NN46, September 2011
Towards a New Global World of Skills Development? TVET's turn to Make its Mark
Upgrading Informal Apprenticeship - Challenges and Achievements
By Christine Hofmann, ILO, Geneva
Email: hofmann@ilo.org
Keywords: Apprenticeship; informal economy; non-formal training
Summary: Informal apprenticeship merits more attention in international skills development. There is an untapped potential to improve employability of graduate apprentices, productivity of micro and small enterprises, and the responsiveness of national training systems to labour market needs.
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Informal apprenticeship remains the most widespread indigenous training system in many developing countries. Young people acquire occupational competence by working and learning side by side with an experienced craftsperson. The apprenticeship agreement is embedded in informal institutions composed of social norms, traditions, reciprocity and reputation. Apprenticeship in the informal economy is a home-grown system, well known and accepted by local communities, but generally disconnected from formally recognized national training systems. Upgrading it has the potential to benefit workers in the informal economy and to make national training systems more responsive to labour market needs.
Informal apprenticeship has been studied in many countries, in particular in Africa. There is growing awareness among policy-makers, policy-shapers and researchers of the potential for upgrading informal apprenticeship, not only to address its weaknesses but to make more of its potential. While a few countries have included provisions on upgrading informal apprenticeship in laws and policies based on pilot experiences, efforts at scaling up remain scattered, and evidence of successful policy interventions is very scarce. Upgrading informal apprenticeship can include improving working conditions for apprentices, training master craftspersons, setting skill standards, strengthening dialogue between apprentices and between business associations and community groups, raising public awareness, or creating linkages with medium or large enterprises. Formalizing informal apprenticeship remains one option among many to improve it.
Upgrading faces a number of challenges that have become apparent in various countries and contexts. A few are listed below.
One challenge is to create trust among relevant actors such as small business associations, formal or non-formal training providers, community groups or government authorities. If no culture of collaboration exists, prejudices and mistrust need to be overcome.
It is key to build on the main actors’ interests: small businesses that need helping hands and skilled labour and young learners who are eager to learn a trade and become employable. The workplace-based training system is entirely financed by employers and apprentices, and thus requires solutions that do not skew the incentives of both parties to conclude and endorse apprenticeship agreements. Only if small business associations are in the driver’s seat – or small businesses if associations do not exist – can improvements be sustainable.
It is paramount to understand why and how informal apprenticeship functions. Interventions risk being poorly designed if they do not build on in-depth assessment of the system. Practices in informal apprenticeship can differ between localities and trades. Some of the system’s decent work deficits are due to “bad rules” currently in place, such as strong gender segregation along occupational lines. Others result from a lack of enforcement of the training agreement. If apprentices tend to leave the workshop before having completed their apprenticeship – because there is no additional value in staying on and waiting for graduation – master craftspersons might lose part of their training investment and discontinue offering apprenticeship. Alternatively, they might keep certain skills to themselves and thus try to keep their apprentices for excessively long periods which can result in exploitation. Both situations, “bad rules” or lack of enforcement require different types of approaches to improve the system’s performance.
Attempting to overcome all of the system's weaknesses at once including unequal access, lack of social protection, hazardous working conditions etc., risks over-burdening the actors. A step-by-step approach is needed. For example, introducing skills recognition systems through end-of apprenticeship exams can open the door to standardizing apprenticeship periods. Moreover, change requires time. Well-performing skill development systems have evolved over years and often generations. Upgrading informal apprenticeship and building it into the national training system will exceed common durations of technical cooperation projects by far. Policy learning takes time, and rushed solutions are rarely sustainable.
Another challenge is to integrate upgrading informal apprenticeship into local or national development strategies, which requires a collaborative effort by a range of different stakeholders. Well-performing training systems can dynamize local economies by enhancing productivity, linkages between enterprises and within value chains. Some apprenticeship occupations can also contribute to achieving other development goals such as improving access to clean drinking water, sanitation or energy.
Two successful examples illustrate achievements with regard to improved quality assurance and enhanced recognition of skills.
In Benin, provincial governments have concluded agreements with local business associations to organize practical end-of-apprenticeship assessments jointly, twice per year. Assessment committees are composed of representatives from government, business associations, and parents’ associations. The names of successful candidates are broadcast by local radio stations.
The Ghana National Tailors and Dressmaking Association conduct a national practical skills test for graduated apprentices twice a year. The one-day exam is organized in around 50 centers throughout the country. Since 2000, around 65,000 apprentices have taken this exam. Successful candidates are awarded certificates at graduation ceremonies organized by the association at zonal levels. The certificate enables membership in the association, is used to obtain permits and licenses from District Assemblies, and is accepted for acquiring visas under the American Lottery Scheme. The demand for this certification has increased and holders of certificates issued by National Vocational Training Institutes also take the association’s test to enhance their employability in labour markets. The intake of students for tailoring and dressmaking in training institutes of the formal training system has seen a decline in recent years thanks to the success of the association’s recognition system.
The ILO advocates for upgrading informal apprenticeship and has contributed to knowledge creation over the past 30 years. It has developed a comprehensive assessment methodology and conducted country level research on how the system works and can be improved in more than 15 countries. The ILO is currently working with constituents to upgrade and expand informal apprenticeship systems through technical cooperation projects in Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
References
ILO. 2011. Introductory Guide to Upgrading Informal Apprenticeship. Concepts – Assessment – Issues – Policy Options (ILO, Geneva, forthcoming).
ILO. 2008. Apprenticeship in the Informal Economy in Africa, Workshop report, 3-4 May 2007, Employment Report No. 1 (ILO, Geneva), also available in French.
http://www.ilo.org/skills/projects/WCMS_158771/lang--en/index.htm
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Cite article as: Hofmann, C., (2011) ‘Upgrading Informal Apprenticeship - Challenges and Achievements’, in NORRAG NEWS, Towards a New Global World of Skills Development? TVET's turn to Make its Mark, No.46, September 2011, pp. 76-79, available: http://www.norrag.org
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