matching education outputs with labor market needs experts’ meeting 9th conference of arab...

Matching Education Outputs with Labor Market Needs

Experts’ Meeting9th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education

Tunisia, May 27, 2014

The key questions that need to be asked on employability and school to work transition

Do education and skills development systems really enable people to access jobs or are they rather barriers to employability?

Is being employable enough to get a job in MENA countries?

How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand?

The Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) framework shows that skills needed for productivity and economic growth require a sequenced combination of education, training, and labor market activities

Great progress, greater expectations, and even greater aspirations…

Low quality skills

Benchmarking MENA countries in Math, TIMSS 2011

International median

MENA non-GCC average

Lebanon

Iran, Islamic Republic

Qatar

West Bank and Gaza

Syria, Arab Rep.

Morocco

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1421

57

128

56

68

764

342

2932

1818

2829

201820

191818

151412

10

2924

2927

3135

36292925

2727

2726

2324

2512

4647

2727

394545464748

5357

6164

Advanced (>625) High (550-624) Intermediate (475-549) Low (400-474)

Below low (<400)

… and the employers are complaining that graduates are not employable

Germany (2005)

Korea (2005)

Spain (2005)

South Asia

Africa

East Asia & Pacific

Latin America & Carbbean

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Middle East and North Africa

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

7

7

14

25

33

34

43

43

54

(% of human resource manager agreeing that recent university graduate hires have the appropriate skills)

Egypt Jordan Morocco Saudi Arabia

Yemen0

10

20

30

40

50

University graduates Hard skills

University graduates Soft skills

Relevance: perceived skill shortages(% of firms perceive skills of workforce as constraint)

MENA has a large share of untapped human resources that are not participating in economic activity

19%

27%

6%

48%

Non-GCC Middle East and North

Africa

27%

37%5%

31%

Latin America and the Caribbean

Formal workersInformal workers

40%

16%6%

38%

Europe and Central Asia

Rates of female labor force participation, by region, 2008

Many of its young people are not involved in any productive activity

F M F M F M F M F M F M F MIraq Yemen Egypt Jordan WBG Tunisia Lebanon

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%Out of School, out of the Labor Forceunemployed

% O

ut

of

sch

oo

l o

ut

of

wo

rk (

15

-2

4 )

Youth unemployment rates by region, ages 15-24, 2008




How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand ?

Perceptions of youth in selected MENA economies of the constraints to getting a job, 2009

The double transition: From employability to employment

In MENA, being employable is not enough for youth - and outsiders in general - to transition from education to work and to get a job.

As a result, youth need to succeed in a “double transition”: in addition to obtaining competencies and credentials to be employable, they need to position themselves in the labor market.

The hypothesis of a meritocracy deficit

The increasing demand for transparency and equality of opportunity in accessing jobs makes the importance of meritocracy and clear rules in job search and hiring even more salient.

Young people and their families have high expectations, invest heavily in education and skills, and they expect these investments to pay off . Yet listening to students, graduates, and employers in MENA countries, there is a widespread perception that education credentials serve a minor role in employers’ hiring decisions.

Educated youth in MENA have received a clear message from the labor market: to access one of the few insider jobs, you must wait your turn or already belong to an insider family.




How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand?

Linking the barriers to the transition from education to work to long-term policies

Less quantifiable aspects:InstitutionsPoliciesPracticesImplementation

Values

SABER-WfD

Focus of SABER-workforce development in relation to other analyses

More quantifiable aspects:EnrollmentsTypes of skillsSkills mismatchSkills gaps

G8 Fostering Relevance in Public Training ProgramsYr of Data:

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, if relevant

Level of Education: SecondaryG8_T1_es Links between Training Institutions and Industry

Q1. What links exist between training institutions and industry to improve training relevance and quality?1. Links are rare or absent ---------> Go to Q4

2. Informal links exist ---------> Go to Q4

3. Formal links exist ---------> Go to Q2

4. Other, please elaborate below:

Q2. What is the scope of the formal links? ---------> Go to Q3

1.Links exist between some training institutions and industry(ies)

2. Links exist between most training institutions and industry(ies)

3. Other, please elaborate below:

Q3. In what areas have significant links been established? ---------> Go to Q4

1.Participation in governance or advisory bodies

2. Assessment of labor market needs

3.Industry internships or training for trainees

4. Industry training for instructors

5. Provision of part-time trainers from industry

6. Donation of industry equipment and/or supplies

7. Provision of scholarships or bursaries for trainees

8. Participation by industry in assessment of trainees

9. Collaboration on industry-commissioned projects

Other, please elaborate below:

Q4. Notes, if any, on this topic:

Structure of the SABER-workforce development tool

18

Three functional dimensions matter in workforce development

StrategyAligning WfD to

national goals for productivity

DeliveryManaging for

tangible results on the ground

OversightGoverning to

achieve desired goals

1. Setting a strategic direction for WfD

2. Fostering a demand-led approach to WfD

3. Strengthening critical coordination

5. Assuring relevant and reliable standards

6. Diversifying pathways for skills acquisition

4. Ensuring efficiency and equity in funding

8. Fostering relevance in public training programs

7. Enabling diversity and excellence in training provision

9. Enhancing evidence-based accountability for results

Strategy

Oversight

Delivery

Nine key policy goals matter in WfD

20

Example from Dimension 1

21

Strategy

Policy Goals

Critical Coordination

Demand-led Approach

Strategic Direction

Assessed on such evidence as:

Clarity on the demand for skills• Is there a formal assessment

of critical skills constraints in the economy?

• What is the credibility of the assessment?

Role of employers• What best describes the role

of employers in WfD?

• What incentives for skills upgrading exist for employers?

What aspects of WfD institutions and policies matter?

Policy Goals

Pathways

Standards

Funding


Funding stability and criteria• To what extent is WfD funding

based on evidence of program effectiveness?

Partnership with employers• Does funding by the

government catalyze sustained involvement of employers?

Oversight


22

What Aspects of WfD Institutions and Policies Matter?

Policy Goals

Accountability

Relevance

Diversity and Excellence


Non-state provision of training• What is the scope of non-

state provision??

• How is the quality of provision assured?

Public sector provision• What incentives drive the

behavior of public providers?

• Are providers’ priorities informed by assessments and dialogue with stakeholders?

Delivery


23

What Aspects of WfD Institutions and Policies Matter?

1. Latent

2. Emerging

3. Established

4. Advanced

Scoring rubrics

Example of Diagnostic Results

2.

3.

1.

The Region seen through the SABER-WfD Lens

1 2 3 4

1. Direction

2. Demand-led

3. Coordination

4. Funding

5. Standards

6. Pathways

7. Excellence

8. Relevance

9. Accountability

Str

ate

gic

Fra

mew

ork

Sys

tem

O

vers

igh

tS

erv

ice

Deli

very

1. Most dispersion of scores2. Least dispersion of scores3. Relatively dense, almost as dense as 2.

How to move WfD Systems forward?

What does the graph suggest?

Consider 3 Policy Goals:1. The Policy Goal with most variance2. The Policy Goal with least variance3. The Policy Goal with the lowest mean score

Policy Goal

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan Morocco Palestine Tunisia

Yemen variance mean

1 2 1 2.5 3 2 3 2 0.488095 2.214286

2 1.8 1 1.8 2.8 1.4 2 1.8 0.306667 1.8

3 2 1.3 2 2.7 2.7 3.3 1.3 0.568095 2.185714

4 1.7 1.3 2 2.2 2.1 2.2 1.4 0.142857 1.842857

5 1.8 1.3 2.2 2.5 1.5 2.6 2.1 0.24 2

6 1.8 1.3 1.8 2.3 2.2 2 1.7 0.112381 1.871429

7 1.8 1.6 2 2.4 1.8 2.5 2.3 0.119524 2.057143

8 1.9 1.5 2.1 2.5 1.5 1.8 1.8 0.122381 1.871429

9 1.8 1 2.2 2.3 1.6 2 1.7 0.19 1.8

1. Most variance: Policy Goal 3 Coordination2. Least variance: Policy Goal 6 Pathways3. Lowest mean : Policy Goal 9 Accountability

Scores, Mean Scores, and Dispersion measured by Variance

Policy Goal 3 Strengthening Critical Coordinationfor Implementation

The spread of scores reveals that a diversity of coordination mechanisms exist within the Region.

Possibility: look within the Region for ideas.

An example: Tunisia (in Pink) has made systematic efforts to improve

coordination. Formalized, institutional mechanisms are in place to ensure the

compatibility of interactions between diverse stakeholders. High level authorities have the mandate to overcome obstacles

that trouble inter-sectorial cooperation.

1 2 3 4

3. Coordination

Policy Goal 6 Diversifying Pathways for Skills Acquisition

The scores cluster around the Emerging level, revealing that measures to diversify the pathways into and out of TVET are limited.

Countries of the Region have similar scores.

The least dispersion of scores within the region.

Possibility: look outside the Region for ideas.

Policy Goal 9 Enhancing Evidence-based Accountabilityfor Results

Most scores line up around the Emerging Level, revealing that there are significant gaps in accountability.

The lowest mean score of the Region.

Possibility? Look outside the Region for ideas.

matching education outputs with labor market needs experts’ meeting 9th conference of arab...

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