NN38, February 2007
Technical and Vocational Skills Development
TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (TVSD) IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
By Edda Grunwald, GTZ, Eschborn, Frankfurt
KeywordsTechnical and Vocational Skills Development, economic development, GTZ
Summary
This article summaries the past and emerging policies and strategies pursued by GTZ in the field of Technical and Vocational Skills Development.
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GTZ, the German Government-owned implementing agency for technical cooperation, acts respectively under the terms of a general agreement on behalf of the BMZ, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Therefore, GTZ has to follow Government policies and strategies. This holds true in the field of Technical and Vocational Skills Development (TVSD) too. In this context the following papers are to be mentioned in chronological order
- 1969; 1989; 1992 ? all are BMZ-Sector-Concept Papers on Technical Vocational Education and Training
- 2005: BMZ-Strategy on Technical Vocational Education and Training and the Labour Market (LM) in Development Cooperation. [It should be noted that this is no longer a sector-concept, but a strategy paper with the specific focus on integrated approaches for promoting employment and labour markets (as a contribution to achieving one or more of the MDGs)].
These policy-papers are an expression of the actual-historic understanding of development processes generated during intensive professional, scientific and policy discussion in society, public institutions and political fora. Due to this they reflect experiences gained in the past and give orientation for the future.
Today?s development agenda is heavily influenced by the MDGs. Due to the fact that TVSD under certain circumstances contributes to a set of these goals, attention has to be given to the specific MDG-related design, implementation and monitoring of TVSD.
In recent years in the context of sustainable economic development the BMZ demonstrated a growing interest in increasing the efforts to promote employment and better jobs.
As we all know, economic growth does not automatically lead to more and better jobs; the pattern of growth also has an impact on job creation. Employment and labour market policies potentially play a critical role in reducing poverty by their impact on the income and distribution pattern, gender relations and participation in civil and political life. Therefore, within a relative pro-poor-growth perspective BMZ is giving increasing attention both to research and capacity in the field of employment strategies, skills and employability.
This is especially expressed in the BMZ-Strategy on ?Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the Labour Market in Development Cooperation? (2005). The highlights, specifics, and characteristics of TVSD and the labour market in the 2005 strategy include:
- Perceiving TVSD as a relevant development factor for individuals, enterprises (production factor) and the economy (location factor);
- Improving job seekers? employability;
- Facilitating the transition from school to work (employment services; vocational guidance/ vocational counselling; etc);
- Better ?matching? between supply and demand in the labour market (e.g. LMIS);
- Extending the traditional focus on wage employment and on labour market analysis in the formal economy to improving the productivity and reducing under-employment in the informal economy while gradually expanding formal employment;
- Principles of TVSD:
* involvement of private sector institutions in coordinating, regulating, implementing and monitoring according to the socio-economic and cultural context reflecting the current very positive discussion of public-private initiatives in TVSD;
* principle of subsidiarity within the TVSD context with consequences for decentralisation and privatisation;
* practice and action orientation of TVSD;
* work process orientation;
* key capabilities;
* labour market driven TVSD research.
This has to be followed as far as possible by integrated TVSD / labour market approaches within a multilevel intervention and consultancy set up (macro: policy level; meso: steering and organisational strengthening of the system; micro: pilot / direct implementation with the ultimate target group). The consultancy services are delivered against the backdrop of a systemic organisational development ?philosophy?. Quality management is to be arranged within the partner organisations and structures. And a result-based monitoring is to be set up.
Therefore, in the field of TVSD (topic wise as well as regards certain processes and applied methodologies) this strategy is in line with the trends of the World Bank as well as with the ILO, ?the decent work agency?. Furthermore, it should be of interest to link up BMZ (continuous re-thinking) with:
- the UN and its ?High Level Commission on Legal empowerment of the Poor? focussing on the many poor that live and work in the ?informal sector?;
- the European Commission which has elaborated an EC strategy on promoting employment and decent work within the EC?s Development cooperation.
References
BMZ (2005) Strategy on ?Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the Labour Market in Development Cooperation?. Currently available in German only, but an English version will be available for download in early 2007 from www.bmz.de.
The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent the views of GTZ and / or BMZ.
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