quality
primary
educaGon
for
all

16. B.
Basic
Skills
• Introduce
literacy
and
so0
skill
development
modules
as
part
of
programs…
– In
most
countries,
large
numbers
of
school
goers
drop
out
early;
and
large
parts
of
the
workforce
have
liple
knowledge
and
few
skills
that
would
make
them
more
employable.
– Introducing
modules
focused
on
literacy
and
soq
skills
as
part
of
basic
and
secondary
educaGon
and
training
programs
can
help
break
the
vicious
circle
of
the
unskilled
being
trapped
in
jobs
that
require
liple
skills,
establish
accessible
pathways
for
acquiring
skills
(e.g.
Vietnam,
Russia).

17. C.
Role
of
Government
• Government
has
a
cri:cal
role
to
play…
– mainly
in
regulaGon,
standard
serng
,
M+E,
and
selecGve
financing
(e.g.
Australia,
ArgenGna)
– Exploring
innovaGve
public-­‐private
partnerships
to
enhance
provision
of
market
relevant
skills
(e.g.
Korea,
Malaysia)

18.
Role
of
Government
ArgenGna
–
Quality
Assurance
Systems
ArgenGna
is
developing
the
workforce
skills
of
disadvantaged
workers
through:
• Diversifying
Pathways
for
Skills
AcquisiLon
for
disadvantages
workers-­‐
Making
qualificaGons
more
transparent
and
portable
through
the
Government
face-­‐liqing
at
the
processes
of
serng
standards
by
employers
and
workers,
– Providing
credibility
for
skills
tesLng
and
cerLficaLon
-­‐
Ensuring
the
funcGoning
of
qualified
third-­‐party
assessment
centers
and
cerGficaGon
organizaGons
• ExponenGal
growth
in
non-­‐state
providers
is
a
posiGve
development
but
underscore
the
importance
for
the
development
of
clear
standards
to
ensure
quality
training
programs
• Making
qualificaLons
more
transparent
and
portable
-­‐
Developing
a
framework
for
competency-­‐based
training
and
cerGficaGon

19. D.
Role
of
Employers
• Ensure
employers
play
a
cri:cal
role
in
system….
– Employers
need
to
have
an
important
voice
at
the
table
at
the
policy
level
– At
the
insGtuGon
level
–
employers
need
to
be
involved
in
management
of
insGtuGons
and
decide
on
how
resources
are
spent
and
what
type
of
investments
to
make
– Relatedly
–
this
can
only
work
if
insGtuGons
have
the
academic
and
financial
autonomy
to
make
decisions
and
are
held
accountable
for
them
(e.g.
Chile)

20. Delivery
of
subsidized
training
and
technical
assistance
for
Small
Enterprises
– Promoters
provide
iniGal
diagnosGc
– Training
on
a
cost-­‐sharing
and
sliding
basis:
CIMO
70%,
Firm
30%,
declining
to
50-­‐50
cost-­‐sharing
– Different
modaliGes
-­‐-­‐
(1)
integrated
training,
(2)
training
plus
individualized
consulGng
services
– Group
training
delivered
by
local
training
providers,
as
well
as
cluster-­‐
based
training
Compared
to
a
control
group,
CIMO
firms:
– Increased
investments
in
worker
training,
– Had
higher
rates
of
capacity
uGlizaGon,
– More
likely
to
adopt
quality
control
pracGces.
– Increased
wage
and
employment
growth,
and
– Reduced
labor
turnover,
absenteeism,
and
rejecGon
rates
for
products.
**
The
most
drama=c
impacts
were
among
micro
and
small
firms.
Employers
Mexico’s
Comprehensive
Quality
and
ModernizaGon
Program
(CIMO)

21. E.
Financing
• Introduce
performance
financing
of
programs
…
– Currently,
nearly
all
public
funding
is
input
based.
–
A
shiq
in
this
relaGonship
towards
financing
linked
to
outputs/outcomes
will
be
criGcal
to
make
training
more
relevant
for
labor
market
needs.
(e.g.,
Brazil)

22. F.
Private
Providers
• Clear
and
lenient
laws
result
in
a
vigorous
response
from
private
providers.
• Public
funding
can
encourage
private
provision
of
programs
–
through
leveling
the
playing
field
between
public
and
private
sector
(e.g.
Czech
Republic).
• Business
oriented
skills
are
the
first
to
proliferate
the
private
market,
but
rapid
industrial
growth
can
lead
to
strong
private
supply
of
technical
skills
(e.g.
Indonesia).

23. GOVERNMENT
RECOGNITION
§ Approval
§ Licence
INCENTIVES
§ Training
Support
(HRDF)
§ Double
deducGon
IncenGve
§ Tax
ExempGon
INFRASTRUCTURE
§ FaciliGes
§ Building
CAPITAL
GRANT
§ Set
Up
Grant
§ Equipment
Grant
§ Building
Grant
INDUSTRY
LEADERSHIP
§ New
Concepts/Ideas
§ Processes
&
Systems
SHARING
§ Resources/ExperGse
§ Technology
§ Trainers
ACADEMIA
TRAINING
RESOURCE
§ Lecturers
§ Content
Experts
PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENT
§
Training
Materials
Private
Providers
Malaysia
-­‐
The
Penang
Skills
Development
Centre
(PSDC)
Roles
of
the
Various
Stakeholders

24. G.
M+E
• Par:cipate
in
the
interna:onal
or
develop
a
na:onal
systems
of
tes:ng
for
competencies/skills:
– Countries
can
make
a
start
by
considering
parGcipaGng
in
a
few
systems
that
are
present
–
for
example,
SABER
and
STEP
(World
Bank)
and
PIAAC
(OECD)
which
will
allow
them
to
get
valuable
experience
at
relaGvely
low
cost.
– Always…evaluate
programs
-­‐
feed
lessons
into
improving
design
(e.g.
India
study)

25. Lessons
of
Experience:
M+E
India:
Value
of
Measuring
Performance
of
System
• EvaluaGon
of
five
flagship
GoI
Skill
Development
Programs
(SDPs)
in
five
States
• Although
sGll
fairly
recent,
these
programs
are
not
pilots,
already
more
than
five
million
people
trained
since
2011
• Push
for
expansion:
Of
the
overall
GoI
target
of
skilling
500
million
by
2022,
the
five
SDPs
have
a
combined
target
of
285
million
• Findings:
– Only
25-­‐30%
of
trainees
are
placed
with
support
from
their
TPs.
About
2
years
aqer
training,
the
%
of
trainees
with
jobs
remains
roughly
the
same.
– SD
programs
give
a
posiGve
earnings
premium:
trainees
who
have
got
a
job
earn
on
average
about
21%
more
than
non-­‐trainees
(
with
same
age,
educaGon,
marital
status,
state
of
residence)
– Work
experience
before
training
period
(strong
effect),
knowledge
of
English,
and
programs
combining
classroom
training
with
pracGcal
training
in
industry
increase
probability
of
employment
aqer
training.
• Findings
of
the
Study
have
been
presented
to
the
PM’s
office
and
our
now
a
part
of
the
naLonal
dialogue
on
how
to
improve
the
skills
development
system.

26. V.
Moving
Forward
26

27. Moving
Forward:
Progress
in
Our
Skills
Development
Work
• Strong
demand
for
our
skills
development
work
across
the
region
as
countries
are
apempGng
to
improve
labor
producGvity
and
employment
• Building
evidence
base
on
what
works
and
incorporaGng
into
program
design
• PiloGng
skills
development
programs
for
increased
producGvity
of
entrepreneurship
and
self
employment
in
informal
serngs
• SupporGng
governance
reforms
of
skills
systems
• SupporGng
skills
for
innovaGons
in
more
formal
serngs
• Leveraging
work
done
with
other
GPs
and
DPs