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Skills for Employment
CIDA Policy context and Programming guidelines
ACCC Forum–Edmonton, June 4 2011
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Presentation on Skills for Employment at CIDA
• Part 1. CIDA Policy context:
Thematic priority: Stimulating sustainable economic
growth
Links to thematic priority: Securing the future of
children and youth
• Part 2. CIDA Skills for Employment programming
guidelines
• Part 3. Skills for Employment programming at
CIDA
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Part 1. CIDA Policy context
• CIDA has three thematic priorities:
-Increasing food security;
-Securing the future of children and youth;
-Stimulating sustainable economic growth.
• Stimulating sustainable economic growth priority has
three paths:
-Building economic foundations
-Growing businesses
-Investing in people
• Skills for Employment programming falls under path
“Investing in people”
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CIDA Policy context: link to “Securing the future
of children and youth”
Securing the future of children and youth has three paths:
-access to a quality education;
-child survival, including maternal, newborn and child health;
-safe and secure futures for children and youth;
Skills for Employment falls under Sustainable economic growth
but is linked to access to quality education, in
particular to “support learning opportunities and life skills
training for youth, in and out of school”
Skills for Employment programming is often focused on youth
as a target group, and generally involves training institutions
that provide educational services
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Part 2. CIDA Skills for Employment (SFE)
Programming guidelines
Skills for Employment (not using term “TVET”)
• Goes beyond formal technical and vocational
education and training
• Includes knowledge, skills and competencies gained
in schools and in the workplace
• Includes short and longer-term training programs
• Focuses on young people and adult workers and
recognizes the critical importance of life-long
learning
• As the names indicates, puts a strong emphasis on
finding employment after skills training
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Elements of Effective SFE programming
• 11 elements
• Based on best
practices and
lessons learned
internationally
and at CIDA
• Reflect CIDA’s vision of demand-driven,
sustainable, equitable SFE
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1. Economic and policy environments
• What is needed:
o
o
o
o
A stable economic environment
A sound investment climate
Well-functioning financial institutions
Relatively efficient labour markets
• First steps could include:
o Realistic labour market analysis
o Building capacity to interpret data
o Development of sound SFE policies and frameworks
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2. Demand-driven, flexible programming
• Sound SFE programs are:
o Responsive to demands of local or national labour
markets
o Able to adapt to changes in technology
• There will be a need to:
o Strengthen links among government ministries,
business, labour and training programs
o Build capacity to analyze and disseminate labour market
information
o Ensure flexibility of SFE programming
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3. Involvement of the private sector
• Involvement of the private sector is critical
• Industry associations, business, small and medium
enterprises, labour organizations can:
o Deliver training programs
o Help to identify emerging market needs
o Provide valuable input into:
o policy development
o competencies
o curriculum design and delivery
o training standards
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4. Financial resources
• SFE programs are often expensive
• Funding must support:
o
o
o
o
Curriculum
Teacher training
Equipment and materials
Facilities (learning sites)
• What is needed:
o long-term, sustainable funding that is used efficiently
o Capacity building in financial planning and management
o Possibility of funding sources outside of government
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5. Quality and relevance
• Critical to strong SFE enrolment and
completion rates
• Considerations to ensure quality:
o Staff qualifications and competencies
o Curriculum review, development and
implementation processes
o A focus on transferable skills
o Incorporation of life skills
o Public-private partnerships
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6. SFE and the informal economy
• Largest employer in developing countries,
particularly of women
• Working conditions can be poor, productivity low,
and incomes inadequate
• The challenges include:
o The need for basic numeracy, literacy and life skills in
addition to technical skills
o Resistance to formalization
o Strengthening informal apprenticeship systems
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7. Gender issues in SFE programming
• Barriers to women’s
participation in SFE remain
• What is needed:
o Proactive , comprehensive
SFE gender equality policies
and plans
o Strategies to make SFE
programs more welcoming
to women
o Strategies to open nontraditional occupations to
women
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8. The special needs of youth
• Youth may make up over 30% of population at the
global level
• Youth have longer periods of unemployment and
low-skilled work
• Considerations:
o
o
o
o
o
The need to build literacy, numeracy and life skills
A focus on transferable and entrepreneurial skills
Flexible timing, short duration courses
Programs for child labourers
Support entry into the formal education system
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9. SFE in rural areas
• 70% of poor live in rural
areas
• Many depend on
subsistence agriculture
• SFE may focus on:
o Increasing productivity
o Opportunities for offfarm employment
o Entrepreneurship
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10. Access for marginalized groups
• Basic principles apply, but specific strategies are
needed for:
o Indigenous peoples
o People with disabilities
o People living with the impact of HIV/AIDS
o People living in post-conflict or fragile states, including
demobilized soldiers
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11. Environmental sustainability
• Environmental sustainability is a cross-cutting
issue for CIDA
• Considerations:
– The possibility of a focus on “green jobs”
– The use of new agricultural technologies in rural areas
– The need for SFE programs to raise awareness of
environmental issues.
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Part 3. Skills for Employment programming at
CIDA
• Increasing level of programming in Skills for Employment
• Major programs:
-Education for Employment in Africa (Tanzania, Senegal,
Mozambique)
-Education for Employment in the Caribbean region
-Education for Employment in the Andean region (Colombia,
Peru, Bolivia) –proposal under review
-CANADO project in Haiti
-Bilateral programming planned or implemented in Morocco,
Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Cuba and other countries
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Key points of presentation
• CIDA’s policy framework articulates skills training as “Skills
for Employment” and links it to sustainable economic
growth;
• The 11 programming guidelines for Skills for Employment
provide clear guidance to programs in the field;
• Skills for Employment is a priority for the Agency and
programming is increasing in our 20 focus countries
Odette Langlais, Education Specialist
Email: Odette.Langlais@acdi-cida.gc.ca