NN38, February 2007
Technical and Vocational Skills Development
ENGAGING WITH SKILLS AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD
By Michael Ward, DFID, New Delhi
KeywordsSkills, Youth, South Asia
Summary
Examining Technical Vocational and Skills Development (TVSD) in South Asia, the author asks: what is the most effective education/TVSD policy mix for these countries? The article then examines four key challenges confronting South Asia in engaging with skills and youth development in a rapidly changing world.
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The World Bank?s World Development Report (WDR) 2007 was launched globally at the Annual Meetings of the Bank and the IMF in Singapore in September 2006 and is focused on the youth of today, and how their development is critical for development overall. A record 1.3 billion young people (12 to 24 years of age) now live in developing countries and the Report asks: what does this mean for development?
The WDR 2007 is particularly relevant for us here in Delhi as India has more young people than any other country in the world and this youth bulge will continue growing for at least another twenty years. The much-hyped demographic window of opportunity for India will close, the Report estimates, in 2035 ? 10 years after the youth population in the country reaches its peak. This youth dividend presents both opportunities for and major challenges to development for India and, because of the sheer size of the country?s population, for the world.
The gist of the WDR is that there are three strategic priorities that must be addressed to improve the situation of young people:
- Expanding opportunities ? not just for employment, but for further education, access to healthcare, and political participation;
- Improving capabilities ? informing youth of their choices so they are empowered to make their own decisions; and
- Offering second chances ? targeted programmes for those who have fallen behind due to difficult circumstances or poor choices.
But an analysis of what countries in South Asia are spending on Technical Vocational Skills Development (TVSD) and on youth relative to general education provides a stark relief to these priorities ? barely 3 or 4% of total education and training expenditure goes to TVSD and what you might call youth and sports investments. One result of these low levels of funding are that enrolments in TVSD are a fraction of the total enrolled in general education of similar levels. Despite this neglect, politicians and policy makers seem to always have expectations of TVSD that are infinitely greater than those they hold for general education. The belief in the power of TVSD to solve unemployment and spur economic growth seems to be boundless in even the most under-funded contexts.
Most educators would promote the importance of vocational subjects as part of a well rounded general education. So, the neglect of TVSD isn't caused by educators being against it, but this is often how it comes out in policy dialogue. What we find in almost all countries of South Asia is an unvocationalised general secondary education stream which has over 95% of the students at that level and a TVSD stream that typically has the last 5% of students - mostly those who couldn't get into general secondary and who are only following a TVSD programme in the hope that they can transfer back into general education a little higher up the system. While policy makers may promote TVSD as a stream equal in value to general secondary schooling it is always for someone else's children. The rich citizens don't buy this argument and neither do the poor - they all believe they know that life chances are determined by a learner?s level of success in general secondary schooling.
The promotion of private provision of skills is important as are the issues related to quality assurance, market regulation etc and the issue of information. It is clear that failure to take up skills training options is often caused by lack of information about opportunities and also by the absence of careers counselling for secondary school students. The role of government generally in terms of planning, resource allocation and regulation of TVSD needs to be brought out more in the context of broad sector planning and the real demand for skills. The central question in all of this is: what is the most effective education/TVSD policy mix for South Asian countries? This is the question we are struggling with and have been struggling with for decades and if we are to be at all helpful to our partners in answering this question, or even researching it, we need to have some effective tools that we can offer to help think through the issues. The four key issues confronting South Asia in engaging with skills and youth development in a rapidly changing world appear to be:
- Firstly, South Asia?s demography presents an incredible and unprecedented opportunity for the region?s future growth and prosperity ? its youthfulness over the next 40-50 years could give it a decisive competitive edge over East Asia and other parts of the world.
- Secondly, if South Asia is to make the most of this advantage it has to act now to significantly increase investments in education and training and health and to provide meaningful employment for its multitude of young people; ? thus the youth dividend is, initially at least, also an unprecedented burden.
- Thirdly, the importance to the rest of the world of South Asia seizing and making the most of this opportunity cannot be over-emphasised; ? for so many countries the demographic window of opportunity closed several years ago and the region will be a principal source of labour and welfare in these economies.
- Fourthly, if the opportunity is not seized, there is the risk of increased disillusionment and social tensions that could have massive implications for the stability of India, the South Asia region and the world in the years ahead.
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