ETF AMMAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE,
Ummuhn Bardak SPEAKING NOTES, 26 SEPTEMBER 2012
What is the external efficiency and effectiveness of VET system?
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VET system to contribute to economic competitiveness and social cohesion
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Does it meet the demands of enterprises and the aspirations of individuals/ vulnerable groups in society?
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Are skills and competences offered by the VET system in line with those expected by employers and individuals?
How do we assess the effectiveness and efficiency of VET system?
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The main socio-demographic trends in society (local, regional, national)
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The key economic sectors and skill needs of enterprises, mechanisms to identify skill and training needs in the labour market
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The main labour market trends and employment challenges (informality, segmentation)
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Individual expectations and aspirations from education and training, and the needs of vulnerable groups in society (surveys, statistics, experiences)
Youth in figures: where they are
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Large cohorts of young population, with high aspirations for their lives (education, jobs, housing): on average 30% of population is between 15-30 years old.
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Youth in education: around 30-to-40% (based on upper secondary and university enrolment rates)
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Youth in labour force: around 35-to-37% (ILO 2010) (50% males, 22% females)
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Youth in employment: 40% males, 15% females (ILO 2008), more likely working in low-paid, informal jobs
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Youth unemployed: 25% LFS (with twice high rates for females): 42% TUN, 39%
OPT, 30% LEB
Three youth groups, diverse vulnerabilities
1. Unemployed youth with difficult school-to-work transition: unemployment tends to increase with education level **educated unemployed as a particular group («wait unemployment») – see Tunisia - LONG AND DIFFICULT TRANSITION
(especially females)
2. Low-skilled/unskilled youth who cannot afford to be unemployed, but take precarious jobs in informal sector - RELATIVELY QUICKER TRANSITION, BUT
PRECARIOUS INFORMAL JOBS AND NO CAREER PERSPECTIVE (mostly males)
3. Youth not in education, training or employment (NEETs): more likely inactive, most vulnerable to social exclusion - NO TRANSITION AT ALL, NEVER ENTER
IN WORK LIFE (mostly females)
Addressing different needs of diverse youth groups in a balanced manner – crucial for ‘social cohesion’
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Main reasons of difficult youth transitions
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Weak (skilled) job creation in private sector and saturation of jobs in public sector
- business environment not encouraging SME growth
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Poor job-matching services: social networks are the main tool to find (good) jobs, less recruitment on merit-based competition
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Problems of inadequate education and training: overly-academic curricula, weak generic and/or soft skills and key competences, overwhelming humanities, poor learning environment
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High social expectations of youth from jobs: preference for public jobs despite their poor quality and productivity
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Low share of VET, missing vocational/ craft skills and weak links with enterprises
(mostly SMEs)
VET in the larger context of secondary education system
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Increasing secondary enrolment, but big difference between lower and upper secondary education: high share of early school leavers between 25% to 60% of students drop out after lower secondary (Syria, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria)
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VET small, narrow and unattractive – not playing its potential economic and social role! A low share of VET at upper secondary education except Egypt
(54%). In Maghreb the VET share of upper secondary education is 11-12%, in the OPT 6%, Jordan (15%) and Syria (21%).
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Strong aspiration for higher education with limited employment prospects: increasing enrolment rates (30-40%), except MOR 13%.
Challenges in VET systems
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VET remains a second or last-resort option reserved for poor-performing students. There is a strong gender gap or rather gender segregation in this field, as young women have less choices (often limited to the professions traditionally perceived as female tasks or just courses to become better housewives)
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Poor quality/relevance of VET: weak links with business, horizontal and vertical pathways in education system, weak systems of career guidance and counselling
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Private sector demands skills in middle to high technology profiles (mostly missing). According to the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance
Survey (BEEPS), 42% of private companies indicated skills as a major constraint for their business in the region. Skills mismatches are particularly high in Syria
(60%), Lebanon (56%), and Egypt (50%).
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Need for both technical and core/ generic skills also in VET
– particularly entrepreneurship, communication, ICT, foreign languages, citizenship. Specific skills needed for SMEs
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Missing element: accessible adult training in a context of LLL. There are no specific ‘second chance training’ arrangements for the very large number of school dropouts in the region.
Recent developments and the ways forward
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Many countries approved emergency employment programmes (Tunisia, Egypt,
Algeria) with a focus on youth, employment strategies designed (Jordan, Egypt), or VET considered as fundamental right for citizens (Morocco). The results of their implementation are to be seen. In general the strategies/ programmes are not always integrated with economic sectors and HCD strategies. A strong focus
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is on educated youth (rightly so), but more vulnerable groups are not targeted systematically.
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Increased enrolment and quality in post-compulsory education and diversified education provision at upper secondary level, in particular through the development of quality vocational education and training programmes so as to provide a valid alternative pathway to general education programmes.
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Higher attractiveness, relevance and quality of VET, more diversified offer of VET programmes, flexible and transparent VET sector, linking initial and continuing training accessible and affordable by all, gender-sensitive approach in VET.
Flexible pathways among different options of vocational and general education, development of qualification frameworks, vocationalisation of higher education to develop an operational labour force with higher qualification levels that can be attractive to students and employers
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Many reform programmes initiated to upgrade and modernise VET system based on LM needs: partnership with private sector, work-based learning, involvement of social partners, specific VET promotion campaigns (Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan), creation of pathways between VET and higher education (Egypt, Tunisia). Slow implementation of reforms and policies: from experimentation to mainstreaming
Economic sectors and the regions/local level can be good entry points.
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Increased education and training opportunities for vulnerable groups: literacy courses, second-chance training to ensure full eradication of illiteracy and improve/ upgrade of the skills of young people who work in informal sector
(Morocco, Egypt).
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Improved content and process of education: key competences, active learning, soft/ generic skills (entrepreneurship, citizenship, communication, ICT, foreign languages, etc.), entrepreneurial skills& training as indispensable part of all VET programmes, more efficient vocational guidance and counselling, linked to labour market information.
Everybody has the opportunity to participate in skill development actions
( “social inclusion”) and enterprises can find workers with right skills
(“economic competitiveness”).
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