As we celebrate the World Youth Skills Day on July 15, it is crucial to address the challenges faced by young people in low- and middle-income countries when it comes to accessing quality education and opportunities for employment.
Skills development through technical and vocational education and training (TVET) holds immense promise for empowering youth and contributing to sustainable economic transformation. However, the link between TVET systems and labor markets is broken, hindering the potential of TVET to fulfill this promise.
A new joint report of the World Bank, the ILO, and UNESCO sheds light on the challenges observed in low- and middle-income countries and offers a roadmap for transformative reforms in TVET. Here are the global report’s key takeaways.
The broken link and its symptoms
Three main symptoms in low- and middle-income countries make evident the broken link between TVET and labor markets. Firstly, learners face multiple challenges such as bigger financial limitations, lack of access to information about labor market opportunities, or rigid social norms that restrict their options. Women, in particular, are often driven by these constraints into lower-paying specializations. Additionally, the foundational skills of TVET learners are often weak, both at the point of entry and graduation.
Secondly, TVET teachers are left unsupported with often inadequate pedagogical skills, lack of industry experience, and poor career prospects. These factors hinder their ability to deliver high-quality training and negatively affect the acquisition of practical skills demanded by the labor market.
Thirdly, there are weak incentives for TVET providers to respond to the needs of the labor market, as the means to hold them accountable to learners or enterprises are limited. Insufficient data collection and evaluation systems hamper informed decision-making, resulting in a focus on inputs rather than outcomes. This undermines the potential of TVET to provide benefits for individuals and the overall economy.
